Is PC gaming really cheaper?

[kpenders7]

I live in Canada and I've been a console gamer mostly Xbox, but am considering switching to PC. I understand that it cost about 2000 to get a mid ranged PC which would be way more in Canadian dollars about 2600 bucks. However I do see games on Steam a lot plus with Game Pass that would save quite a bit of money on games especially now with all Bethesda games going to Game Pass day 1

Overall though is it financially more viable to get a PC even if the up front cost is high?

 

[Zimpy]

It depends how much you spend on the PC ultimately.
I’ve just built up a Ryzen 3 1200af with 1650super new for about £420

 

[invader]

It depends. always depends. Cost wise, a low-mid range pc should be a little more expensive than a console, and getting games, is way cheaper on pc. Pcgaming gets discount more often and sooner. Game pass and similar services are available on both pc and console but you don´t get to choose the games available.
If you aren't to picky or you like the games available on pass then I think any console or pc will be fine.

If you like to change games often, probably pc is a safer bet. Since you can find all kind of stuff nt available on passess and the like. Also a Pc is very usefull for a student.


Also, bear in mind that -not accounting for bugged games- console games in general are going to look better and more stable than on an low-mid pc where you need to balance visuals and performance.

 

[Pifanjr]

Backwards compatibility is also a lot better on PC, so the amount of available games is so, so much bigger than on consoles. It just depends on what you want to play.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Complicated question at the moment, with Stadia and Amazons new service and also Geforce now. You dont even need to buy a PC to play PC games, you could do it on your tablet or TV through those servcies provided you have good internet.

Its a fair point that at the moment a new low to mid PC probably wouldn't give as good as an experience as a PS5 or Xbox series X one Xcetra. That won't necessarily be true in a years time and in 2 years I'd expect it to have come around the other way.

I also wouldn't call a 2000 dollar machine mid ranged though. You could get something pretty high end for that money that would possibly beat the new consoles for fidelity and smoothness with the next gen graphics cards that are coming out now.

For me personally I own about 250 games, and that's not even on the high side for most PC owners. I've also owned many consoles through the years and never got close to that number, if I had I would have spent enough to buy several very high end PC's. I play a lot of different games, and its worth it for me to have that variety of games available cheap. I bought one game last year for full price at 60, everything thing else was under 30 on sale, more often much less or even free.

Steam sales are real, Epic is giving away even brand new games now, Gamepass is a fantastic deal so much so that you might not even need to buy anything else if you didnt want to, and EA games are coming there too from Origin.

I also just like having a PC as a hobby, so thats a big factor for me personally.

I didnt own a console last gen, apart from a Switch. So I'm not sure if there are really any good sales on the PS store and of course Gamepass is on Xbox.

There's a lot to unpack, so I guess after that ramble what I really have to say is: It depends

 

[Zloth]

It also matters how much time you're willing to spend. PCs can get pretty cheap if you're buying used parts and putting it all together yourself.

Time is really the telling factor, IMHO. With a console or a cloud service like Stadia, you just pop a game in and play it. No worries about system requirements, no updating drivers... it just works (other than the occasional red ring of death). With a PC, you need to at least learn the basics of what the parts do, keep somewhat updated, and understand the limits of our individual PC - but it also means you get access to far more games. If you're playing a game on console you're playing with a controller while PC gamers get a choice. We tend to get more graphics options, too. The newest tech always shows up on PC first. And, of course, there's always the mods.

 

[McStabStab]

It's cheaper if you can stand average performance. If you want to have versatility, high performance, and a somewhat future-proof machine you gotta shell out the $$.

 

[DXCHASE]

PC Gaming is an investment, it can be cheaper or it can be way more expensive. It's really up to you. If i had to choose itd absolutely be cheaper to game on pc.

The PC im using now was built roughly 5 years ago and outside of some routine maintenance is still going strong with OC'ing, playing 2020 AAA games at max settings in 2k @144hz (obv some games vary). This doesn't even include all the reasons why pc is great, like using free mods in games or having 3 different search engines opened while streaming, while talking while listening to spotify while you get 100 fps in some game. Yes, i put down a good amount at the time of build but i am honestly good at getting great gaming experiences for a couple more years yet, even if i have to start playing in 1080p (at 340hz by that time).

