As a PC player, I feel a tad jealous of these new next-gen consoles

[AlanOC91]

I'm a long-time PC player and while I am getting a PS5, I'm a little jealous at the next-gen consoles from a PC standpoint. This mainly comes from a UI point of view.

I really like the PS5/Xbox Series X User Interface. It looks and feels next-gen and looks really nice hooked up to modern TVs.

Over on the PC side we primarily have Steam. I love steam. The new Steam library UI is a step in the right direction and I've been a big fan of it.
However I play my PC quite a bit on my LG TV and good lord, Big Picture Mode is terrible and in bad need of an update. It's like something from 2006.

It just doesn't feel or scream "next-gen" to me. I know that's really not what next gen is. Being able to play games at a native 4k at over 100 fps has been immensely satisfying on PC. I just really wish they upped it a few notches in the UI department. I feel like PC has always been behind when it comes to this stuff since the 360 was released. I'm absolutely sure Valve will eventually update Big Picture mode but I think I'll be waiting quite a long time for it.

That's my primary complaint. I'm also slightly jealous of Quick Resume on the Xbox but not sure how something like that could work on PC anyway. I know you can suspend processes in Windows 10 to good effect but I don't think it's quite the same thing.

The ramblings of someone who loves playing on PC but really likes the console experience. Thoughts?

 

[Zephy]

There are other launchers, some of which are pretty cool. Personally, I like Big box, it can display videos for games (usually I get some youtube snippets). It is quite fancy, but I'll agree it doesn't look futuristic or anything.

 

[dex3108]

In one hand we are kinda lucky that Valve actually did something for living room experience on PC (others certainly didn't do anything to help). And in other hand it does need update but I can understand that it is not priority for them.

Regarding quick resume I think that MS actually have enough knowledge and resources to do it on PC if they want to do it.

 

[Kuosi]

I mostly click game from taskbar and game launches, so the UI isnt exactly a huge thing for me

 

[Soul Lab]

man "next-gen" is really the word for everything now, huh? what a buzzword

anyway, I agree that the UI for Stream should be updated.

 

[Zephy]

I mostly click game from taskbar and game launches, so the UI isnt exactly a huge thing for me

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Yeah, on my newest gaming PC, I just use the start menu in full screen and have all my games listed there. Quick and easy, it doesnlt look amazing but it's tidy.

 

[ThreepQuest64]

I feel like PC has always been behind when it comes to this stuff

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The curse of options and diversity that makes everything look cobbled together on PC. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But ultimately it's just the UI. I spend more time playing games instead looking at them from an UI. So I'm not really jealous of consoles. Yeah, the unified UI is cool, but it's not something I'd give up all the advantages I personally have on PC.

 

[Deleted member 50374]

Yeah, on my newest gaming PC, I just use the start menu in full screen and have all my games listed there. Quick and easy, it doesnlt look amazing but it's tidy.

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It's surprising that it is so close in design and thought process to the actual interface of Xbox, and yet it doesn't deliver 100%

 

[NANA]

I get that they look nice, but I don't like navigating such UIs with a controller at all. Same goes for Steam's BP mode, which I only used like twice before going nah. I like my UIs simple, snappy, and with a cursor. Steam's regular desktop thing is more than enough for me.

 

[DailyCalmSpirit]

That's just the FOMO talking. No amount of nice UI is worth a $300-$500 purchase.

 

[Aeferis]

I think it's much harder to make shiny UI for libraries that often count thousands of games, not dozens or at best hundreds like consoles do. If you really care about a "next-gen looking" UI, you could always make something that looks good to you with custom Windows themes and tools like Rainmeter. I agree that the Steam big picture UI is afwul though.

 

[Stacey]

The first console launch that I'll "miss" since the Super Nintendo thanks to PC.

I see where you're coming from OP, there ain't no glitz and glamour to pc gaming, it's a no frills affair, nvidia certainly didn't help with their shitty paper launch of "next gen" gpus.

Just think of the options, the infinite amount of options. Where Xbox and ps5 are locked to 30fps with ray tracing we get to turn down shadows and reach that 60fps milestone. No amount of UI improvements can fix the judder of a 30hz image

 

[MazeHaze]

That 120fps in every game is worth it

 

[kiguel182]

I also wish Steam updated their Big Picture UI. I currently use Playnite with a custom theme but a good professional UI would be nice.

Also, a way to play audio when streaming to my iPhone would be cool as well. Bu audio I mean a podcast or something.

 

[impingu1984]

I mean a nice UI is good... But the many other advantages of PC outweigh it..

I in no way envy "next-gen"... And certainly not because of the UI.

 

[Tora]

Playnite is amazing on PC, i've got games organised into categories and big screen mode looks clean

 

[MJForum Poster]

I've extensively used (well, tried to use) Big Picture this summer and can confirm it's awful.

