Are consoles a rip off?

[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.

[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".

[Seth The Cartographer]

I canceled my preorder of the Power armor edition and im so happy the beta really like made me see the game for what it was, glad i got out of it and i agree

[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.

[Seth The Cartographer]

The switch isn't a rip off ill give you that i love mine, and the exclusives is what get me to buy a PS4 in the first place but if there was no exclusives id recommend everyone buy a PC or build one because it can do everything a console can but better

[Kragnos]

As a PC Gamer, I find that I utilize my consoles more as a platform for viewing Netflix and/or Hulu than I do video games. That being said, the games I tend to play on console are normally of different genre than the games I play on PC. On PC I play more along the lines of FPS, Strategy, or Multiplayer games. Whereas on my consoles I find myself playing Single player games, Racing, platformers, and other more casual titles. It's nice to be able to sit on the couch and play in comfort, and I feel that the cost of a console is not too high for this luxury.

[Oysterhead]

Rip off? Hardly. There's a lot of exclusives. E x c l u s i v e s ...just be a generation behind.

[isturbo1984]

No. As a PC gamer... and owner of both current gen consoles, as well as Nintendo's handheld... the concept of some elitist suggesting consoles are anything similar to being a ripoff is just retarded fanboys trying to masquerade bias as elitism.

[Oysterhead]

Oh boy, not disproving a single counter point and not including a single argument sure helps making a case for yourself.

[Seth The Cartographer]

Hey man I just asked the question and I will admit im a bit biased to the whole thing but like just chill, we're all here to have fun and talk, no need to be hostile about it. I always love to see discourse in opinions, hell that's what is good about opinions, but let's discuss it intelligently and not by calling people retarded. Like i said in the post i still own all the play stations a 360 and the switch. and i enjoy my time with most of them, my main issue that brought this up was the little use i got out of my ps3 once the 4 came out.

[Oysterhead]

I like the word retarded, keep using it. I like arguments more though. This is just an assertion and it's all over the place aswell. First you assert elitism, then you assert bias is being masqueraded as elitism. So it isn't elitism? This makes no sense. Also even if true and everyone saying consoles are a ripoff is an elitist and/or biased, it would only indicate a direction and not proof anything.So rather then discussing the motivation (of the ones argueing), to make a point, you should discuss the facts of the matter. Why are they not a ripoff? Would the PC masterrace being elitist help answer this question? No. Ok, so much about the discussion itself.

[Valkenr]

Console aren't a ripoff. I was PC gaming heavy for around a decade, while mostly keeping up to date with Nintendo, as they had zero crossover with PC. Then I got tired of playing FPS games, got into action games, didn't like binary movement controls, and sitting in front of a small screen with a controller felt wrong.

Value is based on how you frame the investment. If you are looking for a lifetime investment in fun, you'll probably be disappointed. If you have the ability to divide cost by entertainment time, you start to see video games are one of the least expensive leisure activities out there. This takes longer to realize for PC gamers, as their rigs are probably 2-4x the cost of a console. To an open world RPG fan that doesn't rush through games, Fallout 4 + a console (paying launch MSRP for both) is less than $1/hour, probably closer to $0.25/hr when they are done with it.

Now that online gaming is fully enabled on consoles, the main PC advantage is gone. All there is, is FPS aim, but mouse/keyboard is starting to gain support on consoles. The main benefit of the console is you're getting hardware below cost, as the console developer gets to make up for the loss in licensing fees, and you get games optimized to standard hardware that run smoother (or at least, you used to...).

[Valkenr]

So where does the money to pay for online services come from? Box sales cover development, marketing, beta-hosting costs and maybe a small warchest (more likely exec. bonuses those people are expensive to keep around). I hear this argument a lot and it falls apart quickly. XBL & PS+ are minor costs and less intrusive than anything out there. Subscription based MMOs were (and some still are) ~$15/month. Online PC games were either subscription based, peer to peer, or server-based. Peer-to-peer was the only true free option, and that was mostly RTS or co-op games (games like this don't usually require a platform subscription these days). Most games were either on a subscription for developer provided servers, or a group of people (or a person) had to buy a server. Now our platform subscription covers part of what we used to pay for online services, and the difference is made up with immersion breaking, intrusive, whale bait microtransactions. I guess that's a good thing? (I don't think it is).

And XBL and PS+ are not required for many games, and a lot of online games (especially peer-to-peer coop). If you want to pay with a bunch of other players online, you'll have to pay. Even then, you can do your research and only buy-in for a month or two for titles you really want to play online.

