What makes you prefer console over PC?

[Dreakon13]

Mostly because I like playing games on a TV, with a controller, in my recliner.

 

I could build a PC and sit it in my entertainment setup and pretend it's a console... and I've tried... but then I have to bust out a mouse and keyboard to do general desktop things to get to the games, I could use Steam Big Picture mode but then I still have to work around it for games on clients other than Steam or that come with their own external launchers.  Then I run into games without proper gamepad support, then I run into games with wonky Vsync implementation that has horrendous screen tearing on anything but a gaming monitor, then I run into games that can't seem to pick up the TV's speakers for some reason, to name a few actual scenarios.

 

For all of its flexibility, PC is at its best when you use a mouse and keyboard sitting at a desk on a gaming monitor... maybe use an xinput gamepad for the games that recommend or require it.  Throw any further wrenches into that setup and, even if you can get most things working with some duct tape and elbow grease, it becomes a terrible headache quickly.  I think most PC gamers use it that way and that's great for them, it doesn't really move the needle for me though.

 

That said I did pick up a Steam Deck and a TV dock.  It works perfectly as a console-ized PC option for my Steam games I don't have on the other consoles.  That's about the extent I care to tinker with PC gaming anymore.  It has its place but PC gaming as the defacto go-to solution for all games is more trouble than it's worth IMO.

 

 

EDIT: Oh, and I enjoy collecting physical copies of games, something you can only really do on console anymore.

Edited December 7, 2022 by Dreakon13

[craig_obviously]

I too sit in front of a computer all day...two actually..and no longer even have one at home, most things can be accomplished on your phone now. I like that when you buy a game it works.. there's no "is my computer capable of running this game" or do I meet the minimum specs.

 

But mostly its for the comfort... I play sitting on my sofa with the dogs curled up with me sitting in front of a 65" 4K OLED and a fireplace...

[the1andonly654]

The convenience, because while PCs are way less problematic than they used to be, they still have more issues than consoles. Even without any issues, knowing me, I would've spend hours trying to min-max graphical settings for games and I kinda outgrew both this, and overclocking. I just wanna play games these days. Price to performance ratio - I buy one box and it lasts me for the entire generation. The availability of physical copies that actually have a disc inside and not a voucher also plays its part. Trophies too in a way - achievements without platinums just don't have the same feeling to me. 

 

I was almost always mainly a console gamer, but I did have gaming PCs at times, as an addition to a console. That said, I might reconsider if consoles go back to PS4 framerates later in the generation. I have no idea if I'll go through with switching to PC, but the thought of getting rid of both current gen consoles and buying a powerful gaming PC if that happens has crossed my mind. 

 

 

[CoolDust]

Convenience, I don't even have a PC nowadays. Maybe one day I will invest in a gaming PC but for now I'm perfectly fine playing everything on console.

Edited December 7, 2022 by CoolDust

[Necrown]

Pc used to be my place to play games. but then with god of war (2018) I started to like getting trophies. I like the acivement system on steam but I like playstation's more. 

Plus I don´t have a high end PC so you always have to think how is the game gonna run, and you have to do changes all the time to get a fluid gaming experience. With console you just get the game and play it.

I still play games on PC but most games (newer ones) I get them on PS5.

[VigilantCrow]

For me it all comes down to my career. I work on a computer 8-12 hours a day so the last thing I want to do is sit in my home office, game and likely keep working on the side. Console is a good way for me to separate work and fun. 

 

 

[ExHaseo]

It's mostly because PC gaming is a giant pain. I constantly have issues when trying to games on PC. Whether it be something not booting for no reason, weird performance issues, or having to go through the hassle of getting a controller to work on some games. Plus it's much nicer to sit on the couch and play games without having to go through the hassle of hooking my PC up to the TV first.

I'm a 3D animator, so I do have a powerful enough PC to run whatever I want well, and when I have to I do use it. But it's just so much easier to play on console.

[Viper]

It's the hassle of it all. 

 

I'm the type of person who would put the money in to make a truly awesome PC, but as soon as a game comes out that tells me I can't play it on the highest settings and it still run buttery smooth...I'll feel like that money was a huge waste. PC gaming is such a huge, constant investment if you're anal about performance. 

 

Plus, I started on console. Been gaming since the NES. Switched the PS1 in 1996 from the Genesis, and I've been about the PlayStation ever since...I've always wanted to be there for the next step in its history. Not to mention now...I have such a foothold in PlayStation. I never realized how much of one until I got my Switch earlier this year...even trying to play on another console is a strange feeling knowing I have such a massive catalog of games to play on PlayStation, that I feel like I'm neglecting it when I do play my Switch. It's like "why am I playing this Switch game when this PlayStation game has been in my backlog for literal years waiting for its turn?". Switching the PC one day would be a huge shift no matter how I shake it. 

[matrelli01]

When i was a boy, i played PC for many years but now i have no space in my house (neither money in my pocket...) for a PC + trophies system.