I think the worst part is that I think whenever they did their big Steam Friends update, they didn't include updated UI for Big Picture...so opening the social menu in Big Picture just brought up the desktop-style Friends list, completely useless to me on the couch with a controller.

It's a long forgotten part of Steam that really needs an update.

 

[.exe]

I thought this was gonna be how good of a value the hardware seems to be.

Better TV UI would indeed be nice though. I think they said a BPM update will come eventually. But, you know, Valve-time and all that.

Don't really have too many issues with BPM. The browser and store browsing are not great though.

 

[Paz]

Hey, just wanted to say it warmed my heart seeing a huge capsule for my game in your Steam image lol.

That never happens.

 

[Negotiator117]

When it works PC gaming is unrivalled but it very rarely works without issues. Just look at any PC thread about a new release, it's just problem after problem. I've switched to console gaming now 90% of the time and these new consoles are so powerful now its not really a trade off like before.

 

[Skade]

I double click on icons floating above my wallpaper, i don't care for the Steam UI, i only see it when i need to download, uninstall or buy a game. And i've never used Steam Big Picture, i don't even fully grasp why it had to exist.

 

[Aeferis]

Just look at any PC thread about a new release, it's just problem after problem.

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That's (edit: often) because users on PC tries to solve those issues, while on console they just accept poor performance because there's really nothing the final user can do about it.

 

[Qikz]

Personally looking at the two images in the OP the only major difference is the background. I don't really use steam big picture but all it is at the end of the day is big boxes with icons in them.

The games are what matter and currently and especially with all of the Xbox Series games coming to PC this Gen PC is an even better thing to own than ever before. It is nice getting a new thing though, the feeling of getting something new is great.

 

[dude]

Eh, Steam is way more convenient for me to use, but I guess it's because I don't play on a TV so I never really used Big Screen Mode.

When it works PC gaming is unrivalled but it very rarely works without issues. Just look at any PC thread about a new release, it's just problem after problem. I've switched to console gaming now 90% of the time and these new consoles are so powerful now its not really a trade off like before.

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Console gaming also doesn't work 100% of the time without issues, and there's way less you can do about it if something is not working right.

 

[thecaseace]

From a UI standpoint its just one of the small benefits consoles have, they only really have to design for the few output resolutions they support, full screen and with no windowed mode.

 

[Stowaway Silfer]

Would be nice if Steam Big Picture got updated. Pretty sure they said it would following the Library update but still not a sign of it.

 

[Graven]

I envy the price point. PC for next gen is considerably more expensive than a new console, usually that's the norm, but it seems to be even more this gen.

 

[wubalubadubdub]

Download GOG GALAXY 2.0 and you'll get to experience the best gaming UX on PC.

 

[Dommo]

Yeah this is one of the last things I care about, but it is wild that Big Picture Mode hasn't gone through any kind of radical change since its inception in like 2012.

 

[pksu]

Big Picture is really useful for setting/restoring main monitor and you can start it via controller. I don't really care much about the UI though as I often just immediately exit BP after playing.

 

[Dogstar]

I envy the price point. PC for next gen is considerably more expensive than a new console, usually that's the norm, but it seems to be even more this gen.

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Yes, this generation offers amazing bang for buck. My PC is getting old and it would would take a big investment to match XSX/PS5 levels of performance, as I'd have to start from scratch. If I could pop into town right now and pick up an XSX I would.

 

[Deleted member 9290]

Nah, using Playnite and built my own console experience on pc. It's complety controllable via gamepad thanks to joyXoff and Playnite (no mouse or keyboard required):

The best part here is that I can go to all the different stores in pc. You can't get that on a console.

 

[Chackan]

When it works PC gaming is unrivalled but it very rarely works without issues. Just look at any PC thread about a new release, it's just problem after problem. I've switched to console gaming now 90% of the time and these new consoles are so powerful now its not really a trade off like before.

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This is my only issue with PC Gaming. I have Playnite installed on my Desktop (plugged in the TV) so the UI part is fine.

The problem is the lack of optimization of things. Take AC Vallhalha as a recent example. It seems to be such an un-optimized mess on PC. Makes me wonder if it's worth buying a new GPU or a XSX for the same price and run the games as good as on a 3070 which is supposed to be superior.

 

[OrdinaryUsername]

I also miss a clean, attractive UI for gaming.

I mainly use Steam and it doesn't always look appealing. The Big Picture doesn't display custom banners for the games that come from other launchers (and non-Steam games in general). It's always a pity that for some games the launcher always has to be opened before you can play, also in Big Picture Mode.

Anyway, despite the inconveniences, I don't plan to buy another console anymore. I don't spend enough time on gaming to justify the purchase of a console. The rising price of games, as well as the increasing download size and mandatory updates (I have data limits and little free time) have caused me to simply lose interest in gaming.

