If console gaming is cheaper, why are all the games so much more expensive?

[Adeptus Aspartem]

What the hell? 300 Dollar for a PS3?
When the Xbox and the PS were released they costed 600-800 swiss francs, while my "Runs BF3 on Ultra" PC costed around 1000.
Now i need a PC anyway for work, emails and stuff, so not 100% of these 1000 should counted towards gaming.

Further more a PC game on Steam - always check the special-offers - cost 30-50 euros, which is around 35-60 Sfr while console games are around 80-100.
Over the course of only 1-2 years i'll more than brake even. Not to forget, i can still play all old games + consoles on my Pc via emulators.

On top of that: Upgradin' your system ever 2 years? More like 4.

In the end, yes for pure gamin' purposes consoles are cheaper. But usually you don't buy a new righ just to play games.

 

[spartandude]

Because your average Xbox 360 runs you maybe 300 dollars, while a good gaming PC can and will run you over 1000, not including any hardware updates you may need to get.

Even if you are saving 15-20 bucks per game, you still need to buy a LOT of games to make up the difference. Plus, there is a huge used market for console games. I've found even relatively new games for 30-40 dollars on sale.

pahahaha, oh you actually think thats the cost of PC gaming? let me laugh even harder

my PC cost me £500 (granted it was special offer) and came with, mouse, keyboard, screen, speakers and wireless router. ive payed £50 to get a new slightly better graphics card once in the 4 years i brough it and i play most games on ultra. also you can easily get hardware updates for free

so with that, £15-£20 difference in cost of games, only ten will make up the difference

 

[SFR]

In the States, it isn't like that. Most AAA PC games are $49.99, and most console games are $59.99.

Granted, Steam sales still make PC games cheaper, but when you have to spend $800-1000 to build a rig and a further ~$150-$250 every two years at least to keep it up to date, then you see how PC gaming gets expensive and Steam stops making up the difference.

This is versus a $300 console, a $500-$600 laptop, and a $60 game every now and then. Think about it. Those will last you (if you take care of them) four years at the least.

I haven't upgraded since L4D1 came out, and I really haven't needed to since then for the most part. Granted my PC is also like 7 years old or more. Amazingly enough, the main problem I have with your post is you actually propose someone buy a laptop for 500-600 bucks when you could get a decent gaming desktop that's significantly more powerful, capable of running virtually everything out right now. If you do it right, probably even with everything on the highest settings for most games.

 

[Nielas]

Now i need a PC anyway for work, emails and stuff, so not 100% of these 1000 should counted towards gaming.

For anyone who already needs to have a PC at home for other stuff, the hardware cost of PC gaming pretty much comes down to the cost of a graphics card and maybe a sound card.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

Hm, and maybe more Ram + better Cpu. For a workin' rig i don't need 8Gb ram nor 6-8 cores. 4Gb and 4 cores are more than enough

 

[Fusioncode9]

Here in the US console games are only 10$ more so it doesn't bother me.

 

[Something Amyss]

Because your average Xbox 360 runs you maybe 300 dollars, while a good gaming PC can and will run you over 1000, not including any hardware updates you may need to get.

Even if you are saving 15-20 bucks per game, you still need to buy a LOT of games to make up the difference. Plus, there is a huge used market for console games. I've found even relatively new games for 30-40 dollars on sale.

I see I'm not needed in this thread...

*walks away to sad Hulk music*

But yeah, they're not talking about new retail game prices. That's the skinny of it.

 

[orangeban]

Maybe I got lucky with my PC, but it only cost like £300, and it's kept me sailing for about 5 years now without many faults, which is more than I can say for my Xbox. And then when I read magazines going on about games that are only £20, I realise I've been spoiled by Steam and Humble Indie Bundles, since I'm used to games that are under £10 and I've started to balk at anything more expensive.

 

[Anthony Wells]

is someone could link me to these cheap gaming rigs you keep talking about that would be GREAT. i tried searching and everything comes out at like a cost of 1000 or more. even just the parts by themselves cost around that much. i already have a gaming rig but its 5 years old and only has 20 gigs of memory and about 1 gig ram and even the old starcraft makes it lag. (dont know why...)

