What's going on with exclusives and why should I bother with consoles anymore?

F

flegg

[H]ard|Gawd
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So I took the plunge this last generation on PS5 (used some kind of browser trick to scoop one up during pandemic at walmart) after being a PC master race for a long time. Usually I will wait until near the end of a generation and play all the exclusives in one run then go back to PC. The PS5 was actually pretty solid while I was holding out for video card prices to come down, which they eventually did. I played some decent games, had a decent time. However, now I have a really nice HTPC hooked up to an OLED and home theatre system. Also have a huge Steam backlog. So more recently I've been playing PC games in console fashion - on the couch usually with controller trying to make the tiniest of dents on the backlog.

While I've been doing this and occasionally checking what new games are available and/or on sale I've started to notice ALLL OF THE EXCLUSIVES are being brought to PC now??? Yes during the pandemic getting lucky with an early PS5 while video cards tripled in price was nice.... but going forward what is going to be the point?

1) Comfort/convenience - no difference. For me, PC has the big TV and surround system now. Which is just as plug and play as consoles now thanks to OLED smart TVs, steam updates, etc. My premium MOBO even has built in blue tooth and wifi that blows the consoles away.

2) Controllers - hugely PC. Initially PS5 controller needed a lot of work arounds, but these days I have the options of picking up whatever controller I want - PS5, XBOX, random PC controller from amazon - as well as mix and match them for whatever the preference of who wants to play with me.

3) Exclusives - mixed/slightly PS5?? Looks like every single xbox game is coming to PC where it will run better, and almost all PS5 games are coming to PC where they usually but might not run better. Not talking much about nintendo here but Breath of the Wild and sequel are 100x better on PC with a PS5 controller. So other than basically having early access what's left that's not on or soon to be on PC: in no particularly order: 1) Infamous 2nd Son - great game highly recommend if you like the whole assassin creed / gta type gameplay. 2) Bloodborne - not on PC yet HOWEVER since I've been holding out for a PS5 upgraded version I STILL haven't played it.... so I duno what's the verdict there... 3) Gravity Rush - heard it's good haven't tried it. 4) 1886- good but it's more like a quarter of a game. 5) Games that aren't games: uncharted, shadow of colossus, last guardian - not sure why people don't just play VR or watch tv show if they want gimmicky UniQuE GrApHiCs. That brings me to Elden Ring - I am pretty torn whether to play PS5 or PC. Bottom line here- WHERE'D ALL THE EXCLUSIVES GO?

4) Multiplayer - mixed. Usually free on PC but less cheaters on PS5. Note I'm not talking about PC experience in general just games/types of games that are normally played in a console setting. Maybe console games have easier to jump in multiplayer servers/options?

5) Price - hugely console. PC better game discounts but Playstation deals aren't always terrible. Multiplayer cheaper on PC. But the thing is you can't do this on low end PC stuff.

6) Ecosystem - PC. Can multitask on PC. Modding. Nice to have everything all together on Steam, but now with some stuff being on Epic Games etc I don't know. Maybe it's nice having access to PSN catalogues? I really hate having like one game on PS5 and the sequel on PC as I sometimes use achievements to keep track of what I played and how much I liked it.

TLDR: PCs are just as plug and play as consoles now. PCs eventually get all (almost) exclusives now. What's the point of a console?
 
Initial cost is basically the only thing a console has against a PC of similar performance. I've heard it argued, primarily by Sony fanboys, that games like God of War and other titles wouldn't exist without the PlayStation. That could be true because the general PC gaming audience isn't as interested in those style of games as non-PC gamers are. The gameplay constraints to make it work on a console and cater to the console crowd feel stifling compared to all the options we have on PC.
 
I feel like there is still a bit more robust chance of being plug and play (with HDR, hdmi sound, shader compilation stutter or visual glitch, wake up from controller always in steam tv mode correctly and everything, chance of having some issue are still higher on PC , easier for mac or console to go 100% pre compiled shaders) from consoles, once you are setuped and if it work obviously, it is mute but the question is just before buying the gaming PC.

Not all exclusive get a port, Gran turismo.

But we are quite far from 1995-1998 when you often had to format win95 and fresh install for a game to work and reboot 3 time for your gravis controller + 3dfx second GPU to all work well, these days, not sure if I have more issues with PC gaming than say PS3 gaming (wifi not connecting, some game not installing and on a console.. what do you do), you click install on steam, hdmi to the tv, controller (bluetooth or usb extension), click play.... it tend to just all work (when you try to stream over the network it does get more complicated than a console, but like you HTPC directly connected remove all the extra issues).
 
LukeTbk said:
I feel like there is still a bit more robust chance of being plug and play (with HDR, hdmi sound, shader compilation stutter or visual glitch, wake up from controller always in steam tv mode correctly and everything, chance of having some issue are still higher on PC , easier for mac or console to go 100% pre compiled shaders) from consoles, once you are setuped and if it work obviously, it is mute but the question is just before buying the gaming PC.

Not all exclusive get a port, Gran turismo.

But we are quite far from 1995-1998 when you often had to format win95 and fresh install for a game to work and reboot 3 time for your gravis controller + 3dfx second GPU to all work well, these days, not sure if I have more issues with PC gaming than say PS3 gaming (wifi not connecting, some game not installing and on a console.. what do you do), you click install on steam, hdmi to the tv, controller (bluetooth or usb extension), click play.... it tend to just all work (when you try to stream over the network it does get more complicated than a console, but like you HTPC directly connected remove all the extra issues).
Click to expand...
In my experience first-time setup on a console takes longer than installing Windows these days. I think it took about 15 minutes for my Series X to get "ready" even though I have an established account that I log into. To be fair, the PS5 was ready to go in just a few minutes by comparison, and the thing that took me the longest was recording the emergency 1-use codes for recovery.
 
Price and exclusives. Same as always. There's just a lot less exclusives now. If you don't mind waiting for PS5 ports and don't play Nintendo games, consoles are pointless as a PC gamer.
 
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