 

[Rolfil]

With new consoles coming out soon then I would say it's personal preference. Most of the time games on console are going to cost you more than PC though.

If you only intend to buy a few new games a year or subscribe to XBox games pass (or similar) then from a purely gaming point of view my opinion is there isn't much in it.

The PC scene is completely different to consoles . There are games that simply don't exist on console or are better on PC. Fallout 4, Cities Skylines, Skyrim. All have ton's of mods that can completely change the game.

As other's have pointed out you can often get PC games that are vastly discounted after just 6 months. Some games that are 1-2 years old I've bought for between £5 to £10.

Plus with a PC you can upgrade it over time. With a console you are stuck with it until a newer one arrives.

From a financial point of view the initial outlay for a PC is going to cost more than a console. But you can do a lot more with it.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

The PC scene is completely different to consoles . There are games that simply don't exist on console or are better on PC. Fallout 4, Cities Skylines, Skyrim. All have ton's of mods that can completely change the game.

This is a huge point for me, any RTS or grand strategy game is just way better on PC if theyre even available on console. The short times in my life when I've been without a decent gaming PC its what I missed the most.

 

[ZedClampet]

I live in Canada and I've been a console gamer mostly Xbox, but am considering switching to PC. I understand that it cost about 2000 to get a mid ranged PC which would be way more in Canadian dollars about 2600 bucks. However I do see games on Steam a lot plus with Game Pass that would save quite a bit of money on games especially now with all Bethesda games going to Game Pass day 1

Overall though is it financially more viable to get a PC even if the up front cost is high?

$2000 will get you better than a midrange PC. $1000 will get you a good, midranger. Here's what you need to think about as well. When that PC is no longer good enough, you can usually get away with buying just a single part and installing it, whereas even consoles are now doing mid-life upgrades where you have to buy an entirely new console.

Also, PC games are essentially forever. Think of all those games you've had for past consoles you can't play anymore.

And don't you have to pay $9.99 a month for some online service with consoles? That's $120/year savings right there.

Anyway, there are other reasons PC's are cheaper, but the big thing here is that you are overestimating the cost of a mid-range pc.

 

[PCG Jody]

Here in Australia, console games are much more expensive. Combined with the cost of an online subscription, as mentioned above, that makes console gaming costly in the long-term. And since you'll want an external hard drive at some point, and probably have to replace your controllers, and maybe get a second TV so you're not always hogging the lounge room, it's not like you don't upgrade hardware just because you're not on PC.

 

[Sarafan]

I live in Canada and I've been a console gamer mostly Xbox, but am considering switching to PC. I understand that it cost about 2000 to get a mid ranged PC which would be way more in Canadian dollars about 2600 bucks. However I do see games on Steam a lot plus with Game Pass that would save quite a bit of money on games especially now with all Bethesda games going to Game Pass day 1

Overall though is it financially more viable to get a PC even if the up front cost is high?

In Poland the cost of console games is the same as PC ones, if we're talking about the prices on the release date. If you'd decide whether to buy a console or a PC based only on this single fact, the answer would be short - console is more cost efficient. You don't have to worry about hardware upgrades for years and console is cheaper than a decent PC. However the prices of PC games go down much quicker than console ones. The sales of PC games are usually bigger and you can buy more older titles for the same price. If you're playing a lot of different games, PC is the way to go. Of course there are other reasons to stick to PCs as was pointed above: modding, backwards compatibility, versatility etc.

 

[Brian Boru]

I understand that it cost about 2000 to get a mid ranged PC

As others have mentioned, $2,000 will get you a high-end.

Do you need a PC for anything else, eg school, work, home projects? If so, then a PC is definitely the way to go—just beef up the key specs [CPU, RAM, GPU]. I've never had a console because I've always needed a PC.

I do see games on Steam a lot

There are other good sources too—GOG, Humble Bundle, BigFishGames, EpicGames—which all have a bunch of free games to start your collection. But Steam is superb, no doubt.

save quite a bit of money on games

By far the best way to save 75% and more on PC games is don't buy them on release. Another way is to explore the indie scene, there are lots of gems in the $5-20 range. Then there are the big free online multi-player games if that's your thing, could keep you going for months.