Wow, color me shocked. Most of the YTers are proclaiming gloom and doom for their channels because they feel building PCs is getting too expensive to be viable.
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Are consoles doomed?
- Thread starter maflynn
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diamond.g
macrumors G5
Now that part appears to be true with the current AI memory and storage constraints. Last year I built a PC with a 9800X3D, ASUS TUF OC RTX 5080, 64GB of RAM CL30-36-36-76. Those memory kits (2x16) cost me $88.10 on Amazon. Those same kits, last time I checked were selling for over $450 each. The total cost was $2500 for the NZXT H7 Flow, Thermaltake AIO and two Gen 4 NVME storage sticks.
There's no way I could do that again. I would need to add another $1K to the build.
diamond.g
macrumors G5
I built a new PC last year cause I thought tarrifs were going to screw GPU pricing. I didn't see memory being the problem child.
From a console perspective it will be interesting to see how games are impacted with respect to hardware sales.
I don't have the answer to that but suffice to say that AAA console games are hitting stratosphere prices now. Some estimates are in the $200-400 million. Supposedly development costs for GTA VI are much higher but T2 knows the game will generate billions in sales.
It will be interesting to see companies like Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft and PC makers sourcing memory allocations.
Edit: I just checked and the memory kit Teamgroup CL 30 (2x16) which I purchased for $88.10 are now selling for $479.99 on Amazon from Teamgroup.
diamond.g
macrumors G5
I wonder if assets are the bulk of the costs. I'd assume RAGE being updated for RT last year (or the year before I forget) for GTA5 would not count towards GTA6 dev costs right?
Its funny, I was looking to do that myself, but ended up getting a M4 Max Studio. I found that I was getting more value, and more upsides with the Mac then building a midrange or upper midrange PC.
Gaming is up there for me in terms of importance, but its not the only thing I do on my computer, and while I'll be the first to admit, gaming on windows with a 5070-ti will result in superior results, the other benefits of the Mac easily offset that. I'm generally happy with the results and gaming with Crossover has been fine for me. I also have a PS5, so I'm not lacking in options.
keksikuningas
macrumors 6502
Console dev experience is pretty miserable with needing to go through scrutinous (is that a word?) procedures of signing up etc and basically begging for a dev kit. And even patches and other stuff has to be notarized before being released as well.
Steam is much less friction in comparison, no wonder indie devs all are PC only until their games take off and then it makes sense to bother with a port and even then it's better to outsource it to save yourself the pain
Aging hardware and bad economics will affect gaming for years to come
Although this doesn't mean gamers would not snap up the PS6 or the next hardware from XBOX in droves, there seems to be a trend in the comments of articles dealing with hardware console delays. The comments seem to follow a theme that the graphics on the current PS5 and XBOX Series X/S look fantastic and they can wait or will not buy the next consoles. The other trend in the comments suggest that not enough high quality 1st party games have been released for the current generation.
I played Gran Turismo 7 on a PS4 Pro and a PS5 (non Pro) in 1080P. It was hard to tell them apart visually, they both looked great.
I played Gran Turismo 7 on a PS4 Pro and a PS5 (non Pro) in 1080P. It was hard to tell them apart visually, they both looked great.
The last time we saw a dramatic improvement in graphics was the switch from standard definition to high definition. First time I powered up the PS3, my jaw dropped. Since then, it’s been incremental improvements.
keksikuningas
macrumors 6502
Maybe I am easy to impress but God of War (2018) and Final Fantasy VII remake games (especially rebirth) had a similar effect on me. The vast scale of the games and just how they are visually presented was as close to jaw dropping as it gets. God of War's final battle and FF7's intro as well as Rebirth's beautiful colossal open world with no loading screens.
I am hoping I'll get to play something like Cyberpunk 2077 on a high end system with raytracing and all that stuff to the max at some point.
This article seems to indicate the pitfalls for next-gen consoles with raising hardware and game prices, expendable income down, gamers getting older, less time to play and some returning to retro gaming. The comments tend to reflect that.
www.eurogamer.net
As AI threatens to make everything more expensive, are you happy if it takes longer for the next console generation to begin?
First it came for our intellectual property, then it came for our workers, and now it's after our Steam Decks!
www.eurogamer.net
ScanTheNavian
macrumors 6502
Great article. It brings up very good points.This article seems to indicate the pitfalls for next-gen consoles with raising hardware and game prices, expendable income down, gamers getting older, less time to play and some returning to retro gaming. The comments tend to reflect that.
As AI threatens to make everything more expensive, are you happy if it takes longer for the next console generation to begin?
First it came for our intellectual property, then it came for our workers, and now it's after our Steam Decks!
Personally I would love to see the PS5 getting prolonged by a few years. I feel like this gen hasn't really been properly utilized. We haven't even gotten current-gen versions of RDR2 or MGS V.
When it comes to PS2 retro gaming there's so much to discover for many. Games like SSX3 and Sly Cooper are just as excellent today as back then. They really shine on CRT TVs.
Overall I feel like devs need a breather to catch up on tech and not simply hunt for the next graphical leap, which only makes games take ever longer to develop.
Exactly! To sum up the PS5 and XBOX Series X/S has been lazy at best with a few exceptions. Too many crossovers between the PS4 and XBOX One generation. As I previously noted, Gran Turismo 7 looks fantastic on a PS4 Pro as it does on a PS5. It's hard to tell the graphical difference apart besides minimal jaggies on the PS4.
Bloodborne still holds up graphically on the PS4 and anyone could mistake it for a PS5 game. We have reached the point as the former Sony CEO said of diminishing returns. However the clock is ticking if Sony and Microsoft locked in next gen hardware a few years ago because it will be outdated if it is released a few years later than planned.
BlankStar
macrumors 6502a
I was a pc gamer for many many years, but got tired of the hardware upgrades, messing around with drivers, etc, etc. I got three kids now and when I have some free time, I just want to game. Consoles are just perfect for that. Bought me a PS4 Pro when it was released and currently have a PS5 Pro and a PS Portal for when the wife is hogging the tv. These devices are a dream come true for me. Not mad that the PS6 is postponed but I'm 99% sure I will buy me one and I'm pretty sure that other "dads" prefer consoles and don't think they are doomed just yet. Same goes for physical vs digital downloads. I've read on Reddit that some dude in Brazil needed 3 days to download a 90GB game. Those markets hunger for physical games and thus consoles, because seems that for the pc it's all digital these days.
rotlex
macrumors 6502a
Nope. I switched to consoles years ago due to costs. I can buy a PS5, Series X and a switch for half the cost of a gaming computer. Hell, I switched all those years ago when an xbox cost less than a video card.
macfacts
macrumors 603
hackers have stolen and leaked data from GTA developers, and the leaks include financial records showing the majority of profits from GTA online are in consoles.
diamond.g
macrumors G5
I'm not sure why folks are surprised about this. For a lot of games that is the case. PC players (generally) don't like spending (extra) money (on IAP).