If console gaming is cheaper, why are all the games so much more expensive?

[Vidi Kitty]

Because you have to actually buy the games! *piracy rimshot*

But really, when a new game comes out, at most you will see a deviation of about $15 USD between consoles and PC. If a game is selling badly, its price will drop steadily. Wal-Mart is selling duke nukem forever for $9.96 right now, but super smash brothers brawl is still hanging out at $50. Halo 3 took something like a year and a half to drop below $50 while some games hit $40 or less in the first few months.

Where ever the industry thinks that maintaining a higher price on a certain system will make it more money in the long run than dropping it slowly with the rest, they will hold fast.

 

[vxicepickxv]

Building a gaming PC is getting easier and cheaper. If you live in the US, a magazine called PC gamer puts out a guide for 3 different computers(entry, midrange, and dream), with various prices. I need to upgrade my PC, but I need to look into socket 1156 and 1155.

I think the socket configuration is the hardest thing in building a PC right now.

 

[kasperbbs]

...and a further ~$150-$250 every two years at least to keep it up to date.

This is just plain silly, if you built a gaming rig 2 years ago it's still perfectly capable of playing everything currently released with no upgrades needed.

what would even upgrade that frequently? even after 4-5 years the only things you might need to upgrade is your videocard.

I competely agree. Its been more than 3 years since i bought my rig and it still runs all of the latest games on high settings, because the requirements dont change all that much. Hopefully it will last me through the new console generation after i upgrade my graphics card.
I dont know if its really cheaper than playing on a console, but its simply more practical for me, i watch my movies, listen to music, surf the web and game on on the same device.

 

[Darkwhite]

The way it seems is PC gaming works out cheaper if you buy a huge amount of games, consoles are cheaper if you play more casually.

 

[Turing '88]

PC gaming can work out cheaper, provided certain conditions are met.

Firstly, you've got to get a good deal on your PC. Obviously the best way to do this is build it yourself, but if you really don't have the confidence to do it (and it honestly isn't hard) you need to shop around for a good deal.

I'm sure all the people who have problems with their PCs are the ones who bought them from some shitty distributor (e.g. nearly all of them!) who use the cheapest parts they can find.

Secondly, you've got to buy a fair amount of games each year, less if you buy via steam deals (although Steam is actually really expensive for new games, I'd never buy from there new). I've told friends before to buy an xbox because the only games they buy are Cod and Fifa every year - these people won't buy enough games to make PC gaming cheaper.

Thirdly and finally, you have to be willing to put up with the hassle of building and maintaining your own PC. This for me is the big one, and the only advantage console gaming has. Some people won't appreciate the improved PC experience enough to make the extra hassle worth it.

To be fair, I actually enjoy the act of building PC's (it's like adult lego!) and the increased stability, increased system specs and increased lifespan are your reward vs buying a prebuilt PC or getting a console.

I'd argue the improved experience is more important than the price anyway.

tl;dr, Get a good deal on your PC, buy lots of games and be willing to put up with the extra hassle for the improved experience and PC gaming is cheaper.

 

[Jinnwarior]

6 year old computer: 400$
replacing graphics card every 3 years: 100$
being able to run all current gen games since then: priceless.

 

[hopeneverdies]

*glances nervously at $350 US low-end laptop that's capable of running Portal 2 at near full settings.*
*glances even more nervously at copy of Portal 2 he bought for about $20 US after discounts 5 months after launch*

Umm... you guys, why are the PC supporters using such big numbers?

 

[GrandmaFunk]

Simply buying a new graphics card will probably stop your computer from running any games whatsoever, and have your computer shut itself down (like mine did when the person at the PC retail shop I bought my PC from said "just install a new graphics card for £70 and you will have yourself a gaming PC").

"buying a new graphics card" implies you both buy the correct one for your system and that you know how to install/configure it properly.

 

[Fishyash]

Simply buying a new graphics card will probably stop your computer from running any games whatsoever, and have your computer shut itself down (like mine did when the person at the PC retail shop I bought my PC from said "just install a new graphics card for £70 and you will have yourself a gaming PC").

"buying a new graphics card" implies you both buy the correct one for your system and that you know how to install/configure it properly.

Or you shell in some extra money for someone to do both for you, like the person I responded to suggested, but even then you need to make sure you have the appropriate power supply, RAM and possibly the motherboard too when you want a new graphics card. You can't just simply turn a computer that you used for admin work into a gaming PC by putting in a new graphics card.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

But that's extra work/effort, not extra costs...which is the context of the thread.

The point is that you can POTENTIALLY turn a work pc into a gaming pc by simply upgrading the videocard, assuming you know what you are doing.

as opposed to the claims that you need a whole new computer every 2-3 years.

 

[GrandmaFunk]

It also assumes that graphics cards that fit in your computer are still being made.

Form factors for cases and mobos have barely changed in the last 5 years and will likely not change significantly for another 10.

