Are consoles a rip off?

[zeorhymer]

Rip off? Hardly. There's a lot of exclusives on PS4 and Switch that I can't get on my PC. I don't want to connect my TV to my PC to play games. The portability of Switch is unmatched. You spend 3-4 hundred on a console over the course of 5+ years worth of play on it. If you think that's unreasonable, I'd suggest just be a generation behind and play all the discounted games.

[Elmo]

Consoles over priced could be seen as a rip off e.g. Sony Playstation 1 Classic, but if we compare it to Fallout 76

Fallout 76 - could be seen to encompass the meaning of the word rip off. Might be getting an addition to dictionary entries to the word rip off , "Fallout 76".

Fallout 76 - "because in vault 76 the rip off debacle began".

[Tech_0ne]

The consoles themselves probably sell at a loss or break even. The ripoff comes with game prices, paying for online MP etc.

That being said if I want to play a game badly enough I will buy a console, but I'd rather buy a game on PC if possible.

[ripghoti]

Well, it depends on the person buying the console. Personally I have had the NES, Genesis, Playstation, Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, PSVita, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC not built for games, and a PC built for games. Each has its own merits and draw backs. Were it a perfect world where all games released on each system with no difference in quality or input and a $200 PC setup was just as powerful as a $4000 setup, it wouldn't matter what was bought as it would just be a matter of preference. That's a dream world.

I have multiple systems for the following reasons:
1: Exclusive games. Some games are only on one system; be it PC, Playstation, Nintendo, or Xbox. Some of them are worth it to me (Last of US, God of War, Halo, Etc.). Would I buy a system for one game? No. But there are enough to give me a reason to save the money and get different systems.
2: Backups. When the RROD happened for my first xbox 360 I lost some games till I got a new one. However, some of the games were multi system. Fallout 3, for example, was a game I had on both systems. I could continue to play on my PS3 and then when I got a new xbox 360 I picked up where I left of on there. Having just one system would leave me hanging if something happened to that system.
3: I just like games. I mean, I like them on all systems. Sure, PC can be modded, but it doesn't have the ease of use of most console games (to me). Consoles are easy to use, but no modding or save backups (fuck the cloud, I want to back the save up on a local USB or something in case my system decides to die while I don't have internet access).

There is nothing wrong with owning consoles, PCs, or both. It's all up to how the owner feels. I know there's the PC Master race meme, but that's all I see it as. The people who actually whine and argue over what is better and insult people for not liking "the right thing" are just imbeciles.

[CrassiusCurio]

Nope

Sony PS4 500GB Console and Red Dead Redemption 2 Bundle
£229.99

= Very Reasonable Price

[Ronnin426850]

No, they are just cheap PCs that can only play games and have 0 upgrade path. If you buy a PC, do nothing else on it, and never upgrade it, a console is better bang for your buck. Console GAMES, now.... that's a whole different deal The majority of those are a ripoff.

[Eriixas]

I will be mostly talking about PlayStation and XBOX as they are close enough to PC gaming overall, while Switch offers different way to experience games - on the move.

Consoles are ripoff. Not only you cannot upgrade the consoles, they also become redundant as soon as a new "generation", as people call it, comes out. These consoles will no longer receive new games and owners of newer consoles will not be able to play games of older generations, unless, in certain cases, you pay once more when game gets re-released on newer console. Meanwhile on PC you can play (sometimes tweaking is required, I'll admit) older games that did come out a decade ago or so.

Another issue is that to play online console owners have to pay on top of their internet cost and I have heard of countless people defending this practice with "I pay to get free games". There are dozens of free games one may get over the course of a year on PCs, also, there are a lot more free to play games available, and one is not required to pay anything for them while console owners are obligated to pay for games such as Warframe.

Exclusives (namely of PlayStation 4) is the only reason for many to purchase a console. Now why I don't see it as a good practice it's because it's basically a "hostage situation". One may want to play this game, but you have to buy a console to play this and maybe 3 other games, even if one doesn't like consoles in general. This practice of exclusives is very evident in PC gaming recently as well with "Epic Games vs. Steam" going on. Epic Games aren't inviting their players via convenience over Steam, they are trying to get new players with exclusive games instead, although, ironically, when it comes to free games they are offering, at very least, they are actually free.

--- The PC market isn't for everybody, I know hardcore gamers that simply won't put up with PC hardware problems, cleaning, or upgrades. They want to buy a box, and set it up on the TV and be done with it. ---

I wouldn't call such gamers "hardcore" if they cannot even maintain their computers, not that console gamers cannot be hardcore, but if that's the reason they play on consoles they throw away their "hardcore" title. Also, the PC upgrading myth... PC doesn't require upgrading every few months, not even every single year, unless the upgrades are extremely minimal, but that would be very cost inefficient. Moreover, this "plug and play" attitude falls short when one take into consideration that on PC, after initial set up, one is basically able to do the very same. Click "turn on" button, login to Windows, login to Steam and play any game one owns and desires!

[Naryo]

Although being a primarily PC gamer myself, I will try to approach this with as little bias as possible

In a perfect world, PC gaming would be the be-all and end-all for gaming as a one stop shop for any game that you would be interested in playing. However, due to console exclusives there are very valid reasons to own a specific console in order to experience certain games that go above and beyond. Some titles that come to mind from this generation of consoles would be Persona 5, God of War (ps4), and the last of us.

