What makes you prefer console over PC?

[PhaseRebirth]

This question is specifically targeted towards people who like console more than PC. I am not looking for a flame war or anything, just curious to see others mindset about this. I personally enjoy using all consoles and my gaming PC. However, I do have a personal preference for console for reasons such as physical games and the fact it is plug and play. I'd love to hear your thoughts! Keep it civil please, thank you!

Edited December 8, 2022 by PhaseRebirth

[KenjiCBZ]

Trophies. Plus, I never played games on PC, and likely never will.

[PhaseRebirth]

Just now, KenjiCBZ said:

Trophies. Plus, I never played games on PC, and likely never will.

I think it is agreed amongst most of my PC gamer friends that there is no achievement system on PC that is quite the same experience as PS trophies. Thanks for sharing!

[SnowxSakura]

It usually comes down to what you played first as a kid. I played consoles first, so I prefer them, but, pc gaming is fine too. They both have their pros and cons

[PhaseRebirth]

1 minute ago, SnowxSakura said:

It usually comes down to what you played first as a kid. I played consoles first, so I prefer them, but, pc gaming is fine too. They both have their pros and cons

Absolutely! Very balanced mindset my friend. 

[LuckySlime]

trophies is 100% the first reason also i just prefer playing everything with a controller also with pc i hate troubleshooting stuff i have one of the most overkill pcs rn but its just so annoying to troubleshoot random ass shit that can happen

[HuntingFever]

I like both but the fact my computer and both laptops are ancient and can't run anything well, plus the fact I find troubleshooting PC problems to be a rage inducing PITA, means I'll take console gaming over a PC, any day of the week.

Edited December 7, 2022 by HuntingFever
Update.

[ollo99]

Consoles are easier to just plug up, change a few settings and drop in the game. I do prefer consoles, but PCs are far superior, so I game on both. I would trade my PC before my PS5 though 

[Zenpai]

The ease of use. You don't have to troubleshoot anything, you plug things in and they just work.

 

Not to mention I much prefer playing things on a living room, with a controller.

 

There's also some pretty good exclusives.

[FilmFanatic]

Consoles don’t need to be upgraded unless you want a bigger or faster hard drive. Technically you could call the PS4 Pro an upgrade but that’s replacing the entire console in one go, not the individual parts every time something better comes along.

[Vernien]

I started playing with Super Nintendo and then with PS1 over 20 years ago and I grew up that way, it's now a habit as well as a fondness about consoles. Now that trophies also exist, it's one more reason to keep playing like this, especially those who like to complete games 100% like me. I speak for myself because others may think differently, but the satisfaction of having a platinum is different from completing a game on pc without any reward.

[Baranov_925]

Trophies, convenience, lower price, library of games.

[proud2bNs]

- A console is much cheaper than a comparable gaming PC

- Easy setup, it just works

- PC achievements can be cheated easily, there's no valua to them (e.g. Steam Achievement Manager)

- More hackers on PC

- The current resolution standard on console is 4K compared to 1440p on PC

- Most "PC master race" features like Ray Tracing only became relevant when the big publishers implemented them for consoles. The consoles set the standard.

 

I used to be a PC gamer, but switched to PlayStation 5 years ago and i don't regret it.

[Vitallani]

1. The first gaming system I had was a Playstation, so I stuck with it.

2. When I did play PC games as a kid, I had games that would not work with my system, games with bugs, crashes, etc.

3. When I did play PC games as a kid, I had to use a mouse and keyboard, which I didn't like. I know you can use controllers now, but in my mindset, when I think of PCs, my mind just sees trying to play with a keyboard.

4. The controllers you use for PC are generally third party, as there is no specific dedicated controller (that I am aware) for the platform.

5. You need a PC specifically designed for gaming and they are way more expensive than a console.

6. Games on the PC are often released later than they are on consoles.

7. PC games no longer have physical discs like they did when I was a kid. Admittedly most of my PS games a digital with only a handful of physical discs, I want the option to have them.

8. I don't want to have to sign up to additional providers such as Steam and wherever else you get your PC games from.

[Evil_Joker88]

I played videogames on many platforms and i prefer consoles cuz it's way easier. A ps4 game will run on a ps4, no need to look for hardware requirements and no need for any additional software installation (say Hi to R* Social Club among many others). I enjoy sitting on my couch to play games and use a controller. Some pc games like DMC 4 and Skyrim weren't fun with keyboard so i switched over to ps3 controller (which wasn't easy though). Sony's Trophy System encourages my decision further to buy a ps5 than a pc. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Evil_Joker88

[harsly]

Trophies and convenience.

[Rando-Calrisian-]

My background was PC gaming. I switched to console 8 years ago as I didn't want to spend thousands on a new PC. 

 

I stayed on console since because:

- much larger player base for multiplayer.

- almost all games are built and optimised for console as that is the bulk of the market. 

- consoles work, there are only 2 combinations of hardware PS and XBox. On a PC there possibilities are much more so more chance things will go wrong.

 

However haven't done much gaming recently, elden ring basically ruined games for me. It was so good everything pales in comparison.

 

[ShadeSplit]

I don't care much for "graphical fidelity", so it's not worth any extra cost, let alone what these PCs/graphics cards tend to cost. I have no interest in "building" a PC. I don't want to mess around with settings or have to troubleshoot issues, and yes, you will have to troubleshoot issues at some point. I prefer to have physical copies of my games, and due to the options you have with physical games, it makes them cheaper. I hate playing with a keyboard and mouse, and some games only have that as an option. For me, there really is no reason to play on a PC.

[NorthPaul93]

The cost and simplicity of consoles.

