7 reasons why I switched from consoles to PC gaming

Main points

• If you’re after top-notch graphics and smooth gameplay that consoles can’t offer, consider switching to PC gaming.
• If personalizing every aspect of your gaming experience appeals to you, then PC gaming’s vast array of customization options may be the option for you.
• You should also consider switching to PC gaming to save on gaming and online gaming and gain access to a variety of games.

My gaming history begins with consoles. I grew up primarily on the NES, SNES, and N64, and it was only when Flash games became popular that the PC became relevant to me. It was a place where I would play free mini-games for half an hour or so when I was bored, but it was never a place where I went for the full experience. I knew little about some of the early big PC games (like Doom, Warcraft, and Everquest) but thought they were too complex to be enjoyable. I admit this was an ignorant assumption, but at the time, anything other than basic web surfing on a computer seemed to require a PhD to manage.

Fast forward to the launch of Steam and a more streamlined way to buy and play games for the masses. At this point, I became more curious about the platform, but hit the next hurdle: owning and maintaining a powerful PC. Initially, I just didn’t understand why the game wouldn’t run on my home computer. After I understood the concepts of CPU, GPU and graphics card, I started thinking again.

It wasn’t until adulthood that I decided to invest in a gaming computer when my work computer started running. If it’s still too complicated, well, I need a good computer that will last a while to work on, so I bought the Empowered PC Continuum Mini gaming desktop. What happened next was something I never expected. I experienced a whole new side of the game, and it felt like I was seeing the light of day for the first time. Since then, I’ve let my console gather dust while I dive headfirst into PC gaming, and I urge everyone reading this to do the same.

1 Graphics and performance

you don’t have to choose

Even with the latest and greatest home console technology, at best you can only choose between graphics mode and performance mode. Do you want your game to look good or run at a decent frame rate? Personally I always choose 60 FPS graphics, but even this is not guaranteed as many games cannot even maintain a stable 60 FPS. On a good PC, not only do I get the best of both worlds, but more often than not it’s better than nothing, a better version of both worlds.

When the option to prioritize frame rate became common on consoles, I was excited because I thought I was finally getting the smooth experience that PC gamers are so obsessed with. Little did I know that while I was getting sick playing a game that fluctuated between 35 and 50 FPS, PC gamers were playing the same game at over 120 FPS. Once I experienced those high frame rates and saw graphics that were far beyond anything my console had ever done, there was no turning back.

2 options, options, options

Accessible to everyone

Options menus in PC games can be intimidating at first. The amount of stuff you can change and tweak can seem overwhelming compared to the relatively simple options most console games offer. However, the learning curve of figuring out what is important and what is not is very smooth. If you wish, you can ignore this and let the game default to the gear it thinks is best for you.

What makes me access the options menu as the first thing I do when launching any game is understanding the importance of some of these changes. Some of the games I played on console made me uncomfortable after half an hour or so, but when I tried it on PC and adjusted the field of view (FOV), I had no issues. Accessibility is becoming a greater focus in gaming, and PCs have been leading the way by simply providing the tools to tailor the experience to your individual needs.

3 Sales are booming

Your wallet will thank you

Even though the upfront cost of a gaming computer is quite high, you may never need to pay full price for a game again. Console game sales are becoming more common, but they still only happen a few times a year, and even when included, they don’t offer huge discounts on big games. Steam sales are common and often offer the latest releases at discounts of close to 50% or more. If you can resist buying a game at launch, you can reasonably expect to buy it at a decent discount within three to six months.

You’ll only save about $10 on most games, which will quickly outweigh the extra cost of buying a PC. Oh, and if that’s not good enough, Steam’s refund policy is the best in the industry. If you don’t like the game you bought on PSN, you’re basically out of luck, but as long as you don’t play it for more than two hours, Steam will refund you no questions asked.

4 KB+M or controller

But it’s the most comfortable to play

Some games work better with a keyboard and mouse, while others are better suited to a controller. With rare exceptions, any game a console player plays is limited to the default controller layout. Developers can work hard to create controller-friendly options in games aimed at PC players, but there’s only so much they can do in genres like RTS and simulation games.

On PC, you’re free to use whatever you see fit. Playing twitch FPS games? Use keyboard and mouse. Playing stealth games or action-adventure games? Connect the controller. Heck, you can even use flight sticks and racing wheels for flight sim and racing games if you want to really immerse yourself. Beyond that, you can completely rebind the game’s controls however you wish. This is another accessibility issue that the console needs to address. Some people simply cannot use certain input methods. PCs don’t exclude anyone from playing games, no matter what they need to do.

5 no more subscriptions

Playing online should be free

Xbox Live set a terrible standard that console gaming has followed ever since. Previously, an Xbox Live Gold subscription was required to play games online, and the only games with a monthly fee were MMOs. Once PlayStation started charging for online access, there was no turning back and everyone started embracing it – except PC gamers.

This is just another way that computer gaming can save you money in the long run. The fact that PC players can play the same games as console players, and even against each other on the same server, without having to pay, only leads me to believe that this whole setup is a scam. The annual savings from just subscribing to PSN or Xbox can be enough to purchase several discounted games!

6 Exclusive products are rare

Never miss again

The console’s trump card is their exclusives. In the past, if you wanted to play any game made by a first-party studio, you had no choice but to get the console that released the game. With the exception of Nintendo, this is no longer the case. Xbox has fully embraced PC, with all of its games available for download on PC Game Pass, Steam, or both. Even PlayStation, which is second only to Nintendo in protecting its exclusivity, has embraced the PC as a platform. In some cases, it might take a year or so, but most of its big exclusives are already coming to PC.

There are always cases where a PC port is less than ideal, but more often than not, when a game makes the switch, you get a better experience on PC than you would on a console. I’ve talked about better options and performance, but modders also have the opportunity to step in and change the game in ways that would never be possible on consoles.

7 endless backlog

Everything at your fingertips

To make the list even more complete, we cannot ignore the vast number of games that you can access on PC. Coming to PC late might even be an advantage, since your backlog of games has literally been decades in the making. While consoles only have access to select games from previous generations, there are very few old PC games that you can’t get on PC in some way.

A modern PC is essentially like having every Nintendo console from the NES to the Switch installed on one machine. Want to play a game from the 80s? Go for it. Want to play online games from the early 2000s? As long as you can find a match, it’s there. There’s no reason to get bored or feel like there’s nothing to do on your computer.