While it is quite unfair that in order to play many of the most unique or interesting games of this generation you would need to buy one or even multiple different consoles, it is the nature of the gaming industry and we just have to accept that.

[Oysterhead]

Definitly a ripoff. A PC can do everything a console can and muuuch more. Performance is better and this silly "I want to play on a couch with a controller" """argument""" is void aswell. There is nothing stopping you from doing that with a PC. Other than the anti consumer exclusive titles, the only reason to buy a console is because you're dumb, lazy, or poor. Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with any of those reasons ...except exclusives. Fuck that.

[manesni]

I don't think theyret a ripoff personally. I've never been much of a console gamer myself, but I have owned a PS1 and ps2 as well as an xbox360 and several handhelds. My primary gaming method is still the pc.

In general a console is an easy and relatively inexpensive way to play games in your living room compared to pc gaming. While console hardware is generally a lot weaker than PC hardware (especially a year or two after release) the damn thing just straight up works and you don't have to think about it at all. You generally have less upfront costs for a console than a pc (let's face it, a reasonable pc quickly goes up to 1k euros or even more if you want truely top of the line performance, and that is assuming you already have a great monitor. A console is what? 3-400?). An additional point is that in general you can probably get away with putting a console in the living room. Pc's tend to go in different rooms

Bottom line? You want affordable and easy? Go console, you want best of the best with lots of options (mods!) Go pc.

[Dub-Z]

People just play on what they can. It's only a rip off in the sense that you might end up paying more over time, like renters with no credit, no vehicle etc going with Rent-A-Center just to get some furniture.

[Seth The Cartographer]

I would say that the switch is the only thing I can justify myself for buying because it's so nice to take games on the go, I've rebought Binding of Isaac and gungeon just because its so nice to have them close anywhere

[John Freeman]

I wouldn't call them a ripoff at all. I'm a PC Gamer through and through, my most recent consoles are a Wii and Xbox 360, and I think PCs are objectively the best platform for anyone serious about games, but they definitely have their drawbacks. As you mentioned, price is the obvious one, as you really do need to spend at least $800 to get anything really worthy of calling a true "gaming PC", even if you're going for barebones minimum hardware, planning on playing everything on low-medium settings at no more than 1600x900, I can't see you getting away with anything less than $600, and at that price point, a console probably would deliver better graphics for less money. Granted, console games tend to cost you more money, but that cost can be drastically reduced if there is a decent game store near you that sells used games, especially an independent one and not a big chain like Gamestop - When I lived in Phoenix, there was a great local chain with about 4 locations called Fallout Games where you could get most AAA titles for under $20 as long as they were more than a year old, and I've picked up plenty of games for $5-10, cheaper than some of the best Steam sales, for highly-rated titles that were just a little older.

For those of us who have built multiple PCs its easy enough to say that it's not hard to put together a gaming PC, but really, if you've never done it before, it can be pretty intimidating, it can take a while to get your OS and all your drivers working right, and I can't fault anyone who would prefer the simplicity of a console they pull right out of the box, plug into the TV, and boom you're ready to go without any hassles. And even though your overall graphics capability is limited, sometimes limitations can be a positive thing, just knowing that your graphics are what they are and you can't change it, you just deal with any framerate drops or not-so-detailed textures and you live with it, where with my PC, I often find myself constantly going into the graphics settings trying to tweak things to be just right.

It really comes down to how much disposable income you have and how important gaming is to you in terms of how much of that income you;re willing to allocate toward gaming. For me, video games are my primary hobby so it's worthwhile to invest the $1500 I've put into my PC, but for others who enjoy video games but not so much to justify spending over a grand on their gaming setup, it makes perfect sense for them to spend $300-400 on a console and $100 on the two games they really want to get into and maybe another $100 on a handful of used, slightly older games. Plus there are the console exclusives as you mentioned, I can certainly see myself buying a Switch somewhere down the road for Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, and maybe a PS4/5 for a definitive God of War and Metal Gear Solid collection (though I would greatly prefer if they just released all those on PCs).

All things considered, if you're really really into video games, have a moderate degree of technical skills, and money isn't super tight, it's worth the money to go for a PC for their versatility and longevity, being able to keep and play all your old games, I love the convenience of being able to keep dozens of games installed and not having to get up and swap out disks - But if gaming is a more occasional hobby and/or you can't justify shelling out the amount of money it takes to build/maintain a quality PC, a console is a perfectly viable and reasonable option.

[ThyToaster]

I wouldn't say they're a ripoff. I think they appeal to a different portion of the gaming market honestly. They're more for the casual user who's really looking for a media machine. There's not any exclusives anymore that makes it a necessity for the hardcore gamer, and they really just offer some fun games for a casual time at a cheaper price point than building a gaming PC.

I enjoyed my ps2, ps3, xbox 360, and PS4 when I had them, but they really can't compare with a PC.

[Kraneloran]

Nope. They offer a good value but with their own benefits and trades offs as compared to a pc.

I must disagree. In my opinion, such a thing only stood true, when Consoles were offline, or at least, before they started shipping games in unfinished states, for which you get a slower patch-process with less horsepower. The Idea behind consoles was Plug&Play, and the modern Console Market couldn't possibly be farther away from that.

To me, Consoles are overpriced less powerful and limited-use computers. (Please don't take offense, Console Owners, but this is definetly my standpoint)