Day 9361, it has been 25 years since the launch of the first PlayStation console in the US, and 19 years since the first Xbox and the start of the great console war. I’m not entirely sure if the war is still going on, but Xbox has seemingly given into the PC master race and have simply decided to coexist with them, and Sony has begun to make deals with both sides. Is the end to the console war in sight? Has it already been over? Or is it really only just beginning?
Since the dawn of the console generation, there has been a great ‘console war’ in the gaming industry. Die hard fans will choose a side and stick by it for years to come, either remaining faithful to one side, or finally defecting to the neutral PC opposition.
I often think these days whether the console war is still a thing. Sure, it was a funny joke a while ago that somehow turned into an actual thing. Some console fanboys would be very vocal online about how they feel betrayed when a platform-exclusive title was being ported over to another platform. And even a mention of the opposition on various social media channels in the console inner circles can bring about a massive amount of online abuse and hatred.
So maybe there is still some sort of console war, with patriotic allies on either side constantly harassing the other for their inferior hardware and game exclusives. All the while PC players just sit in the middle, sometimes getting the best of both sides, and sometimes getting hit in the crossfire.
But Microsoft seems to be blending their ecosystem together. Now an Xbox console is essentially a pre-built PC. You can’t mod it with extra parts and hardware, but all upcoming Xbox exclusives are also coming to PC, and MS seems to want to synergize both platforms together.
On the other side, Sony seems very wary of the PC platform, but after last year’s success with Horizon: Zero Dawn is a little less hesitant now with the upcoming release of Days Gone. It’s not exactly a definite, but there is a possibility we could finally see some of Sony’s most prolific exclusive titles come to PC eventually.
And then at that point there is no reason for a console war, right? Then every fanboy can lay the whole bout to rest and we can all just enjoy the games we play. Exclusive titles may even be a thing of the past! (Full exclusives at least, timed exclusives will still most likely be a thing to maintain competitiveness).
What do you think? Is the console war over? Were you ever a console patriot or were you always a PC player? Is it better to be a PC gamer now? Let’s debate!
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PC Specs
Is the console war over? I'm like: wtf is a console?! xD
PC Specs
pc just standing by? in what world? pc players usually come back with "pc master race" and everything going on with that.
i think the current climate of gaming has slowed the console war down enough that sony needs to get money somehow and ms knew that blending xbox with pc opens them up to more people.
PC Specs
as it came out in the epic/apple case, consoles sales are a total loss and anything to bring in more revenue was inevitable.
PC Specs
Well, I doubt console wars will truly ever end. In the end, fanboys will fanboy, regardless of whether it is console fanboys or PC fanboys. Plus companies will compete. Even though MS shifted focus from just console to ecosystem, they still do have console, so it is not over. And Sony giving us PS4 exclusives doesn't mean they are all in on PC, they could easily be like "for sequel, get PS5".
PC Specs
So the way I see it, focuses shifted a bit. But war is still alive and will be till there will be competition. I mean just because MS doesn't care where you play, PC or console, as long as you are in Xbox ecosystem, they still know that target audience for consoles is not same as PC and they have to gain, if they get people to buy Xbox console.
PC Specs
And for PC owner as myself, only interesting one of two is Playstation, since Xbox has that "play anywhere" initiative, meaning I can get all that on PC already, so there is little reason to go for Xbox console. And consoles are just more and more purpose pre-built PCs, like architecture is already same. It really was kind of waste that MS doesn't allow you to run Windows on latest Xbox-es.
PC Specs
It really could be killer feature, if you could swap between Windows and console mode. So it could replace that family PC and atr the same time, be gaming console that will play all games in generation without needing to upgrade or worry about requirements. Granted it wouldn't fully satisfy PC users, but it would be great for a lot of people.
PC Specs
But yeah, obviously consoles will never be PC, they never will have versatility, customization, upgradeability,... that PC has. So PC will of course always remain the top thing, be it for performance, open nature of platform, or just everything you can do on it. So it kind of will remain "master race", but of course for many, simplicity of the consoles will be enough and that is fine as well.
PC Specs
yes yes it is.And the winner is PC
PC Specs
For pc gamers xbox is useless unless your pc is hot potato, i might buy ps5 but first it have to have more exclusives because i would be buying only for that.
PC Specs
PC is my primary and hand-held consoles (PSP, PSV, 3DS, Switch, GB, GBA, etc) as secondaries. Otherwise I have no playstations or xboxes (the home consoles) as I have no interest in them, so the "console wars" never meant anything to me.
PC Specs
Its human nature to "defend" your purchase. I dont really play too many games anymore but different strokes for different folks i quess.
PC Specs
I disagree, tribalism is human nature. But defending your purchases to the extremes some have gone to is not a natural human instinct
PC Specs
Recognize the strength of your position and that of your opponent before you think about contesting... but miscalculations are abundant!
PC Specs
Nintendo fan here!
PC Specs
Where is the KFConsole in the poll?
PC Specs
I thought that was more of a joke
PC Specs
all it does is keep your chicken warm from the heat of the console
PC Specs
I'm bummed out about OUYA missing :D
PC Specs
i still have mine for oddball programing fun at work.
shield console took that idea and made it real. nvidia developer boards bring some crazy support to that console too. mine helps manage my home security server and all the little iot i have for my home.
PC Specs
PC Specs
That the order of preference for you?
PC Specs
I used to be an xbox fanboy but in these times I can definitly say that sony has much more interesting game then microsoft but anyway sooner or later ill buy both, maybe even a wii u
PC Specs
About the console wars i dont know there'll always be a pressure to the part which is the better console since both consoles do similar stuff. While console's will NEVER be close PC. You cant browse web on console's, you can't watch movies (prob now you can, but i dont know), you cant watch streams you need to pay monthly subscription to play online. Example: I've purchased my PC 2013.
PC Specs
Since then there were 2 console’s released which cost more than 600$ ps4, ps5 and the xbox 2 versions. Since 2013 I’ve purchased only 1050ti and 250gb ssd for my PC around 250eur+-. Playing online on PC is free and you can do much more than the average console user. Streaming is easier, recording is easier you don’t need an extra pair of devices to record videos.
PC Specs
Don’t get me wrong consoles are getting better over the years but their functionality will always be the same. Play video games and that’s it.
PC Specs
you can browse the net on consoles and watch bd/4k films on the too
PC Specs
While I agree that PC is better than console, you can do all 3 of those things on console. At least on Xbox. Web browsers, apps for all streaming services, able to watch videos on the web browser as well (Kodi available on Xbox). Making clips on Xbox is super easy, but actively recording, not so much.
Consoles are getting better, very true, but it's definitely not just play videos and that's it. I think they have tons of room for improvement.
PC Specs
they do have more room for improvements, but their main functionality is gaming the rest is 2nd party features which will not be as good as PC.
PC Specs
mm, I respectfully disagree on that.
PC Specs
I abstain from the last vote.