I'm going to assume that 17 isn't USD. My XBL and PS+ combined only costs me 10USD a month for every game on the platform. That is a steal compared to my monthly costs a decade ago.

[Seth The Cartographer]

okay so i have never seen a game charge to play online ever, sure MMOs specifically have subscriptions but alot you can just purchase and play and have a good time, i dont see why a user shouldnt be able to host a game like PC. and every FPS on the PC is free after purchase, a great example is overwatch, overwatch doesnt need to charge me 17 to play on PC why is sony charging me 17 on Console for server fees? just let blizzard host their own servers that use PSN tags or have it work like a PC and just make an account for that game. with your logic steam should be charging everyone for online because they host some game servers

[Borghir]

Shhh! Gabe might be listening!

[DarknessFX]

Nope. For me the consoles and portables are totally worth the price.
Except for Wii, even good wii games still sucks...

[Aidy]

Given the majority of consoles are sold at a loss then by definition they're not a rip-off. You get more options with a PC and you get a chance to keep its hardware up-to-date, but you pay for that privilege. Your $2000 gaming PC, if I sold that to you for $500 hoping to make my money back on the games you then buy would you say "Wow, what a rip-off". Of course not.

However the main advantage to console gaming is that I can read a written review, or watch a YouTube video about a game and learn what it's like to play, what the pros and cons are, if I'm likely to enjoy it and so on. Whereas 90% of any PC review (written or video) is about framerates.

[Seth The Cartographer]

I did build the PC myself and bought all the parts individually so if I were to sell it id make a profit, it wasn't prebuilt, but I get what your saying. your second point though is redundant, you're looking at the wrong reviews then. Dunkey is a great reviewer for all games and doesn't talk about FPS unless its god awful, for PC reviews you just have to find the right reviewers that's not IGN or some other big faceless game company.

[Wreckless Gamer]

I don't think any of the actual consoles are a rip off. Now, some of the add on benefits and the games themselves are a different kettle of fish!

[Tigatron]

It depends on person to person i have seen people buy a brand new console for full price then only play it for like 1-10 hours on it and then end up having it collect dust for years. I like to go based on price divided by how many hours i will spend playing the console. If i dont think i am going to be playing a console that much i will wait till later down the line after the newest console is out and the old one is cheap.

[RepentantSky]

Nope. I mean I don't know what else you want me to add but they are clearly not. If anything, PC's have a tendency to be a rip-off considering some of the companies that make parts for them outright lie in ads or pay people to lie for them in order to make something seem better than it is just to get a sale. And you can say that you are too smart to get tricked by that, and maybe you are, but they are obviously lying for some reason, so clearly enough people aren't.

[Eriixas]

Most of people over here may simply say "it's not a ripoff" without providing any good arguments to support it. Remember, we are strangers, we don't see the same way and people, generally, won't take such sentences more than "it's just my biased opinion because I cannot provide more than that" in topics as this one.

Exclusives is an extremely poor argument. What, basically, this argument is saying is "I pay for privilege to play these specific games". Now, people may point out that PCs have exclusives as well, and they would be 100% right, however, what they may not take into consideration is that PC gaming is not owned by anyone, neither Valve (because of Steam) nor Microsoft (because Windows OS) unlike console gaming where they may make such rudimentary functions (in today's standards) as internet connection inaccessible without extra monthly cost.

[zeorhymer]

Exclusives is an extremely poor argument. What, basically, this argument is saying is "I pay for privilege to play these specific games". Now, people may point out that PCs have exclusives as well, and they would be 100% right, however, what they may not take into consideration is that PC gaming is not owned by anyone, neither Valve (because of Steam) nor Microsoft (because Windows OS) unlike console gaming where they may make such rudimentary functions (in today's standards) as internet connection inaccessible without extra monthly cost.

Sorry, but your examples fall very flat. Exclusive games is a very good argument. If the only brand of shoes are sold by a single store, it's a good reason to go to that store. It's not like you can go anywhere else to get them. Using your example, if there are exclusive games on PC then buying a PC is a rip off because I should be able to play it on my phone.

[RepentantSky]

Sorry, but your examples fall very flat. Exclusive games is a very good argument. If the only brand of shoes are sold by a single store, it's a good reason to go to that store. It's not like you can go anywhere else to get them. Using your example, if there are exclusive games on PC then buying a PC is a rip off because I should be able to play it on my phone.

Can't really argue with this logic, even if you want to. Exclusivity sells games, even if you don't like it.