this post was submitted on 14 May 2025
209 points (97.7% liked)
Games
38610 readers
1549 users here now
Welcome to the largest gaming community on Lemmy! Discussion for all kinds of games. Video games, tabletop games, card games etc.
Weekly Threads:
Rules:
-
Submissions have to be related to games
-
No bigotry or harassment, be civil
-
No excessive self-promotion
-
Stay on-topic; no memes, funny videos, giveaways, reposts, or low-effort posts
-
Mark Spoilers and NSFW
-
No linking to piracy
More information about the community rules can be found here and here.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
System based exclusives meaning you might not be able to play a game you want to in the future, expensive subscriptiona needed to play online, push to digital DRM controlled games.. it's almost like consoles killed themselves?
Well the alternative is PC gaming, and building a competitive PC aint cheap. I remember on launch people were building computers with similar performance to the xbone/ps4. But now that entry level dGPUs aren't a thing, and even mid range GPUs are expensive you get fucked either way.
The PS5 is at least powerful on launch. The 4 was on par with like a regular APU.
It used to be easy to build a PC that was double the performance of a console for the same price. And it was even easier if you sourced slightly used current hardware. Now you’re lucky to get last gen hardware for a decent price used. The market is garbage.
Back in 2014 you could get brand new motherboards for ~$50, where it’s difficult to find any under $150 that provide decent features. I think the most expensive thing at the time was NAND due to flooded factories but everything else was super cheap.
If you're not too stuck on modern AAA titles, PC gaming is cheap. Possibly the cost of the electricity coming out of the wall.
Personal anecdote. My PC cost me £900 in 2017. I haven't upgraded it since. I have saved a significant amount of money in that time that would otherwise have been spent on PlayStation Plus for the benefit of playing multiplayer and the general higher price of games.
Even if you accept the argument that consoles are significantly cheaper in the first place, the point that PC ownership saves money in the long run is often overlooked.
I've never owned as many games for as little cost as I do now.
And the games that really demand the high-end hardware tend to be pretty rare in the grand scheme of things, not to mention less likely to be as good as the low spec games. I always joke with my friends that I might buy a killer new PC in the next year or so, but my most-played game will still be a 2D game from 2012 that absolutely doesn't need it.
Why are people going for Bazzite for desktops? I've got it on a mini PC, and it's great for the living room and travel, but even then the updater still keeps trying to apply an update from April 28th over and over again. Is it a good choice for desktop too? I'm on Kubuntu now but will probably shop around for a new distro with my next PC.
It just works, so that's why I use it.
I've been using it on a desktop for more than a year now.
Never experienced that bug you mention but once the power went out during an update and it didn't want to boot, so I just chose the second option at boot and it's never failed again. Maybe something strange happened in your case, you should try it again.
A certified refurbished ps5 can be had right at this moment for $399, $450 new. I game on PC for many other reasons but the performance for value is pretty amazing on the ps5
Same, yeah I mean once you’re established the actual cost of games on steam is ludicrously small depending on your habits. I’m pretty much locked-in to pc gaming simply for the love of indie titles that more often than not do not get published to consoles. Lots of those games are just straight up free
We also have to consider the value the computer itself serves beyond just gaming. If you’re gonna get a $500 ps5 and you’re already going for an $800-$1200 computer, well hey. You could really get the best of both worlds without affecting the budget. Probably could even save money
But I think there’s also a big group that isn’t in that situation. I know plenty of people who rock like a chromebook and the cheapest xbox. Or people who only play like NBA 2k or something. Or people who play 1-2 big titles a year when they get caught in the hype train, and can enjoy them at 4k60fps for the much lower upfront cost
You can also buy a used PC or laptop or CPU/GPU/..., buying them new when you want good performance for value is nonsense.
Certainly, but we’d then have to compare with the used ps5 market, which dips well below $300.
Can a used pc or a build with used components be had with comparable performance to ps5? Even with a much larger budget of say, $800?
Why not? Like I said the certified refurbished directly from Sony is $399. Plenty of listings up right now for $285-330
But even if we compare new consoles to used PCs I think the conclusion is the same
You’re equivocating. In that instance I am responding directly to your claim that it’s far fetched to find a used one around the $300 point.
You’ll notice when you quoted me you also excluded the word “dips”. It’s dishonest for you frame my position as misrepresentative of the market by presenting my numbers without the couching I presented them with.
And why do you want to quibble over $50 when it doesn’t affect the discussion at all? Let’s just work with the higher prices, or even the brand new prices for that matter
Been saying that for four comments now lol
This right here is the main idea, yeah, even when looking at the used market for PC components. Glad we found our way back, and even ended up in complete agreement at the end
As for the help you requested sifting through listings, used and refurbished are different things, you should know. Refurbished direct from Sony is $400, looks like gamestop will do it for $370. This sets a hard cap on used prices, so you’ll notice all the used listings (that actually sell) are below that.
You should also know they have websites for you to track what actually sells, and not just the listings that are left standing for a while because the price is mediocre. Worth checking that out so you know where to watch, and have a good chance of getting a good price when it appears. Best of luck to you
Oh, sorry yeah I can clear that up.
The reason I don’t feel like dancing for you is because you’re dishonest, aggressively self righteous, and obviously just want to fight about something meaningless for no reason.
Spend the extra forty bucks for something official if you don’t trust used, and don’t start dumb semantic arguments with people if you’re gonna want their help after. Not that I think you really do, mind. Just pointing out how ridiculous that whole pretense is.
Anyway, yeah. Probably is best if you moved along
Oh I seem to think you’re a dishonest, instigating time waster, huh? What makes it seem that way, the part where I directly accused you of it?
Mini pcs are a thing and they get better every year.
I think more and more people have done the math on what your break-even is with a PC up front compared to noncompetitive digital console storefronts, needless forced obsolescence, and subscription fees.
Building a PC that can compete with current console IS cheap
Entry can exceed the cost of the console but if you upgrade your existing one, especially using used gpus it is dirt cheap.
Now factor in:
and even a pc double the cost of a ps5 will be cheaper very quickly. Consoles are designed to catch people with no long term thinking.
I haven't payed to play online in years. Like mid PS4 life. Online only games don't require a subscription.