Darryl M R
Member
Added a quote that I think sums up what I am trying to get across, sorry for the long OP.
I am hoping to have a conversation on why a lot of PC users mention how much PC saves them in terms of buying games when talking to primary console users that play AAA titles. I would think that this group of console players make up the majority of the userbase, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
I would like to preface with the knowledge that I do not currently having a gaming PC but I'm hoping to build one in 2016; and I am truly excited to start gaming on a PC and enjoying titles I never enjoyed before. I experienced some sales on Steam through Steam for Mac users but I did not buy anything that was greatly discounted because I did not want to play those games. I also think PC gaming should be leading technology and setting the expectation for games and how communities/costumers should demand quality.
Now to my actual talking point:
I often see in threads that are posted to help the OP convince himself that he should invest in a PC that it is the cheaper option in the long-run because you "save" money because games are so cheap. I would argue that this is false for most gamers that play big AAA titles on release or close to release. This is a segment of gamers/consumers that I am speaking about, not everyone, but I think this users make up the majority of console gamers and therefore they lead/vote with their wallets on how developers and publishers act.
Unless you are purchasing from a third party website that sells games for a lower price--and from my understanding a lot of people frown on buying from them--you are still paying the initial price to purchase AAA titles at release.
(Now I will make an assumption and I am being transparent about it):
We can expect consoles gamers that come over to the PC to still play the titles they enjoyed on their console (yearly CoD, Battlefield, Witcher 3 etc.). We can also expect them to play games that are now available to them because they are on a PC (CS:GO, Dota, Arma, etc.). Now we can expect them to take advantage of steam sells to buy other games that may have not been on their radar. But how does this save them money?
Let's say a sale is going on where you can buy The Mass Effect series for $5. Well if you didn't have a PC, you would have not bought it. You decide to buy it and maybe you play it all and enjoy it, or maybe it goes into your backlog of steam games because you took advantage of a lot of sales. But you didn't save money. You spent it. You spent money that you could not have spent on a current gen console because that series was not available for you to buy and play.
Similar to how people laughed at a user who posted that they saved $200 on Black Friday by buying $200 worth of electronics. No you spent money. For a lower price. But you spent money that you would have not if it was not discounted.
Once again this argument uses the assumption that we are talking about your largest console playerbase that buys AAA at or close to release and that they would keep up their spending habits on a new platform (PC).
I would like to hear others opinion on how the term "saving" get thrown around for PC.
TL;DR: Do you really save money by switching to PC when your spending habits change to accommodate for buying more games on (steam) sale but you also still buying AAA titles on release.
Is there a better word/phrase we could use besides saying you "save" more in the long run when talking to an individual that states his current gaming style/buying habits?
This argument does not hold for individuals that decide not to buy games close to release.
PC gamers don't understand the purchasing habits of the console market. Your typical console every-man is buying <6 titles a year. All at full price. All on day one. From a brick and mortar store. They don't care about shopping around, they don't care about sales, they don't care about indies, and they don't care about PC exclusives. They're not going to build their own PC. They're not going to troubleshoot or mess with settings. They don't care about mods. They're not going to research shit.
For that motherfucker, of which there are millions, there is no cost benefit to moving to PC gaming.
You're all imposing your own habits on the mass market - which is what the OP was talking about - and wondering why everyone doesn't see things the way you do. You are not the mass market.
Nevermind the irony of the same people who complain that AAA publishers either outright ignore and put no effort into PC gaming while bragging about buying their products on launch day for fractions of their full price.
Some days, you guys, some days...
I am hoping to have a conversation on why a lot of PC users mention how much PC saves them in terms of buying games when talking to primary console users that play AAA titles. I would think that this group of console players make up the majority of the userbase, but please correct me if I'm wrong.
I would like to preface with the knowledge that I do not currently having a gaming PC but I'm hoping to build one in 2016; and I am truly excited to start gaming on a PC and enjoying titles I never enjoyed before. I experienced some sales on Steam through Steam for Mac users but I did not buy anything that was greatly discounted because I did not want to play those games. I also think PC gaming should be leading technology and setting the expectation for games and how communities/costumers should demand quality.
Now to my actual talking point:
I often see in threads that are posted to help the OP convince himself that he should invest in a PC that it is the cheaper option in the long-run because you "save" money because games are so cheap. I would argue that this is false for most gamers that play big AAA titles on release or close to release. This is a segment of gamers/consumers that I am speaking about, not everyone, but I think this users make up the majority of console gamers and therefore they lead/vote with their wallets on how developers and publishers act.
Unless you are purchasing from a third party website that sells games for a lower price--and from my understanding a lot of people frown on buying from them--you are still paying the initial price to purchase AAA titles at release.
(Now I will make an assumption and I am being transparent about it):
We can expect consoles gamers that come over to the PC to still play the titles they enjoyed on their console (yearly CoD, Battlefield, Witcher 3 etc.). We can also expect them to play games that are now available to them because they are on a PC (CS:GO, Dota, Arma, etc.). Now we can expect them to take advantage of steam sells to buy other games that may have not been on their radar. But how does this save them money?
Let's say a sale is going on where you can buy The Mass Effect series for $5. Well if you didn't have a PC, you would have not bought it. You decide to buy it and maybe you play it all and enjoy it, or maybe it goes into your backlog of steam games because you took advantage of a lot of sales. But you didn't save money. You spent it. You spent money that you could not have spent on a current gen console because that series was not available for you to buy and play.
Similar to how people laughed at a user who posted that they saved $200 on Black Friday by buying $200 worth of electronics. No you spent money. For a lower price. But you spent money that you would have not if it was not discounted.
Once again this argument uses the assumption that we are talking about your largest console playerbase that buys AAA at or close to release and that they would keep up their spending habits on a new platform (PC).
I would like to hear others opinion on how the term "saving" get thrown around for PC.
TL;DR: Do you really save money by switching to PC when your spending habits change to accommodate for buying more games on (steam) sale but you also still buying AAA titles on release.
Is there a better word/phrase we could use besides saying you "save" more in the long run when talking to an individual that states his current gaming style/buying habits?
This argument does not hold for individuals that decide not to buy games close to release.