| Farsala said: Yeah, I can't find stock for an Xbox or a Playstation. But what do I have? A PC. So I have been playing Halo Infinite and other MS games without an Xbox. At this point I don't really need one. |
For sure, anyone with a good gaming PC doesn't need a console. Traditionally consoles were simpler to set up and use, and were cheaper to purchase. Yet PC gaming offered top-tier performance, and cheaper games. So for anyone open to both consoles and PC, it was a debate between cheaper hardware vs. cheaper software, with exclusives being a wildcard as that forced you to buy certain hardware.
These days hardly anything is truly exclusive anymore if you're a PC gamer, as PC gets pretty much everything (immediately with Microsoft, a little later on with Sony, and eventually with Nintendo even if only via emulation). So for anyone comfortable with the PC side of things, that's an advantage for the PC.
For me, despite all that, I went Xbox this generation. Why? Because the Series S was just so damn powerful, and so damn cheap. No gaming PC for the same price as the Series S could come even close to its capability. And the huge software cost advantage for PC is largely mitigated by the fact that I'm completely content with Game Pass so far since it came out. Game Pass Ultimate gives me Games With Gold, Xbox Game Pass, and EA Play. That combo has been enough for me to stop buying games entirely. Yes, it would be even cheaper if I went with PC Game Pass (which also includes EA Play), but the hardware cost would be a LOT higher while the software subscription cost would be only moderately cheaper.
So bringing this back on topic, I think Game Pass being so darn inexpensive is an advantage in some price-sensitive markets. Though, admittedly, only the markets that are both price sensitive and have reasonably priced home internet, as some have sensibly pointed out.