 

[esperandote]

Setting price aside for a minute. One side benefit to having a gaming PC over a console is that in addition to a nice gaming rig you also have a really fast computer for your other computing needs.

Why not spend all your time on one great working machine instead of splitting it up b/w a focused gaming device and a clunking web surfer.

That might be unconvinient if there are two persons in the house that use the computer for gaming and general needs. You wouldn't be able to play or work/navigate at the same time.

 

[esperandote]

It also assumes that graphics cards that fit in your computer are still being made.

Form factors for cases and mobos have barely changed in the last 5 years and will likely not change significantly for another 10.

PCI 1991
AGP 1997
PCI Express 2004

6-7 years between each one, eight years since the last one. I know little about this but a new technology might not take long.

 

[Silas13013]

Due to bad porting, optimization & general lack of graphics settings when it comes to making games for PC you are guaranteed more bang for your buck overall if you get a console, money wise and spec wise.

Not so. The thing is, you probably need a PC for something like browsing the internet, doing your taxes, school/college work etc. You might as well buy a desktop PC for that purpose, at which point the cost of PC gaming is just the price of a graphics card and maybe a small fee to have the store install it for you. With a console you would be buying another hard drive and optical drive that you didn't really need.

Also, the current console generation is old, and while they have just about enough rendering power they have shockingly little RAM(512MB). They would be much better with say 2GB and only slightly more expensive, but the designs are from 2006 and you can't upgrade the darned things. With a PC you can have that RAM.

BTW most PC games do not lack graphics settings. They tend to

I wish it was as simple as installing a graphics card unless you decided to get a PC much stronger than your daily needs (which for browsing the internet and using microsoft office programs isn't much). Simply buying a new graphics card will probably stop your computer from running any games whatsoever, and have your computer shut itself down (like mine did when the person at the PC retail shop I bought my PC from said "just install a new graphics card for £70 and you will have yourself a gaming PC").

What I meant by general lack of graphics settings is that few AAA games (at least today) that are ported to PC have adequate graphics settings to get the balance of a game looking good and a game running smoothly. I wish it isn't too much to ask for this instead of at most this.

And then there are developers who give us this for some extremely odd reason.

Then you didn't have a strong enough PSU to actually run it. You can indeed just throw in a $70 graphics card and have a PC that will run most games. My friend threw a 5770 into a 5 year old rig about 2 years ago and it runs just fine.

The thing to remember is we aren't comparing the cutting edge of PC to the cutting edge of consoles. We are comparing 5 year old PC components to current consoles. An HD 5770 will more than surpass the graphics capabilities of a PS3, and even a 4870 will run any game at console settings at 1080p.

So yes, if you want to be on the bleeding edge of PC gaming you will be paying hundreds a year to stay on top. But if you want to play games, you can usually get away with a graphics card upgrade every few years. Heck, look at the requirements for Assassins Creed Revelations, it still calls for a core2duo or Anthlon 6400+, those are 5 year old processors and can be had for extremely cheap. There is almost no chance of the next console generation even coming close to the power of the cutting edge of current PC's so if you happen to make a top of the line rig now, you should be set for 1 or 2 console generations.

 

[KnowYourOnion]

is someone could link me to these cheap gaming rigs you keep talking about that would be GREAT. i tried searching and everything comes out at like a cost of 1000 or more. even just the parts by themselves cost around that much. i already have a gaming rig but its 5 years old and only has 20 gigs of memory and about 1 gig ram and even the old starcraft makes it lag. (dont know why...)

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=triple+amd+core&gs_upl=6407l7183l0l7279l5l3l0l0l0l0l627l627l5-1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=756&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=15602988800647159602&sa=X&ei=xjgLT861HorEswb06dSCDw&ved=0CEYQ8wIwAg


http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=HD+6670&gs_upl=2967l2967l2l3098l1l1l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=756&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14802494854741375780&sa=X&ei=6TgLT-PtNIOVswbkl-CCDw&ved=0CDYQ8wIwAQ

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=4gb+of+ram&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=756&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=17251492533091964634&sa=X&ei=DzkLT-GfJJO2hAeY8oW2CQ&ved=0CGUQ8wIwAQ

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?pq=4gb+of+ram&hl=en&cp=5&gs_id=2a&xhr=t&q=msi+motherboard&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1440&bih=756&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=15811593700410441541&sa=X&ei=JTkLT4vpEqiG4gSR8smNCA&sqi=2&ved=0CGEQ8wIwAw

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00461K1QW/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_2?pf_rd_p=103612307&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B0001FYKGY&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_r=1EGEQ6FMQ46TV7PK1JWS


There you go that's fairly similar to my computer and mine runs everything on the market today, not always at the top graphical settings (high or medium usually).
All of that costs about 350 quid... PC gaming isn't really that expensive if you look around.

 

[lord.jeff]

I thought we moved passed this, consoles and PCs both have there own advantages, as far as price goes PC can be cheaper depending on how you shop and what your shopping for?