Edited December 7, 2022 by matrelli01

[Vulpine9Tails]

1. I sit at a computer all day for work (working from home). 

2. Sitting on my sofa is comfier.

3. PCs are confusing to me.

4. Steam achievements are nowhere near as satisfying to earn as trophies. 

5. My 'gaming' laptop is old and outdated but my mom bought it for me when I was going through a tough time and I don't want to replace it.

[KingRyzin]

Plug and play + trophies. Console games just work perfectly, most of the time at least. If not, theres a patch in the first week or so. PC games (especially more recently) just launch broken because developers hand down the port to some other dev who half asses it (ie COD).

[Dangisuckatgamin]

Own both so I guess I should answer why I keep coming back.

 

- I have friends already established on console and the people I’ve come across on pc haven’t been all that friendly. 

 

- No achievement system on pc worth your time. (steam achievements are laughable. One of the worst systems I’ve seen.) Trophies are much more enjoyable to obtain.

 

- So many unoptimized games on pc that it becomes frustrating, even with a 4090, to want to play anything at all on pc. PlayStation rarely has this problem and most usually get patched. (A lot of games I own on pc got abandoned and never optimized)

 

Those are probably the reasons I stay on console. 

[El Duderino]

14 hours ago, PhaseRebirth said:

This question is specifically targeted towards people who like console more than PC.

But to answer your question: Nothing. I've been playing on console for over 30 years and 2022 was the year I eventually gave up on it. PCs might be more expensive when it comes to the actual hardware, but games are significantly cheaper. Plus, you have a much more exclusive titles on PC than all console generations combined. Oh, and paying a subscription fee to play online is borderline robbery. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Beyondthegrave07
Removed rude comment. Be nice to people

[NickWart]

I have always played on console. Exception- the first sims, age of empires and world of Warcraft.

 

Console is less expensive, trophies, convenient. Sure, PC might have some advantages, however to get those you're looking at a couple thousand dollars, I would imagine. Without updates and upgrades after purchase. 

38 minutes ago, El Duderino said:

So you want a circle jerk, right?

But to answer your question: Nothing. I've been playing on console for over 30 years and 2022 was the year I eventually gave up on it. PCs might be more expensive when it comes to the actual hardware, but games are significantly cheaper. Plus, you have a much more exclusive titles on PC than all console generations combined. Oh, and paying a subscription fee to play online is borderline robbery. 

The subscription easily pays for itself with the free games you get each month, discounts on games and many, many other free (AAA) titles. 

[Katt]

Trophies. I'm stuck here forever. I don't enjoy getting achievements on PC where you can just download a tool to insta-unlock whatever you want and get away with it. Besides, PS exclusives are better.

 

On PC, I just play DJMAX because the devs are extremely stupid to maintain both platforms, now releasing DLCs without trophies when there are solutions for the PS4 trophy cap.

 

And now, PS Extra just works for me. Better than Game Pass, better than Humble Bundle.

[StraightVege]

Besides the fact that I simply don't have enough time or money to game on more than one platform anymore, I'm quite committed to my PSN account now—got far too many owned games and earned trophies, so I might as well stick with it. However, I used to be extremely into PC gaming, and I would almost certainly return to it, if I ever got tired of PlayStation for some reason.

[AK-1138]

King Brian of the Fair Folk of the Middle Kingdom said he would call upon the Banshee to haunt my lineage forever if I didn't consign myself to the dominion of consoles until my dying breath.

 

...Also, there's a million fickle variables that can and will go wrong with a freakin' puter that verge on the strictly nonexistent where consoles are concerned, so that's a nice bonus on top of all the non-cursishness.

[Speling_Expirt]

Trophies and growing up with the PlayStation brand.

 

I've always loved PlayStation and owned every console growing up. Trophies were added and here we are. 

 

I used to play on PC but 99% of the time was on World of Warcraft. I would do back to WoW but if I do, I would have no more time for trophies, and I can't give those up, I like earning them too much.

[ChiefMichigan]

1. Exclusive titles/content: Nintendo doesn't put their games on PC. That's not enough I guess on its own to make me prefer console gaming as a whole, but it helps. Nintendo as a publisher has the best library across tons of generations of consoles. Not to mention the Sony games that have never come to PC (most of them), and tons of third-party gamest that have also never come to PC. By the numbers, PC has far and away the most exclusives due to being open. There's just very few I give a crap about. 

2. Physical games. Though I have tons and tons of digital titles, I like the physical option. The vast majority of boxed PC games (which are mostly dead) released from around 2013 onward are just digital codes. PC games only ever still come on CDs or DVDs if it's a limited collector's set. 

3. Little to no troubleshooting/vastly less malware.

4. Cheaper. Yes, Steam sales and sales on Epic and such usually exceed the sales offered by the console makers. But building or buying a PC that exceeds the PS5 and Xbox Series X is more expensive than those consoles. 

