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Zkuq on 11 October 2025
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SvennoJ said:
Zkuq said:

I don't think there's any significant difference between the convenience level of my living room PC and the consoles there. It boots into Steam Big Picture mode by default, and Windows doesn't really force me to do anything outside Steam, aside from occasional setting checks at startup after some updates - no big deal. I also have some other game launchers/clients installed there, so I might have to switch to them from Steam from time to time, but that's my choice, and it's also no big deal. I don't think I've had to fiddle with Windows and stuff ever since setting up the whole thing.

A couple of gotchas though. I had to build the damn PC, and I hope I never have to build a Mini-ITX PC again! Not sure if I could have bought a pre-built small-form-factor PC, but I didn't, because it was hard enough to find a case that fit the spot I had available in my living room. Admittedly some other Mini-ITX case might have made building the PC easier, but I can't know for certain. Regardless, for small PCs, I'd recommend seeing if there's pre-built ones available unless you like tinkering. Another gotcha is that I originally skimped out on the SSD, and it was utterly unusable as an OS disk after initial good impressions. Shame on you, Kingston NV2! Anyway, if you're building a proper PC for modern games, that shouldn't really be an issue, because you shouldn't skimp out on the SSD. I got the issue because I wanted a gaming PC for my living room to play some of the less recent games I have, and I even used one of my old GPUs for that PC.

You're just proving my point about 'convenience' ;) Console will always be more plug 'n play than PC.

Yeah after you have it all build, set up and working, then it can be comparable. Although updates are still less intrusive on consoles, it's easier to manage installed games, plus everything is made / already set up for the supplied controller. 

But sure, if you stick to Steam you can get very close to the same experience. Steam does most (99%) stuff for you nowadays and most modern games configure themselves for your hardware and scale quite well.

Not all of course, for example my gaming laptop can not handle Stalker Heart of Chernobyl on its lowest settings, while it could run FS2020 on its highest settings (and beyond through config files). Input lag and wild frame pacing make Stalker unplayable. It's coming to PS5 soon, so I'll play it on that. FS2024 is coming to PS5 as well, with VR2 support next year. Much easier to wait for that than build a desktop to use PSVR2 on and configure PCVR settings for FS2024 based on what and where to fly.

Pat of the 'convenience' is also peace of mind. Or rather, with consoles you simply accept what you get. Besides adding an SSD, there's no fomo of maybe it will look / run better / be more fun with a better CPU/GPU, different settings, adding mods. The paradox of choice.

Had I bought a pre-built PC, it would have been very close to console levels of convenience, I suspect. I don't have a recent console, but at least on my PS4, updates are way more painful than on PC. I don't like to keep my PS4 in standby mode when I'm not using it, I'd rather turn it off completely. Hence when there's updates, I have to install them manually. On PC, it happens automatically when I turn off the device. Game updates are even worse on consoles, because I have no reason to turn on the device when I'm not playing games, so updates are always something that try their best to hinder me from playing. On PC, it's usually automatic while I do other stuff. I suppose if you use PC only for gaming, it might not be any better though.

Controllers are an interesting point. For the most part, they're not really an issue on PC, but some games don't handle controllers too well, and Steam Input for my DualShock 4 sometimes just stops working, and I have to disconnect and reconnect the controller again. Not a huge deal, but it's definitely something.

Game performance is definitely a valid point. I don't think it's exactly been a huge issue for me personally, but I can see how it could be to some. I usually have a pretty good idea of what to expect, knowing my hardware, but it's probably trickier if you don't have as much experience with PC stuff.

For me personally, consoles are infinitely more inconvenient. Since I use a PC for other stuff as well, I can just start installing games whenever I think I want to play them in the near future, and when I actually get around to it, the game's been downloaded and installed while I do other stuff. Updates usually happen automatically or at least don't get in the way. On consoles, I have to separately turn on the console, install games, monitor downloading updates, and turn off the console once everything's done - like I said, I don't want my consoles in standby mode. Then when I turn on the console to play some games, the console might have an update that I have to find a suitable spot for to install. At least game updates haven't been a common issue for me, but that might have something to do with me usually playing games in a fairly mature state (i.e. way after release). And if I want to look up some guide or something? A huge pain on consoles, Alt + Tab away on PC. The same goes for all sorts of minor inconveniences too, because consoles do what they do, and if you want to deviate from that in any way, there's usually limited opportunities. Mouse and keyboard is also way more convenient for certain genres but hardly an option on consoles. There's inconveniences on PC as well, but for me, they're quite predictable and don't really get in the way. On consoles, I feel like my hands are tied. Most of the time, it's not really an issue, but sometimes it really is.

I get why people think console gaming is more convenient, and I'm not going to say PC gaming would be better for everyone. But for me, PC gaming is definitely way more convenient overall. I definitely get why that might not be the case for everyone though.