Can you?

From this very thread.

https://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9598315

I know in Japan too despite 3 price hikes for the PS5, it is still far cheaper than an equivalent PC. And then why not buy a Switch 2 instead of a PC? Switch 2 and PS5 PRO probably about the same as a gaming PC. 

Sure, if you don't want to buy any new games or a disc drive to even play your old games on PS5 Pro.

Prices are different region to region, but a 9060 XT(16GB) at MSRP and 9600X combo in a budget friendly build should be a bit cheaper than that and should outperform a PS5 Pro in most scenarios.

Going past up front cost for the core hardware, the cost of peripheries on PC is practically whatever you want/need since there's so many options. The cost of games is practically whatever you want/need since there's so many storefronts. Deciding to upgrade isn't something that has to be scheduled for you every 6, 7 or 8 years; you wait until the time and situation suits you and only pay for the parts that need to be improved.

So again, it's a question of how much time you spend gaming to justify the effort and investment. After that you just need the will to do some research and planning into what kind of system could suit you, along with the price/value of tech right now and the near-future.

If you simply prefer the comfort of your familiar console ecosystem that's your choice, but you can't pretend like the options aren't there and try to brag about 'unmatched 3rd party support'.

I am mostly a PC gamer for the majority of my gaming time, so a cheap upgraded PC would be nice.

But a 9060 XT is 65,000 yen, a 9600x is 37,000 yen. Already about equal to a PS5 Pro.

But going from a Laptop to Desktop, means I need a monitor. I need Windows on it. I need an HDD/SSD (PS5 PRO is 2TB SSD, ~15,000 yen). Motherboard, power supply, cpu cooler, case etc.

I will keep that in mind and look for sales though.

Haha, that's exactly why I went from PC to consoles. 

Your only barrier is a huge one. As I got older my gaming time became shorter and thus the percentage of 'maintaining' PC and PC games become a bigger and bigger detractor from actual gaming. With PSVR2 for example I'm back in the game in less than 30 seconds. With PCVR you're at the very least fiddling with settings to find a decent balance between frame rate and clarity, at worst you spend more time trying to get it to run with mods than actually playing.

Fact is, the 'easy' PC experience, buying a pre-build with enough overhead not to get bogged down in settings an compromises, is still a lot more expensive than a console and still a lot more maintenance than playing on console. 

And with consoles you can also shop smart. Just like you can build a cheap PC to play last gen games, you can simply buy a cheap 2nd hand last gen console and tons of cheap last gen physical games. 

Most people just want to play games, not build the hardware to do so or figure out how to run stuff. So they are playing on mobile phones ;) Then there are the more enthusiasts split over consoles and PC. Switch again leading in convenience, consoles giving the easy 4K TV experience, PC for the tinkerers. 

The system itself is fine, great even, especially accounting for price.

It's the industry trends around it and Sony's decisions that are making this PS generation feel half baked for me.

Physical games that many times only have the bare essentials on disc. High (and frequently increasing) online service costs. Game prices that jumped even more this gen. The inevitable graphical diminishing returns and extended cross-gen period. Sony's direction with 1st parties not being my cup of tea.

On the other hand, there is a much bigger focus on getting high framerates than last gen. BC is always important. Sony is still the go-to for third parties, even if there are not many non-timed exclusives anymore. And pretty much looking like the only option if you want physical copies of a lot of third party games.

Easily a 2, the worst generation of PS I’ve ever been a part of. Barely 1 first party title a year (and no, games money hatted off Xbox aren’t first party suddenly) … just a completely pointless generation. If it wasn’t for the few good third party games this Gen I would have quit gaming a while back. Definitely the last generation I’ll be “gaming”, think it’s time to move on to other things.

The console is pretty nice, the game library is subpar imo, so 4, maybe 5 on some days. But I do acknowledge that maybe I'm just getting old and getting burned out from gaming in general. My little brothers are at the age where I was playing the PS3 (my favorite generation and a solid 9.5 imo) and they're having a blast, so it's probably a me problem.

Only had a PS5 for 6 months, and having a good time. Got it at the cheapest possible price I've ever seen it, so that was nice.

Everything else is kind of immaterial to me to be honest. I don't buy enough games to care that Sony's output is lesser than normal. I'm also not against live service. There are quality games left and right which is all that really matters in solidifying my purchase.

It's kind of like the Switch 2. Same form factor, same experience. Only snappier and with a little more oomph. It seems the industry is running low on innovation lately.

Isn't that literally every sony console.