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I actually think being tied to a PS4 is a disadvantage, not an advantage, and a large one at that. The install base of high-end PCs is larger, and upgrading a P

I actually think being tied to a PS4 is a disadvantage, not an advantage, and a large one at that. The install base of high-end PCs is larger, and upgrading a PC is easier to justify than buying a game console. And for most people, the living room isn't the right place; when you can't see your surroundings, you'd rather be somewhere private.

msabalau 11y ago
On the other hand, a console is an easy gift to give, regardless of your technical capabilities, and as a kid, it's easier to endless encourage your parents to get the right thing. Ask for a computer, and you may end up with a chromebook!
- witty_username 11y ago
  You can give a desktop PC easily too.
  - renox 11y ago
    Easily? Not really, there are more choices in the GPU alone than there are choices in the console (PS or X-Box?).
    - witty_username 11y ago
      I'm saying it's not that hard to give away a desktop PC as a gift.
Veratyr 11y ago
> The install base of high-end PCs is larger I'm not sure that's true, although it depends on what you define as "high-end". Steam, as of last February, has 125m active users [0]. According to their hardware survey [1], only 30% of those users' GPUs support DirectX above version 9, with the overwhelming majority of "GPUs" being integrated and not up to the demands of 1080p gaming (a cursory glance suggests we can cut that 30% in half at least). Given all that, you have ~15% of 125m for a maximum of ~19m "high-end" PCs, which is substantially smaller than the current number of PS4s. > and upgrading a PC is easier to justify than buying a game console A GTX 970, the minimum required for Oculus, is around $300 on Amazon. That's not withstanding the extra CPU and RAM upgrades that are likely necessary (per [1]) to support the demands of modern PC games. There's also the fact that PC games tend to require more and more hardware upgrades as time goes on, while console games tend to use the hardware they have more efficiently. A $350 console can be expected to last 5-10 years without need for an upgrade. A PC needs upgrading every ~3 to keep up to date with modern requirements. I say all this as someone who exclusively games on PC, don't get me wrong. It's great but it's not the best financial decision for the mass market. [0]: https://www.vg247.com/2015/02/24/steam-has-over-125-million-active-users-8-9m-concurrent-peak/ https://www.vg247.com/2015/02/24/steam-has-over-125-million-... [1]: http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey
- Retric 11y ago
  Consoles are on a 6 year upgrade cycle, if you wait 10 years your going to be skipping a generation. PS 1994, 2000, 2006, 2013. That's still probably faster than PC as a 1000$ gaming PC from 2012 would have 4 or 8 GB ram, 1TB HDD or a small SSD, ~570 GTX 2500k CPU. Which can still play new games but your going to want an upgrade soon ish. Cheaper games, no subscription fees (X box live), and your going to want a PC anyway means consoles don't really save you money.
  - Veratyr 11y ago
    You're right about the upgrade cycle being shorter than I thought. > That's still probably faster than PC as a 1000$ gaming PC from 2012 would have 4 or 8 GB ram, 1TB HDD or a small SSD, ~570 GTX 2500k CPU. Which can still play new games but your going to want an upgrade soon ish. I don't think this is true. In 2013 [0], for $1000, you'd be looking at a GTX 660 and an i5 4430. Witcher 3, one of the largest PC gaming releases of 2015, required [1] a GTX 660 as a __minimum__, just 2 years after you'd have bought that PC. And this is a card that could handle Skyrim on Ultra settings [2] when you bought it. To keep a PC up to date (playing new games at the quality settings you used when you bought it) you're looking at $1000 initial cost, ~$150/yr for the GPU and $50-100/year for a CPU/RAM upgrade every few years. So for 10 years of ownership, you're looking at $1000 for the initial purchase, 3-5 $250 GPU upgrades ($750-$1250) and say two major overhauls of CPU/RAM/Motherboard/PSU ($500-$1000). Total cost of ownership is ~$2250-3250, depending how long you stretch it. For a console you're looking at say 3 console purchases (since you keep them longer, at least one is likely to need replacing at some stage) each at ~$400. Total cost of ownership is ~$1200. > Cheaper games Tom Clancy's The Division, the most recent major new release I'm aware of is currently $60 on every platform [3]. This has been my experience with most major games. If you're commenting on indie games, those are available on consoles too. > no subscription fees (X box live) A concern exclusively for Xbox owners. This thread is regarding a Playstation announcement. > and your going to want a PC anyway Most people can (and do) get along perfectly fine with a cheap $300 laptop which lasts them 2-5 years depending on the people. I get where you're coming from but I think you're biased by your personal preferences/situation/experiences. Gaming PCs just aren't more cost effective than consoles unless you happen to need a beast of a PC for other purposes (like software development). They just don't make sense for most of the market. [0]: https://web.archive.org/web/20130501090947/http://www.logicalincrements.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20130501090947/http://www.logica... [1]: http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-3-system-requirements-announced/ http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-3-system-requirements-ann... [2]: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-12.html http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-... [3]: http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Clancys-Division-Xbox-One/dp/B00DDXILBQ http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Clancys-Division-Xbox-One/dp/B00DD...
kschrader 11y ago
Is the install base for high-end PCs (of the level needed to push an Oculus) really larger? They've sold 36 million PS4s. An Oculus needs a Nvidia GTX 970 or better graphics card (which goes for $300+ on it's own). I highly doubt that 36 million+ people have purchased one of those (or would, especially on top of the $599 that it costs for the Rift itself).

msabalau 11y ago

On the other hand, a console is an easy gift to give, regardless of your technical capabilities, and as a kid, it's easier to endless encourage your parents to get the right thing. Ask for a computer, and you may end up with a chromebook!

witty_username 11y ago
You can give a desktop PC easily too.
- renox 11y ago
  Easily? Not really, there are more choices in the GPU alone than there are choices in the console (PS or X-Box?).
  - witty_username 11y ago
    I'm saying it's not that hard to give away a desktop PC as a gift.

