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Has anyone ever 'left' PC Gaming to go back to being console only?
- Thread starter Plum
- Start date
I tried to quit PC gaming around three years ago. Parted out all my PC components around when the Xbox One X came out. I did it to simplify my gaming setup. I believed at the the time the One X amd PS4 Pro would be good enough for me. It was a terrible decision and I went back to PC less than a year later. Crappy frame rate performance combined with far below 4k resolution in many games and I was crawling back to PC. I play with my PC connected to my OLED in my living room. I can deal with having a not so elegant solution when launching games and dealing with multiple storefront launchers because when I'm playing a game I enjoy a greatly improved experience. I don't have to pick either performance or resolution mode. I can have both 4k and 60fps on every game I play. Even games that run well on my new Series X like CoD Cold War still feel much better due to a more stable frame rate along with being maxed out at 4k with ray tracing.
I've had a mid-tier computer from Best Buy since 2015 but went back to consoles this gen. Not having to worry about drivers, graphics cards, or updating my PC has been a huge godsend to me. My XSX can play games far better than my PC. Games Pass is a hell of a deal, I'll miss getting games cheaper on PC but it just was not worth the stress anymore.
Maybe for people with the internet to support it, but I can't see myself using a game streaming solution without greatly improved internet infrastructure.
It's more the other way around for me outside of some handheld stuff like my Switch Lite. I left consoles pretty much near the end of the PS3 era and just haven't got any desire to go back. Even just dealing with the Switch frustrates me sometimes. On PC I got no subscription services I have to worry about especially if I want to play with my friends, my games will always be available no matter how many years pass by, being able to multi task with other programs like web browsers is great to name a few big selling points with me.
Thankfully I do not have the problem of always needing to stay up to the cutting edge of things as some others have. I upgrade when the games that come out won't run well on my system anymore. Of course that's kind of abstract given what run well means, but I have no qualms running 1920x1080 sometimes even at 30 fps. I can play on a lower resolution than that occasionally depending on the game. My setup is good enough that I don't have to worry about that at all for the time being, but that just means I won't have to upgrade for over 4 years more than likely.
Thankfully I do not have the problem of always needing to stay up to the cutting edge of things as some others have. I upgrade when the games that come out won't run well on my system anymore. Of course that's kind of abstract given what run well means, but I have no qualms running 1920x1080 sometimes even at 30 fps. I can play on a lower resolution than that occasionally depending on the game. My setup is good enough that I don't have to worry about that at all for the time being, but that just means I won't have to upgrade for over 4 years more than likely.
I did for a period of time after high school whenever the PS4 released, but having gotten back into it a few years ago after building my new rig I wouldn't go back to consoles outside of exclusives. PC Gaming is vastly better for me especially after this past year with Half Life:Alyx and my discovery of emulation.
I sort of ended up doing that this generation. I realized I don't actually like AAA games, and the only stuff I end up playing are niche japanese games that don't always end up making it to PC, and sports games, where MLB the Show is a console-only game, so I used my PS4 a lot more than I ended up using my PC
I did when it was cheaper to play on a console when my PC became very very outdated. I'll build a PC again soon, but looking at the prices, yikes. It uses to be really cheap to make a pretty decent rig that would last, now, video card going for what they are makes me not want to go back
I did the PS3/360 era and some of the PS2 era on PC, this gen I did it on consoles
I did the PS3/360 era and some of the PS2 era on PC, this gen I did it on consoles
I did, I like PC's and I have built them for years, but I like the simplicity of console gaming more. Just my preference, also it is easier to use parties on console for most of my friends then having everybody launch discord. It is simple things like that, that add up for me.
Yes. I used to play on PC in 2002-05, but abandoned it when the 400€ Radeon 9700 Pro GPU couldn't run games properly a couple of years after the purchase. I tried to return there in 2014 with a new and more powerful laptop to play horror indies that weren't available on consoles at the time, but was quickly fed up with the software issues I had, that stood in the way of gaming like before. Luckily, many of those indies are now available elsewhere.
60fps was never important to me. I rather increased visual effects and resolution over performance.
60fps was never important to me. I rather increased visual effects and resolution over performance.