I simply miss the pre-HD-era, in which I could just play games without the internet being necessary, without waiting for a download bar to fill up.

 

[BeI]

Nah, using Playnite and built my own console experience on pc. It's complety controllable via gamepad thanks to joyXoff and Playnite (no mouse or keyboard required):

The best part here is that I can go to all the different stores in pc. You can't get that on a console.

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I just wish controller felt more responsive in Playnite. Feels sluggish to me.

 

[RedSonja]

I'm not much of a gamer anymore, but if I was I'd get one of these new consoles. They are ridiculous value for money. What I would have to spend to upgrade my PC to this kind of quality, from monitor, to graphics card and NMVE storage, is a lot more money! Checkmate, Sony and Microsoft!

Quick addition...Hopefully, it pushes down the cost of graphics cards more for PCs in the not to distant future...

 

[Burai]

I can live with Big Picture.

I'm more jealous about the SSD optimisation and the $499 RRP being what you'll actually pay for one, as opposed to Nvidia's GPU fuckery meaning that the RTX 3070 is NOT a $499 card for 95% of potential buyers, no matter how much they pretend it is.

 

[Graven]

Yes, this generation offers amazing bang for buck. My PC is getting old and it would would take a big investment to match XSX/PS5 levels of performance, as I'd have to start from scratch. If I could pop into town right now and pick up an XSX I would.

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I'm in the same situation, i could go for a next gen console if i wanted, however despite the high entry point, PC usually evens out for me in games' prices(specially for me who lives in Brazil), and the fact that i already have a good steam library to revisit with better specs. My plan is to wait till 2022 and hopefully it will be more reasonable to build a next gen PC in terms of price.

 

[KillLaCam]

Yeah that's the one thing I wish we could get. I don't use my PC for work or anything so I wish I could us some kinda Xbox ui on it

 

[Tiny Chihuahueño]

Nah, using Playnite and built my own console experience on pc. It's complety controllable via gamepad thanks to joyXoff and Playnite (no mouse or keyboard required):

The best part here is that I can go to all the different stores in pc. You can't get that on a console.

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...Why would you need that on a console?

 

[Velikost]

Don't care; I double click on the game and play

When it works PC gaming is unrivalled but it very rarely works without issues. Just look at any PC thread about a new release, it's just problem after problem. I've switched to console gaming now 90% of the time and these new consoles are so powerful now its not really a trade off like before.

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lmao

 

[King Kingo]

Steams UI needs a modern overhaul, it's looking like a product of the 2010's.

 

[Deleted member 9290]

...Why would you need that on a console?

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because normally its a PITA browsing different stores on PC. But with my setup i can browse any of them.

what you mean is that its a disadvantage to have so many stores, but on console you pay one absurdely high price for a game. on pc you have the choice.

best example is the latest call of duty. on PC you can get that on lots of places, with the best price seems to be arround 48€. it doesnt matter where because im able to browse any store.

on a console you pay ~78€ period. no other alternatives. But thats not the topic of this thread.

 

[Buff DrinkLots]

Eh, I'm in that steam UI for all of about 15 seconds each time before I game. It needs an update, but it's not hurting the experience.

 

[Parsnip]

Yup, BPM needs an update badly. I imagine it must be next on the list.
They are slowly moving away from the "make it blue" theme, like recently the log-in page changed to the current style.
Just Valve time I guess.

Every now and then I bug Alden on twitter about it. He never replies. 😿

EDIT: Specifically the in-game overlay BPM. Launching games is whatever, but I use the in-game overlay BPM quite often when playing with a controller.

 

[skeezx]

is refreshing to go back to console after awhile, even as bog standard accessible PC has become

once ps5s become readily available (i'm not doing backflips and cartwheels to get one) it'll be tempting not to bite the bullet. just upgraded my pc and it was not cheap

 

[Deleted member 9290]

There is also a theme for playnite that is based on the xbox series theme:

Link

 

[Buggy Loop]

What I find puzzling is the difference between the PC Xbox app and the Xbox console UIs, like is this even the same company? Why couldn't they make the Xbox app match the console in features?

 

[Siresly]

I'll miss PS5 exclusives and whenever DualSense features are meaningfully integrated.
And on PC we'll have to wait for the infrastructure required to properly take advantage of NVMe speeds.

 

[Rosebud]

Steam library has so many options (including the GOAT choose your own icon) that it's my favorite by far.

You can even filter games by MC score.

I double click on icons floating above my wallpaper, i don't care for the Steam UI, i only see it when i need to download, uninstall or buy a game. And i've never used Steam Big Picture, i don't even fully grasp why it had to exist.

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To switch between games using a controller.