Skip Navigation
Gaming @lemmy.ml
ylai @lemmy.ml

Hello, PC gaming here: Are the consoles OK?

82 comments

  • "Console sales are down. Circana analyst Mat Piscatella marked a 26% decline in spending on current-generation consoles this April compared to last April."

    We're 4 years into the generation, sales declines aren't uncommon, but this gen has had unique challenges:

    1. Covid fucked it all up. Supply chain issues screwed availability, software engineering ganked game development.
    2. Too much emphasis on "Cross Gen". Why would someone scramble to get a hard to find PS5 or Xbox Series when the same game is out on PS4/Xbox One X?

    Long generations are kind of the new thing, starting with Xbox 360/PS3. Previously they were around 5 years and people are looking for the next machines now.

    • And people cry when games like Elite Dangerous drop console support.

      Microsoft and Sony force them to develop for the lowest spec gen, so no you cannot play on your PS5/X whatever because PS4 and One X cannot run new game engine.

      They were never more than 20% of the player base.

      Also get your free PC copy Here 🥹

      • I somewhat understand what you are talking about but the buggy and poorly maintained Elite Dangerous isn't the best example to support your argument. BG3 getting a pass on some features for the series S is exactly what other games should be able to do if it makes sense for them.

      • Microsoft and Sony force them to develop for the lowest spec gen

        No they don’t. If the developers wanted they could have dropped support for the last gen versions for newer updates (like what cyberpunk did).

        Also for what it’s worth they even had a ps4 trailer for the Odyssey dlc.

    • I think we're too far out to blame supply chain issues. PS5 is lagging behind PS4 at the same point in its life by about 20M consoles. #2 is both a symptom and a cause. Developers across the entire industry have bloated their development timelines. That means fewer games and less reacting to consumer tends. When do you think Concord started development, for instance? And do you think it still would have been made if it started after Overwatch 2 came out?

      Plus, consumers seem to be gravitating toward the less restrictive open standard. If you're in Sony land, you need to replace your old controllers, even though they still work; you have to pay for online play; backwards compatibility is a bit of a dice roll, and if you want features as similar as higher resolution textures and better frame rates, they're going to sell you a remaster rather than just letting you turn up the settings. In ruling over their walled garden ecosystem and trying to extract more money from it, they've given players more and more reason to play on PC.

  • The money is in the users not selling the hardware. As long as Playstation has hundreds of million daily users they will continue to make insane profit. The people will move up a generation eventually.

    • I think what we're seeing is that people aren't choosing to move up a generation.

      • Yea because ps4 is still getting all the releases and ps5 is really expensive. I have friends who still play on ps4 and I went to their house and they're playing games on like 20fps having a blast. It was kinda wholesome I just wish they weren't getting scammed by Sony and chose pc so they could play games that actually run on their hardware.

    • Apparently not enough, because Sony focuses on PC more than ever.

      • Focusing on PC more than ever isn't exactly a high bar. Consoles (maybe not xbox) are still doing extremely well and consoles are more popular than PC by quite a big margin. I expect Sony and Nintendo to continue to grow their userbase even if the sales on the latest platform drop a bit.

  • The one holdout among the console makers is Nintendo, whose PC strategy is still to threaten fan projects with lawsuits. Perhaps I do not have to hand it to Nintendo for this, but as a result of its obstinance, the Switch is the only console I'd consider buying as a PC gamer. Nintendo remains a one-of-a-kind gaming company, whereas Xbox and PlayStation feel less and less distinguishable from gaming at large—aka PC gaming.

    I'm not sure about this analysis of the Switch's success. The "lawsuit" argument is pretty irrelevant; the console would sell regardless of whether emulation existed (as it has, for most of the big titles and for much of the console's life). I think the "one-of-a-kind" argument is accurate, but I'd also suggest that the very wide library of games is a major reason why Nintendo has performed so well in this generation. The Switch appeals to almost every single type of gamer - there is so much variety there. Additionally, the portability is clear point of difference: for many, the Switch is more like a handheld that they can occasionally play on the TV, rather than a traditional home console. And finally, the Switch is just a more affordable option and that has mattered a lot since 2020.

82 comments