So this is going to be a bit of a controversial take, but the PC Master Race is dead. Long Live the Console Peasants!
Here’s the thing: I have been a longtime member of the PC “Master Race” for decades, as I used to build my own gaming rigs, bought some premade gaming laptops, and so forth. I had not owned a current-generation gaming console since the Playstation 2, and saw no reason to ever return to console gaming, other than as something to play on the side, like the Nintendo Switch.
Then, as most of you know, I bought an Xbox Series X, so that I could play “Starfield” on release. That one choice has changed my life, and especially my view of PC gaming.
Look, I’m not saying that PC gaming is dead, it clearly isn’t. Many people invest a lot in their PC gaming rigs, and those computers can play games way better than any current-gen console. But here’s the thing: It isn’t worth the cost.
One current-generation video card alone for a gaming computer costs upwards of four times the cost of a current-generation gaming console. For the price of one nVidia 4090 video card alone, I could buy an Xbox Series X, a Playstation 5, a couple of Nintendo Switches (for flavor), and still have gas money. Meanwhile, the poor slob trying to build a current-generation member of the PC Master Race has to find money for a case, power supply, motherboard, RAM, at least one SSD, and of course a Processor.
The total cost for a current-generation PC is going to be around $3500, assuming the parts are sourced by the owner, who also assembles the thing themselves. Yes, one might find some deals, and be able to get the price down a little, but not much. Most of that cost will be for the video card alone, which is ridiculous!
Meanwhile, a Console Peasant can buy an Xbox Series X or a Playstation 5 for less than $500 each. Either will play their games just fine, albeit not quite as well as the PC version of that game would play on a top-end PC, but just fine all the same. That’s the whole point here, actually: What are we trying to achieve here? Are we trying to play games in 8K with 200 frames per second, or are we just trying to play games?
After spending thousands of dollars building top-end PC rigs over the last couple of decades, I have come to the conclusion that it just isn’t worth it. Give me a current-generation console, my Lay-Z-Boy recliner, and a good controller, and I’m happy as a clam! No, the graphics aren’t as good as a top-end PC, but they are just fine. Also, console peasants are playing a lot of games that PC gamers don’t have access to yet, should they choose the Playstation 5. Personally, that’s not my bag, but if you’re really into console game exclusivity, PS5 is the way to go.
I have a nice, 50″ 4K television. I am able to play “Starfield” in 4K, at between 30-60 FPS, depending upon what settings I choose. Yes, I could blow that out of the water on a high-end PC, but… why? I’d rather spend $500 to $1000 every six to seven years (depending on if I buy one or both of the main current-gen consoles), than spend $2500+ every few years, for a badass PC. I’d include a Switch in here, but no one thinks it really counts as a current-generation console, and is pretty much incidental to the discussion. But even still, toss in a Switch, and that’s still roughly half the cost of a good gaming PC, and I’d be replacing my consoles less frequently than I would the PC.
Yes, you can upgrade the PC over time, rather than replace it, and that is actually more of a problem. If you want to remain cutting-edge with your PC, you end up replacing the most expensive parts of the computer every few years, sometimes every year, which is way more expensive in the long run! Personally, I used to make my gaming rigs last at least five years, but by the time they were replaced, the rig was nowhere approaching top-end anymore. Meanwhile, a Console bought at release at the same time as that computer was built would still be current-generation.
So now I still plan to build my own PCs in the future, as I need to, but just not for gaming on. They will be for general use, more for creating and editing podcasts, blogging, and of course web-surfing. My games will be played on the Xbox and Switch, and quite frankly, I can’t see how people continue to spend so much money just to have top-end gaming PCs. Not when the current-gen consoles are an excellent deal, and play games just fine?