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well because it isn't cheaper. PC gaming is cheaper in the long run and the only way it is dearer is in start up costs as if you buy over 5 new games a year on average you will at least equal the money you would have spent on a console no including buying peripherals. The utter bullshit that you need 1k of any of the main world currencies that deal in small units(ie ?,$,£ and then obviously equivalent amount of Yen etc) and that you need to upgrade it everytime you pick your nose is ridiculous notion. Added to that stuff like Steam sales and all other forms of Digital Distribution(Amazon, GoG, D2D and a couple more) which gives you games with the price of pre owned levels along with games going back to Gaming's ealier years.

If you save ?15 a game over the console gen which is about 6 years in at the moment and you buy 5 games a year that is ?450 saved. If you want to go back to the start of the console gen it brings that 1k rig in line with PS 3 price but the 360 is a bit which that does not include XBL sub but the Wii is the cheapest.

 

[omicron1]

Think the console's cheap?

At $10 savings per game, taking a much more reasonable $600 priceline for a good gaming PC, you'll have to buy 30 games to make up the difference. Highly likely over three-ish years, and that's not even counting the XBox Gold fees.
At $20 savings per game, you'll have to buy just 15.
At Steam savings per game, that number drops to 8 or 9 before you have made up the difference from buying a PC over a console.

Microsoft makes its money in three main ways:
$8-ish licensing fee per new game sold.
$60-ish per year for Gold
About half the price of every accessory sold is pure Microsoft profit.

Sony doesn't have the Gold membership, but it still makes money on licensing fees and accessories.

Quite frankly, the myth of the expensive, difficult-to-assemble PC is getting really old really fast. So I will dispel it once and for all:

You can buy a perfectly good, current gaming PC for just $600. Less if you own components (say, a box, a power supply, a hard drive, a CD drive) already. The core of a gaming PC - CPU, motherboard, RAM, graphics card - can easily be had for $400, if that.

You can build a PC. Yes, you. Unless you don't know how to google, or read the step-by-step pictorial instructions included in almost every part, in which case what are you doing here? There are plenty of perfectly good guides to walk you through the two hours or so it'll take. "I don't know how!" is no longer an acceptable excuse!

You can install games with minimal hassle! The last time I had a game not run out of the box was about a year ago, and that was Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath. You don't need hard-to-find drivers (most games will install what you need at the time you run them, especially with Steam), you don't need to make sure your PC is set up properly (again, everything's done for you nowadays). It's just plug-and-play 99% of the time.

You can upgrade your PC and keep current for $100 a year. New graphics generations come out, yes - but they are generally not necessary. Plus, if you go for midrange options, you'll snag a card fast enough to power at least two years' worth of top-tier games. My $170 card from June can handle literally everything out there at top specs, top resolution, etc. - and by the time June's rolled around twice more, I'll still be able to play games on medium-high settings.

Therefore, a PC over 5 years will cost you ~$1100. Your Xbox will cost you $600 for base hardware and Gold membership alone, plus a $10-$30 surcharge (depending on whether you use Steam, mostly) for each game you buy. Buy one new game a month? You're paying $100 MORE than your PC brethren. Two games? $700 more.

At the very least, the two ways to play are cost-comparable. So let's have an end to the "PC gaming is expensive and hard!" nonsense, OK?

 

[Woodsey]

Its cheaper initially. In the long run, I'd say its much more even, especially if you're a savvy shopper.

 

[Shirokurou]

Keeping your PC hardware in check with calendar is still a lot more expensive

 

[maswell]

Setting price aside for a minute. One side benefit to having a gaming PC over a console is that in addition to a nice gaming rig you also have a really fast computer for your other computing needs.

Why not spend all your time on one great working machine instead of splitting it up b/w a focused gaming device and a clunking web surfer.

