Should i get a console or pc

As we have already mentioned, every game released for a console will work well on said console. Something else that should be considered is backwards compatibility. Meanwhile, backwards compatibility has been a bit of an issue when it comes to consoles.

The situation is looking better on this front now that both the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 will be backwards compatible. And those would be all the points to consider when comparing console and PC gaming.

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The Pros: More affordable Easy to set up and use A number of great first-party exclusives Very future-proof. If your idea of PC gaming is big AAA titles, your best bet might be to invest in a console for now — and save all that extra money for a fancy PC in the coming years. Unless, of course, you want luxury features only available to PC players, like For people who plan to spend a lot of money pushing their hardware to the brink, a high-end GPU unquestionably outperforms the new consoles.

But for everybody else, the console should more than suffice. The gulf between console and PC should eventually widen, as it regularly does over the course of a console generation.

This fall, though, console is king. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Gaming PlayStation Xbox Nintendo. The problem with arguing for a dedicated gaming machine in the console vs PC debate is that a PC does far more than just play games.

This throws any potential argument about cost-effectiveness out of the window. Nevertheless, consoles do have some advantages over PC. Incredible initiatives like Game Pass and Play Anywhere mean that all of the genuinely great exclusive Xbox One games can be played on a Windows machine.

Likewise, Sony has committed to bringing more fun to PC. Related : The best PS5 games you can buy. Yep, PCs. There are very rare exceptions, but almost all PC games come from digital stores. This means you never really own anything you buy digitally unless you hunt out a DRM-free version.

Local co-op! There are technically more games you can play couch co-op on PC compared to consoles, but who wants to sit huddled around a desktop to smash faces in Streets of Rage 4?

Gaming with friends in person is easier and more comfortable while sitting on a comfy couch with a big TV in front of you. In fact, all gaming is more comfortable that way. Games consoles may be pseudo-media centers too, but their primary purpose is still booting up a game and getting straight into the action.

Your preference will depend on how much money you have to spend, what kind of games you like to play and how much tolerance you have for DIY tech support. If you're in the market for a new gaming system, consider the following factors and weigh your options accordingly. PC gaming is expensive. You can also go for broke and spend multiple thousands of dollars on the latest video card, the fanciest processor, gobs of RAM and a customized case.

Estimates on how much it costs to build a PC vary, especially because parts are constantly fluctuating in price and because you can buy them from a variety of different sources. I won't say it's a bad investment it's not , but the low end of that spectrum would easily cover a PS4 or Xbox One, an extra controller, and a pretty hefty library of games. That's all assuming you want to build your PC yourself, of course; pre-built systems cost more. Partially, that's because you don't have to construct it yourself; mostly, it's because you have access to tech support if something goes wrong.

All of this may make it sound like PC gaming is a huge money sink and console gaming is a cost cutter's dream come true, but remember: we've compared only hardware so far.

When it comes to games, PCs have an enormous advantage over their console brethren. Steam, the primary distributor of digital games, has frequent sales and an enormous selection of indie games. Origin, EA's digital platform, often gives away newish games for free. Console games tend to stay at high prices for a much longer time and go on sale less frequently.

It's hard to say exactly how many games you'd need to buy to make up the cost differential of a PC, but if you have the system for a sufficiently long time, it could pay for itself in software costs. With big-budget titles, midtier developers, indie fare and classic games, PCs have an unparalleled selection. Whether you're buying the latest Assassin's Creed game from Steam or running DOSBox to relive a childhood classic, it's relatively easy to get a huge variety of titles on your PC, if only because the library can go back almost 30 years.

That's not to say that every single title works seamlessly on newer PCs, though. There was a rough patch in the late '90s and early s, and nothing from that era seems to work on modern systems.

So replaying, for example, Star Trek: Bridge Commander could be a bit of a challenge. It's not impossible, but you'll have to work for your fun.

More on that later. PS4 and Xbox One libraries don't go back quite as far.