It's all about balance!
I use both consoles and PC, but the usage varies depending on where my tech is at. If I have recently juiced up my PC I tend to game more there as it is just plain more powerful and flexible. As time goes on, and consoles "catch up" or have games I want to play, my time is more heavy in that area.
Right now I am in a new phase... neither heavy console nor heavy PC, mostly Stadia ;P
I use both consoles and PC, but the usage varies depending on where my tech is at. If I have recently juiced up my PC I tend to game more there as it is just plain more powerful and flexible. As time goes on, and consoles "catch up" or have games I want to play, my time is more heavy in that area.
Right now I am in a new phase... neither heavy console nor heavy PC, mostly Stadia ;P
My PC got too old to run much, I got too lazy to upgrade it, and the Switch came out and was great so I just moved over to being a full time Switch user
I have a friend I met back in 2007ish on an MMO, he had only ever gamed on PC, he refused to use consoles, he even hated controllers and found them dumb, somehow he tried a console when out at some gaming bar in his town one time years later and the started playing games there once a week, eventually he got a ps4 and never looked back, he got a ps5 at launch and even told me he plans to buy all his games there because he kind of likes the simplicity of just putting a game in the console and going, I honestly was shocked when he said he preordered a ps5 for launch because all I remembered was how against the idea of consoles he was and now he is all in on them
I quit PC gaming maybe 15 years ago? Just grew tired of constantly digging through tech documents, drivers, patching & modding, upgrading, etc.
Just moved to console gaming and haven't looked back. Just so much simpler for me.
Just moved to console gaming and haven't looked back. Just so much simpler for me.
I flip back and forth. Sometimes the PC version is trash, sometimes I get a good discount on consoles, maybe there's some advantage currently at least as far as my on hand hardware goes, such as the introduction of HDR and 4K TVs goes. Or if I'm having computer problems for whatever reason, I'm on a laptop and unfortunately I need to turn the turbo boost off in order to not cook my CPU and get heat throttles. I guess repasting the CPU/GPU would fix it but I really don't feel like taking it apart.
I have always kept PC with good hardware even if i own two consoles at a time. Steam sales makes it much better than any other platform. I think steam is better than all other stores combined. Now i got my 3070 and wont be buying anything until PRO version of consoles came out. I have always played games on 60fps plus 30fps is a BIG no from me.
I did and share some of the reasoning with you. I just hated the tinkering, I bought an 1080ti, 32gb RAM, Samsung SSD and an Intel 7700K when the 1080ti just came out. I spent so much time tinkering until I found a sweet spot, but then there was a moment where the FPS dropped, or I though I want to see this in Ultra, and went ahead and tinkered. Then, I wasn't satisfied, I wanted all of it, all the bells and whistles at least at 60fps and 4K, which the rig could not handle, it was fine at 1440p on the monitor, 32 inch, sitting in the chair, in a desk, close to it, but at 4K in the 65 inch TV at 60fps? No way. But connecting it to the TV was not good anyway, because of how cumbersome it was, so I had to play on a 144hz 1440p monitor, which was "good", but in no way looked as good as my Samsung KS8500 I used to have. Also, if I wanted to play on TV, I wanted a controller, playing with Keyboard wasn't my jam, but then tinkering and launching games was a pain. Also, I had so many crashes compared to console. I just wanted to play games, get home, sit on the living room couch, hit a button on the remote and launch a game. PC made this a chore. So I stopped using it. It's sitting right there in the desk gathering dust. The biggest waste and mistake in my gaming life to date. Don't get me wrong, I understand the appeal and don't wish to imply that buying a PC is wrong for everybody, it just wasn't for me. Oh, and lastly, PC gaming is expensive, I know you can build cheap, but honestly, in that case get a console. If you want that extra eye candy console can't deliver, prepare to she'll 50% or even 100% more that the console, in my experience.
Did it 10 years ago when I bought my iMac (still rocking it). Worked fine for me. I installed steam a lot of times over the years to see if there are any PC specific games then would warrant building a dedicated gaming PC, but whenever I did that I found no games to really catch my interest.
