This. Everything's more expensive.

The nice thing about PCs, though, is you can use the same machine for gaming and productivity. You don't need to buy two different machines. If you have a PC, you can play games on it.

The best approach for most people right now is to play games on whatever they already have. If you already have a console, then you don't need to buy one. If you already have a PC, then you don't need a console. Play games on what you already have. PC gamers do have the advantage of new releases being available on computers built even two decades ago (if you ignore the more demanding releases), but there's plenty of games to play on all platforms.

It usually (or used to) goes the other way. I would expect the same parts to be worth about half after 3 years.

There are already more games released than one can ever dream of playing in a lifetime. Indie developers also release groundbreaking new stuff left and right that will run on ancient PCs, Steam Decks, and older Switch models.

• Hang on to your older consoles and check Gamestop for the titles you missed the last gen, you might find them cheap.
• Get a cheap emulation handheld or jailbreak your old PSP or DS to unlock thousands of genre-defining titles for games coming out today.
• Affordable adapters let you use your fancy 8Bitdo controllers and whatnot on your PS4 with stick drift or otherwise dead controllers.

I literally cannot get FOMO for the new stuff because there are so many options. Battlefield 6 comes with a rootkit? No problem, I just won't play it. New Capcom game is too expensive? I'm sure I can get a similar fix elsewhere or wait 6 years for a steep discount.

Every time a game company/dev does something questionable like price-gouging aging hardware, introduce digital download-only games on cartridges, make a racist tweet, or revoke games from digital libraries, it helps me strike a bunch of stuff off of my backlog. That gives me more time to play what is left on the list and maybe even to touch grass.

I think theres an argument here for making consoles better at other computing stuff to be more relevant.

Not sure they can market that effectively tho even if it might help overall.

The PREVIOUS generation of consoles already lasts a damn long time. Unless it's a really shiny looking AAA, it's probably on PS4, we got Yakuza 3 Kiwami recently.

And I think there's some current gen games that look like they could've ran on PS4 if they were optimized or scaled down - especially since the Switch 2 and Steam Deck can run them! Expedition 33 was the first game my Steam Deck was just barely "running".

I don't think the next gen can offer much besides just boosting fps or resolution, and I'm satisfied with 1080p 60fps, maybe even 30.

don't forget that PC doesn't charge you a subscription to play online

This is an oversimplification that ends up being deceptive by coincidence, because hardware is supposed to drastically reduce in price as it becomes standardized and mass-produced, and game consoles and computers both did this.

That we're now back to the point where a console costs nearly the same as the adjusted cost of the very first, hyper-niche, hyper-bespoke hardware units in the 80s, is a HUGE regression. Prices aren't "in-line with" the Atari prices because that's just how they scale, they're there by chance as they spike upwards due to supply constraints driven by AI.

"Even though we've lost all engines and are in a nose dive, we're currently at 300ft, which is in line with a normal landing approach altitude."

That doesn't take into account the move to outsource production to countries with cheaper labor. Sure it can be inline with history but the profit margins are so wide the companies are practically scalping the buyers.