I'm gonna get one thing out of the way: I have the 3 consoles, a 3DS, and a gaming PC. Yes, my gaming PC cost $800-$900 and the consoles never ran me over $300.
But I'd like to ask you all a question. How many of you own a computer? Unless you're missing your arms (in which case, how the hell are you typing?), you should be raising your hand since a computer is required to use the internet, which is subsequently a necessity to access this page. Not to mention it's kind of the standard of society and even very poor families will likely have a computer, so I expect everyone to.
Another question: do you ever buy a new computer? Unless you're still using a 1998 iMac or something, the answer should be yes. As technology evolves, as with consoles, you buy better computers. You want better performance, wireless internet, and the ability to use new applications. Now, unless you're using Windows '98, odds are you have at least once bought a new OS that cost over $100.
Now let's just speak with the console gamers. How much was that new PC? Unless it's a bottom of the line Netbook that cost $250, odds are it was at least $500.
Now add the cost of the console to the cost of your computer. If you have only one console, it should come out to a minimum $700 (if you got a Wii or 360 Arcade in the last year and have nothing else), maximum $1,100 (if you got a PS3 at launch).
That's how much you've spent to get both a great gaming experience and the basic services that a computer provides. This begs the question, has a PC gamer spent any more than you? To get a great PC that can max out everything at the time its built without overclocking should cost about $800. In many cases a PC gamer has spent less than you.
So just that has evened out the cost of the two, if not tilted it in favor of PC gaming being cheaper. Now if you pay for Xbox Live let's add in annual charges. I'll be generous, I understand the cost of a 12-month subscription has increased and you can find them on sale, so instead of $300, let's say that over 6 years you've spent $150-$200 on Xbox Live subscriptions. Now you're paying at least $100 more than a PC gamer has over the last 6 years on the system alone.
Let's make it even worse, the MSRP for a big budget console game is $60, while it's $50 for the PC. There are exceptions, obviously, but for argument's sake let's say every game a PC gamer buys at launch saves them $10 the console gamer has not saved. Say you buy 25 games over a gen: that's $250 less the PC gamer has spent.
When's the last time you saw sales as good as the Steam Holiday or Summer sales for consoles? Maybe Black Friday, and hell Steam had a sale for that too! Just this past Holiday Sale I bought what would've cost me well over $300 on consoles for $130.
There's really no way to counter it, the PC ends up cheaper. From the get-go you're not spending any more money when you combine the cost of gaming on a console + a computer vs. just getting a gaming PC, then the games sales and free online (I concede, only an advantage over 360 gamers) create a pretty significant gap that favors the PC as the cheaper platform.
I still give my consoles plenty of time as I'm fortunate enough to live a very comfortable life and can afford to game across all my platforms. I love the variety they provide. However, the PC ends up cheaper very quickly, is much more powerful, allows for any control scheme you want, and has a much larger and higher quality library of games. How can you argue against it?
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