 

[him over there]

Well believe it or not most people who aren't games enthusiasts usually don't have more than ten or sometimes even five games. Even though, except for indie/download games, console games on average cost 10 dollars more, that isn't really enough to make a substantial cost difference unless you're buying like 10 to 12 games. if console games cost $60 a pop, and pc games $50 a pop, Then 5 console games equals 6 pc games. It seems that consoles would be more expensive but if you do the math (lets assume consoles cost $300 and standard pcs are $600) then for $1200 you can get a console and 10 games or a pc and 12 games. Unless you are buying at least 10 or more then it is less expensive, and even then it's only 1 extra game for every five. Then again if you're a pc gamer you're probably a game enthusiast in the first place so you probably will be buying maybe 7 games a year plus steam has like 50-80% off sales so in the long run costs of pc<console. But the long run doesn't kick in until game number 11 at normal pricing.

 

[Bad Jim]

Due to bad porting, optimization & general lack of graphics settings when it comes to making games for PC you are guaranteed more bang for your buck overall if you get a console, money wise and spec wise.

Not so. The thing is, you probably need a PC for something like browsing the internet, doing your taxes, school/college work etc. You might as well buy a desktop PC for that purpose, at which point the cost of PC gaming is just the price of a graphics card and maybe a small fee to have the store install it for you. With a console you would be buying another hard drive and optical drive that you didn't really need.

Also, the current console generation is old, and while they have just about enough rendering power they have shockingly little RAM(512MB). They would be much better with say 2GB and only slightly more expensive, but the designs are from 2006 and you can't upgrade the darned things. With a PC you can have that RAM.

BTW most PC games do not lack graphics settings. They tend to

 

[dave1004]

I bought my computer back in '06, for $740. I haven't upgraded at all, yet I can play Skyrim completely fine on normal. I haven't encountered a single game that I can't play yet...Dunno. Then again, the only recent console I have is a PS2,but...Eh. I prefer computers. Easier to play shooters with.

 

[sneakypenguin]

is someone could link me to these cheap gaming rigs you keep talking about that would be GREAT. i tried searching and everything comes out at like a cost of 1000 or more. even just the parts by themselves cost around that much. i already have a gaming rig but its 5 years old and only has 20 gigs of memory and about 1 gig ram and even the old starcraft makes it lag. (dont know why...)

those cheap ones everyone talks about idk where they get them. Assuming someone would want to run on high resolution with high graphics it would be hard to make a system under 1k unless you just went bargainbasement on every part.


Edit: OP: consoles are also now dirt cheap, Black friday most retailers had a 149/199 w/kinect deal, and used they are 99 bucks all day long... maybe a bit more for ps3s

 

[Fishyash]

Due to bad porting, optimization & general lack of graphics settings when it comes to making games for PC you are guaranteed more bang for your buck overall if you get a console, money wise and spec wise.

Not so. The thing is, you probably need a PC for something like browsing the internet, doing your taxes, school/college work etc. You might as well buy a desktop PC for that purpose, at which point the cost of PC gaming is just the price of a graphics card and maybe a small fee to have the store install it for you. With a console you would be buying another hard drive and optical drive that you didn't really need.

Also, the current console generation is old, and while they have just about enough rendering power they have shockingly little RAM(512MB). They would be much better with say 2GB and only slightly more expensive, but the designs are from 2006 and you can't upgrade the darned things. With a PC you can have that RAM.

BTW most PC games do not lack graphics settings. They tend to

I wish it was as simple as installing a graphics card unless you decided to get a PC much stronger than your daily needs (which for browsing the internet and using microsoft office programs isn't much). Simply buying a new graphics card will probably stop your computer from running any games whatsoever, and have your computer shut itself down (like mine did when the person at the PC retail shop I bought my PC from said "just install a new graphics card for £70 and you will have yourself a gaming PC").

What I meant by general lack of graphics settings is that few AAA games (at least today) that are ported to PC have adequate graphics settings to get the balance of a game looking good and a game running smoothly. I wish it isn't too much to ask for this instead of at most this.

And then there are developers who give us this for some extremely odd reason.