5. PlayStation trophies

6. Mentality. I associate PCs with video, work, and research for work or pleasure far more than I associate them with gaming. 

I know this wasn't the question by the OP, but I will mention what I prefer about PC gaming.

1. Freedom

2. Sales

3. Power and customizability if you can afford it.

4. Mods (I've barely used them, but it's cool). 

[ZenaxPure]

Convenience and price. Consoles are cheaper obviously, and most physical games get way cheaper than digital in the short term for anyone bothering to pay attention. Just look at Black Friday where Sonic Frontiers was $30-$35 for a physical copy but on digital stores it was $42. I mean I guess you can just pirate most things on PC, but, personally I'd still like to actually pay for my games and legally obtain them.

 

But also I don't really like troubleshooting problems. Will never forget the time I got Hotline Miami on PC and when I launched the game the image was completely mirrored. Took me like an hour of searching online to figure out what the problem was and then I had to go into some file and change a setting to get the game to display properly. I just don't want to deal with stuff like that. I wanna turn the game on and play it.

 

Plus I like a lot of niche games and plenty of Japanese stuff doesn't come to PC day 1, or at all in some cases. It's gotten better over time but it's still not fully there. And yeah, I really love trophies. It's easily the best achievement style system on any platform, and this website is the best trophy/achievement website out there in terms of aesthetics and features. Stuff like milestones and the trophy cabinet further enhance my enjoyment of the system.

[Ashande]

I tend to stick to consoles for a few reasons, but this story pretty much explains all of them:

 

Back in the dim, dark days of 2002 or so - at which time I had an “okay” computer, though other than Diablo II it had been rotting for some time - and Doom 3 loomed on the horizon.  I knew there was no way in hell I could run it, but they had discussed an Xbox version, so I was patient. My roommate was in a frenzy, buying parts for his PC, spending hours taking it apart and putting it back together again, heard cursing and hurrying to BestBuy frequently as system requirements changed or new hardware was available, desperately wanting to ensure he had the best possible experience. He sank a couple thousand dollars into this endeavor in the two years between the first projected system specs and the game’s release.

 

Then, the fated day arrived. He tore open the package, clambered for the install discs, sat through the agonizing install, and at last - a look of triumph on his face - he double clicked the icon. He waited, with baited breath, as the splash screen came up. Then the ID logo… and then it crashed.

 

Relaunch. Try again. Crash. One more time. Crash. Double check configuration. Relaunch. Crash.To the internet he goes, where he discovers, to his horror, that his video card, while meeting the specs, is not supported (something I sympathized with, as I had dealt with a similar situation back when the original Diablo came out.) Off he goes, back to BestBuy, to pick up a new video card. He was eventually able to play, but it had cost him somewhere in the realm of $2,500 (on top of what the PC originally cost) plus all the stress and the hassle.

 

Me? I bought it for Xbox, put the disc in, and played the damn thing. (Had to wait a year, in this particular instance, but… ??‍♂️)

 

From the stories I hear from friends and the YouTubers I watch, not much has changed. Hearing three of my friends rage about Callisto Protocol and how it runs like ass and didn’t work and the controls were terrible… while I stuck the disc in and played it… and unlike in the days of Doom 3, I don’t usually have to wait for a console release (in fact, it frequently seems like the PC players are the ones waiting more often.)

 

There’s just no incentive for me to play on PC, even if I had the time, money and patience to muck about with all the baggage that comes with it.

[EDGES]

PlayStation is my gaming ecosystem because I don't want to wait and beg for the games I'm interested in

[JPtheNeurotic]

PC gaming is great but it comes with its own headaches.

Console is jsut soooooo much easier.

[ZitMeatloaf]

I play and enjoy consoles (PlayStation and Nintendo) and PC. Most of the time I prefer to play on console, for the following reasons:

• Exclusive games & franchises, specifically for the big franchises Sony and Nintendo are most popularly known for. As Sony has become more friendly towards PC releases, this is less of a factor for PlayStation but still a major factor for Nintendo. However, even if Sony begins releasing all of their games on PC, there will likely still be a window where their games are only available on console.
• I find sitting on a comfy sofa and playing on a big-ass TV far preferable to playing at a gaming desk looking at a monitor or laptop screen. I suppose you could arrange to play your PC on a TV-sized monitor while sitting on the couch, but it's much more easily done with a console.

With that said, there are times when I prefer playing on PC over console:

• Some games were absolutely made to be played with mouse & keyboard; games like Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Gloomhaven. Even though these games are available on console (or soon will be), trying to use a controller to navigate those types of games seems like it would be really cumbersome and a poor experience compared to the intended mouse & keyboard. So I'll purchase and play those games on PC.
• Co-op multiplayer is a better experience on Steam than on PS.

Edited December 8, 2022 by ZitMeatloaf

[PaintP]

Sofa > Chair

 

Also bigger TV