[heavyrockerfin]

Mainly trophies and modern games. While I do have a "gaming" laptop (Asus TUF Fx504 for those interested), it tends to freeze if I play something for longer than an hour... I mainly do my pc gaming on my partner's desktop and I tend to play older games (currently playing Half Life 2 Episodes). I see it culturally important (not sure what to really call it). Kicking back on couch and picking up a gamepad feels cozier.

[de_digibeet]

This is all me personal, I refuse to form an opinion about pc vs console in general. If I were to have an opinion about the pc vs console issue, in general, it would be something like: screw that discussion, it's a personal thing, let everyone pick what works for them, for whatever reasons, feelings, criteria, etc. they like. Dumping your own preferences on someone else is merely proof you don't consider the other person to be human being with equal rights as you want for yourself.

 

I started gaming before computers even existed in households. My dad had one for work in the early 80s, but that was really rare. It did have a few games, but they were loaded from a 5,25" floppy, so maybe a few of you can guess the level of complexity of such games (tetris was barely possible).

So, atari and later the 8bit nintendo were my starting point. The NES especially had far superior range and options than pc games had at that time, both in colors and sound, but also in kinds of games and easy to install (hook up cables to tv, electricity and controller that was it).

Over the next 20 years computers were finally able to have colors and music, while tvs already had colors and music from the get go. It turned out that computers were able to, eventually at least, run emulaters for psx, nes and snes. And I was able to play some games I 'missed'.

 

Still. The console concept has never lost its top spot as my choice, even though I switched from nintendo to playstation around the time of the wii/ps2 and with the introduction of the ps3 I left nintendo for good.

I can't list trophies as a reason, these are fairly new to my gaming history. Nor do I like the exclusiveness of certain games to any kind of platform, just screw that concept.

The following reasons for me to like console over pc gaming are still valid:

- plug and play: it's easy, it works, no need to pay a huge amount of time, energy, expertise and cash on getting the correct hardware, let alone all the gazillion settings on those video cards and drivers. I'm pretty sure computers by now have superior video quality, but you'd have to update and upgrade your hardware from time to time, and be back at square one with: which one do I need this time?¿ With consoles there's no energy and time spend on this at all: pick a brand, grab the latest and that's it.

- Setup: hooking it up to my tv to me is both easier and more comfortable than having a desktop surrounding. I have my computers where I can't reach them, got a laptop to operate the entire bunch via remote, the laptop can't really do anything itself except remote. This also means I got my desktop activities and my gaming activities on different hardware, which makes it easier for me to keep things separate in my mind and attention span as well.

Consoles are designed to work on a tv, pcs are not, sure they can be used on a tv but that does require tinkering with settings. Making consoles more easy to use from a couch and with a larger screen than would regular within a desktop environment. I personally like it that I'm not two feet away from the screen but several meters.

- It took computers quite a while to be able to handle controllers, consoles came with them from pretty much the start. My hands and brain have 35 years experience with controllers, switching to mouse+keyboard had never felt comfortable to me. I had a few games on the pc via emulater and one of the first things I got were usb controllers. And those were always far inferior to console controllers with regards to sturdiness. They might have gotten better of the past 5 years, no idea. But considering the past 20-25 years as the entire range during which I could have switched, no .. console controllers suit me better. Certain games are more suited for mouse+keyboard, like command and conquer type of games. And the entire genre of 'sim city' (tropico, cities: skylines) is slightly easier with a mouse as well. Still, the grand total of the scale tips in favor of consoles, at least for me.

 

If pcs can overcome the setup, controller and plug/play + no hardware expertise+research differences and be totally suited for tv gaming. And if the entire gaming market can simply dump the 'brand exclusiveness', I might consider giving pcs a chance, maybe. Though I'll probably just stick with playstation simply because it already works anyway.

 

I do have friends and family who also started with consoles and did switch to pc. Considering how their personal preferences stack up differently from mine, I can totally see why they would be as much 'pure pc' as I am 'pure console'. Though I barely care beyond: 'are they happy with their gaming life?' And they are, so that settles that :).

[Craggle95]

It's what i started gaming on so it's all i really know. I find consoles more convenient too 

[Adilya]

I sit behind my PC for 8 hours a day when working.. so I'm not too fond of adding more hours to that when gaming. Yes, I know I can connect the PC to my TV, use a controller and play from the couch too, but I don't want to be moving around my PC twice a day and having all these extra cables in my living room messing up my perfectly clean gaming setup. I like the plug-and-play. 

 

Besides that, the exclusives. Sony first-party titles are among my favourites and I'd rather not wait 4 years to get a chance to play them. 

 

And of course there's the price. A PC that can run games as well or better than the PS5 can is simply way more expensive, and I'm not much into all the tinkering and configuring needed. 

 

My solution: The SteamDeck! That way I can play PC games and other things I can't on my PS5 while still having the ability to chill on my couch! 

[fbdbh]

• Size (portability & don't know where I would put a PC, small home with two kids)
• Power consumption
• Optimizing settings takes time away from actual gaming
• Price of the machine is a fraction of a PC
• Consistent looking physical game collection
• Can use my games even if I somehow lose my account
• Games actually run as intended nowadays, this average 1440p/60 FPS quality is more than enough for me
• Trophies, trophies, trophies

[Solid-Fisch]

It's a set of factors in my case:

• been with playstation since PS1 so of course there has been an relationship been building up since
• I like to play games with a controller on a big tv screen while laying or sitting on my comfortable couch, sitting on a chair in front of a PC for hours just doesn't reach that comfort for me
• I like the plug and play fact for consoles, if I'd been playing on PC I would probably want to upgrade my computer hardware everytime, which is expensive and somewhat time consuming
• I'm with PS+ since 2013 so naturally I got a big catalogue of games by now and as many others my backlog is onyl growing 

All this doesn't mean I would never switch to PC, but my preferences are clear. And normally people don't change these until it is a must.