Now with PS5 in the house I don't see that changing anytime soon, and I'll finally upgrade to a new iMac next year.
Now with PS5 in the house I don't see that changing anytime soon, and I'll finally upgrade to a new iMac next year.
I have but not by choice. I sold my 2080Ti hoping to upgrade to the 3080 but I haven't found any yet so I was stuck with using my PS5 for gaming only.
I love PC gaming and have been a hardcore PC gamer for years. I'm still big big into my PC with my Odyssey G9 and Nvidia 3090.
However, some things can be such a piss off on PC:
- Steam occasionally crashing/being weird when a controller is turnef on/off resulting in me needing a PC reboot.
- Lack of a nice console experience UI. I mentioned this previously In a thread I made.
- Xbox Series X share button doing absolutely nothing on PC. Can't even customize it. I wanted to bind it to a Nvidia Shadowplay function.
- No proper quick rest/quick resume type feature like on Xbox Series X.
- HDR being a bit wonky.
The rest one is a big deal for me. I'm very busy IRL with a 1 and a half year old along with another baby being due any day now. Being able to put my PS5/Switch into rest from a game and easily resume later is HUGE for me. On PC it's a case of "I need to get to a save point now so I can quit the game". It's such a pain in 2020 and sadly I don't think it's something that will change due to the nature of the PC.
I love love love PC gaming but console conveniences count for a HUGE amount honestly. Especially as you grow older.
However, some things can be such a piss off on PC:
- Steam occasionally crashing/being weird when a controller is turnef on/off resulting in me needing a PC reboot.
- Lack of a nice console experience UI. I mentioned this previously In a thread I made.
- Xbox Series X share button doing absolutely nothing on PC. Can't even customize it. I wanted to bind it to a Nvidia Shadowplay function.
- No proper quick rest/quick resume type feature like on Xbox Series X.
- HDR being a bit wonky.
The rest one is a big deal for me. I'm very busy IRL with a 1 and a half year old along with another baby being due any day now. Being able to put my PS5/Switch into rest from a game and easily resume later is HUGE for me. On PC it's a case of "I need to get to a save point now so I can quit the game". It's such a pain in 2020 and sadly I don't think it's something that will change due to the nature of the PC.
I love love love PC gaming but console conveniences count for a HUGE amount honestly. Especially as you grow older.
Kinda.
I grew up basically playing PC only + the occasional Game Boy handheld. Around 2003 I kinda just dropped out of gaming entirely for a few years. Shift of priorities in life and stuff. A few years later I got a TV + a 360 to play Rock Band with friends, and through that gaming kinda wormed its way back into my life again, and I had a few years where I mostly played console games + only had a non-gaming notebook. Bought a number of retro systems as well to catch up on some classics.
I've since gone back to mostly PC (+Switch) though. The 360 remains my only big boy console that I bought when it was current. I'm just a tinkerer at heart, and console gaming proved a little too limiting for me.
I grew up basically playing PC only + the occasional Game Boy handheld. Around 2003 I kinda just dropped out of gaming entirely for a few years. Shift of priorities in life and stuff. A few years later I got a TV + a 360 to play Rock Band with friends, and through that gaming kinda wormed its way back into my life again, and I had a few years where I mostly played console games + only had a non-gaming notebook. Bought a number of retro systems as well to catch up on some classics.
I've since gone back to mostly PC (+Switch) though. The 360 remains my only big boy console that I bought when it was current. I'm just a tinkerer at heart, and console gaming proved a little too limiting for me.
I also flip back and forth. Just build a new PC with a 3080 and got a ultrawide monitor, so I'm now fully in the PC gaming camp again, but I still intend to get a PS5 at some point.
For me it's been the other way around over these past few months. I've gone from being mostly disappointed with the PS4 + being satisfied with the Switch to an all around satisfying PC + Switch combo. I love being able to play the games the way I want, either technically (PC with all the settings and options) or physically speaking (Switch docked on the monitor, undocked on the couch, bed, etc.)
The freedom on offer with both of these platforms has me question if I'm even going to bother with another PS as of now. I won't go back in the immediate future (next 3-4 years at least), that much is clear to me.
