I’m still undecided, and I’d say reading some opinions would help me.
Yes.
Get a PC. You’ll realize that using the Internet on your phone is like going swimming in a bathtub. And that’s just one of the countless things you can do better on computer. Games are just a fraction of what’s possible with a computer.
A PC can be cheaper in the long run and upgradeable. $80+ per year for Sony is a $400 difference in 5 years. Plus games tend to be more expensive imo.
Technically you could build a PC that is close to the PS5 in terms of components and efficiency. A comparable PC would be roughly $300 to $400 more, or 5 years of PSN.
PC has a few 100k more titles to choose from than PS5. More indie games, more F2P, more sales, more demos, and more free games.
With a PC you can emulate several older consoles and play browser and older game titles. You can purchase non DRM games, or games on physical media.
With a PC you can use just about any controller you want. Including racing set ups, flight joysticks etc.
A PC is a workstation that you can use to watch video, edit video, stream video, store images/movies, create audio, create music, design 3d models, write code, create graphics etc. on a professional level.
A PS5 is cheaper up front. And is more convenient. However you are buying into a closed system with less options and DRM that will ultimately cost you more.
10 years later, you can drop in a new GPU and still be viable.
I’m going to give you an alternate take from the PC consensus here, based on your physical and technical setup:
- do you have a nice (oled?) TV with a large footprint relative to couch distance?
- Is your couch comfy and big enough for two?
- do you have a surround sound setup?
- do you have a dedicated office room for the PC?
Lack of dedicated space is a killer for creating the atmosphere I personally want when gaming on a PC. If you answered yes to the first three questions that is a preferable environment for gaming in my books. You could get a PC to hook up to your home theater but in my opinion that’s less than ideal since you’ll be limited by form factor for space or just straight up uglifying the home theater space with a PC, but also it will be noisier than a PS5 which is also distracting. And of course, an HTPC is awkward to use for non-media stuff.
PC, it is by far the most flexible computing device out of the two.
What do you want out of the device? Gaming only? A Gaming PC doubles as a great workstation if needed. Is that important to you?
What’s your budget? Are you willing/able to pay for a PSN subscription?
Is the OS versatility important to you? If PC, Win or Linux?
Make a list where you jot down the pros for the PC and PS5 respectively. Assign the importance of each point and see which device has overall the most upsides for your usecase.
If you go console be prepared to shell out $20 a month for internet access.
A PC. Way more exclusives.
PC
PC if you don’t already have one. If you’re choosing between them, and aren’t already invested in the ecosystem of one, PC is by far the better choice. Get yourself a steam account, get onto GoG. If you need game recommendations I’m happy to provide a few if you tell me what you’re looking for.
The PC is more money up front, but drastically cheaper over the lifetime of the product. It’s also more versatile, and capable of upgrading along with almost infinite backwards compatibility for older titles.
Consoles will be a couple of hundred (or thousand, depending on the PC you chose) cheaper, but you are forced to buy games within its ecosystem, usually at full retail price - a library of 10 AAA games will cost $600 on console, where you can get the same library on Steam for half or less of than that by simply keeping an eye on sales. The console won’t be upgradeable. You cannot easily pirate games, and there’s no such thing as DRM free gaming. And backwards compatibility is janky or simply removed for most consoles.
The only place consoles really win out is in live social gaming - it’s a lot easier to get a group of friends to play PS5 on the couch than it is to get them to play PC on the couch. Aside from that, though, it’s sort of like comparing a tricycle to a Harley… yeah, they’re both bikes, but the differences become real clear once you get out on the road.
The only thing I would add is the games on PS5 vs PC is they’re optimized for the console
Sometimes… Cyberpunk 2077 at launch is one example where the supposed optimization was less than optimal.
The other element is that it’s easy to get locked out of updates if the developer chooses not to support them on console. For instance, L4D2 on the Xbox 360 is absolutely gimped in comparison to PC, where it has new official campaigns and a thriving modding ecosystem 15+ years after launch… an ecosystem an Xbox 360 user can’t touch.
Exceptions to every rule
TF2 on xbox sucks compared to PC.
Interesting that both of you mentioned Valve games running like crap on console that were specifically made for Steam and PC then ported to console. Sounds like you should play PC games or at Valve games on PC and forget about playing them on console.
Minecraft also sucks on console.
Get yourself a PC. Bonus points for installing SteamOS.
Edit: You can always upgrade a PC to increase its lifespan. Not so with a PS5.
Well, that depends on the PC. Upgrading a laptop is quite hard (with exceptions). And with RAMageddon, a „real“ desktop may be prohibitively expensive. In Germany, where I am, a PS5 Digital Edition is 599,99€ (including VAT), while a good PC would probably be at least 1300€. But OP, if you can afford it, I‘d still recommend the PC for its versatility. You can do anything with that. Put SteamOS on it, its like a console. One button press, you‘re on a full desktop you can use for work, education, social media, etc. p.p.
PC.
Even if Sony wasn’t hellbent on shooting themselves in the foot, a PC would still be the better choice. Sony going full idiot mode makes the choice even easier.
PC is much more versatile of a tool and presents various learning opportunities, etc. But will not provide as smooth of a gaming experience as a ps5. Waaaaaaay more games to choose from though, so PC wins.
PC