Veratyr 11y ago

> The install base of high-end PCs is larger I'm not sure that's true, although it depends on what you define as "high-end". Steam, as of last February, has 125m active users [0]. According to their hardware survey [1], only 30% of those users' GPUs support DirectX above version 9, with the overwhelming majority of "GPUs" being integrated and not up to the demands of 1080p gaming (a cursory glance suggests we can cut that 30% in half at least). Given all that, you have ~15% of 125m for a maximum of ~19m "high-end" PCs, which is substantially smaller than the current number of PS4s. > and upgrading a PC is easier to justify than buying a game console A GTX 970, the minimum required for Oculus, is around $300 on Amazon. That's not withstanding the extra CPU and RAM upgrades that are likely necessary (per [1]) to support the demands of modern PC games. There's also the fact that PC games tend to require more and more hardware upgrades as time goes on, while console games tend to use the hardware they have more efficiently. A $350 console can be expected to last 5-10 years without need for an upgrade. A PC needs upgrading every ~3 to keep up to date with modern requirements. I say all this as someone who exclusively games on PC, don't get me wrong. It's great but it's not the best financial decision for the mass market. [0]: https://www.vg247.com/2015/02/24/steam-has-over-125-million-active-users-8-9m-concurrent-peak/ https://www.vg247.com/2015/02/24/steam-has-over-125-million-... [1]: http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

Retric 11y ago
Consoles are on a 6 year upgrade cycle, if you wait 10 years your going to be skipping a generation. PS 1994, 2000, 2006, 2013. That's still probably faster than PC as a 1000$ gaming PC from 2012 would have 4 or 8 GB ram, 1TB HDD or a small SSD, ~570 GTX 2500k CPU. Which can still play new games but your going to want an upgrade soon ish. Cheaper games, no subscription fees (X box live), and your going to want a PC anyway means consoles don't really save you money.
- Veratyr 11y ago
  You're right about the upgrade cycle being shorter than I thought. > That's still probably faster than PC as a 1000$ gaming PC from 2012 would have 4 or 8 GB ram, 1TB HDD or a small SSD, ~570 GTX 2500k CPU. Which can still play new games but your going to want an upgrade soon ish. I don't think this is true. In 2013 [0], for $1000, you'd be looking at a GTX 660 and an i5 4430. Witcher 3, one of the largest PC gaming releases of 2015, required [1] a GTX 660 as a __minimum__, just 2 years after you'd have bought that PC. And this is a card that could handle Skyrim on Ultra settings [2] when you bought it. To keep a PC up to date (playing new games at the quality settings you used when you bought it) you're looking at $1000 initial cost, ~$150/yr for the GPU and $50-100/year for a CPU/RAM upgrade every few years. So for 10 years of ownership, you're looking at $1000 for the initial purchase, 3-5 $250 GPU upgrades ($750-$1250) and say two major overhauls of CPU/RAM/Motherboard/PSU ($500-$1000). Total cost of ownership is ~$2250-3250, depending how long you stretch it. For a console you're looking at say 3 console purchases (since you keep them longer, at least one is likely to need replacing at some stage) each at ~$400. Total cost of ownership is ~$1200. > Cheaper games Tom Clancy's The Division, the most recent major new release I'm aware of is currently $60 on every platform [3]. This has been my experience with most major games. If you're commenting on indie games, those are available on consoles too. > no subscription fees (X box live) A concern exclusively for Xbox owners. This thread is regarding a Playstation announcement. > and your going to want a PC anyway Most people can (and do) get along perfectly fine with a cheap $300 laptop which lasts them 2-5 years depending on the people. I get where you're coming from but I think you're biased by your personal preferences/situation/experiences. Gaming PCs just aren't more cost effective than consoles unless you happen to need a beast of a PC for other purposes (like software development). They just don't make sense for most of the market. [0]: https://web.archive.org/web/20130501090947/http://www.logicalincrements.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20130501090947/http://www.logica... [1]: http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-3-system-requirements-announced/ http://www.pcgamer.com/the-witcher-3-system-requirements-ann... [2]: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-gtx-650-benchmark,3297-12.html http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-660-geforce-... [3]: http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Clancys-Division-Xbox-One/dp/B00DDXILBQ http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Clancys-Division-Xbox-One/dp/B00DD...

kschrader 11y ago

Is the install base for high-end PCs (of the level needed to push an Oculus) really larger? They've sold 36 million PS4s. An Oculus needs a Nvidia GTX 970 or better graphics card (which goes for $300+ on it's own). I highly doubt that 36 million+ people have purchased one of those (or would, especially on top of the $599 that it costs for the Rift itself).