The freedom on offer with both of these platforms has me question if I'm even going to bother with another PS as of now. I won't go back in the immediate future (next 3-4 years at least), that much is clear to me.
It would sure save me a lot of time if I did, considering most games that I'm interested in are only on PC.
Literally the only reason I even still have a console is the fact that I can't play Rock Band 4 on my PC, otherwise I would've sold my Xbox a long time ago.
Literally the only reason I even still have a console is the fact that I can't play Rock Band 4 on my PC, otherwise I would've sold my Xbox a long time ago.
Ever since i got a PS5 (and also towards the end of the PS4 cycle), my gaming habits shifted more towards console gaming. It's way more convenient for me to just start it up and play.
That being said, I still use my pc for other kind of games that are not present on consoles (for example Euro Truck Simulator, Flight Simulator, competitive games, Xbox exclusive games).
That being said, I still use my pc for other kind of games that are not present on consoles (for example Euro Truck Simulator, Flight Simulator, competitive games, Xbox exclusive games).
I built an expensive pc at the begging of the year after many years without a gaming pc. My experience was a complete nightmare and i will never do that again. The "its super simple to game on a pc" was completely false for me. I spent much more time solving problems than gaming.
I prefer PC over consoles in every way, but I must admit, after sitting at my computer desk at home for work every weekday since March, spending some time on the couch with a controller has become a bit more alluring.
I left PC gaming from about 2002-2008 because I was sick of it being a giant pain in the ass, but that's mostly resolved itself and I've been console free since.
I kinda inadvertently did in the early PS3/360 gen.
It wasn't really intentional, and I still preferred PC gaming, but a few things meant I basically went console only (aside from Counter-Strike and Runescape) for a couple of years:
I played a lot more online games with my friends (I guess they were all mostly console gamers and that gen is what introduced them to online gaming)
I switched to running Linux on the desktop (yeah... in 2007...)
I started back up again in 2009 with a new PC as I did miss it, and have been back on it as my primary since then.
It wasn't really intentional, and I still preferred PC gaming, but a few things meant I basically went console only (aside from Counter-Strike and Runescape) for a couple of years:
I played a lot more online games with my friends (I guess they were all mostly console gamers and that gen is what introduced them to online gaming)
I switched to running Linux on the desktop (yeah... in 2007...)
I started back up again in 2009 with a new PC as I did miss it, and have been back on it as my primary since then.
Same, I could never do that, it would be far too limiting and then you are stuck with what you got for performance and such.
Trying to remember he last time I played on PC. I think it was when Diablo 3 came out. So, almost 9 years ago and I haven't touched it since. I have a PS5/Switch combo and I don't need anything else.
Yeah, back in 2012 after I quit WoW.. which was the only game I played for years leading up to quitting PC..
Reason - became an empty nester and reclaimed my bonus room installed a large screen TV got some comfy furniture and had planned on switching between the two but stayed with consoles... Also, I'm now in my 50s so sitting for long periods of time and at a comfortable distance from my TV makes it a lot easier to play for longer periods... My old computer desk is now my work from home space that happened this year so I can log off work and within minutes be playing on the other side of the room...
Reason - became an empty nester and reclaimed my bonus room installed a large screen TV got some comfy furniture and had planned on switching between the two but stayed with consoles... Also, I'm now in my 50s so sitting for long periods of time and at a comfortable distance from my TV makes it a lot easier to play for longer periods... My old computer desk is now my work from home space that happened this year so I can log off work and within minutes be playing on the other side of the room...
With the new console launch I've moved a lot of gaming over to them with my LG CX. Time will tell if this trend will continue. If I can keep getting 60 FPS experiences on them, then probably. However, first person games still just feel better on mouse and keyboard for me.
Probably stopped gaming on my PC around 2015-2016, it's pretty much junk now. Was thinking of making a new system but I refuse to participate in the scalping/secondhand market.
I'm currently attempting to beat this myself.
Constantly looking at my fps/frametimes is exhausting.
Mostly because I wasn't able to get a 3080. In content with my PS5 and XSX. I could probably play games at better settings than both altitude my current setup for now but PC gaming always makes me want to reach higher and I get depressed when I can't reach performance goals.
