Back in the old days, it was all about the Console Wars. Who had the best console, with the best games? Which company had the best price? Which one do your friends have? These were the questions we asked ourselves.

But for the past decade or so, the players in the “console war” have remained virtually unchanged. Instead, the overall debate has shifted. With the “PS360” generation came the emergence of  Steam, and in turn, the popularity-boom of PC gaming. Sure, PC gaming had always been around, but with the emergence of an open-marketplace and continued support from AAA developers, PC became a serious console-contender.

And now it’s 2019; Steam is no longer the only marketplace, cross-play is bringing gamers together, and technology is offering solutions to problems we thought unsolvable. What does all of this mean for that age-old debate?

Below, we’ll look at three important facets of the “PC vs. Console” debate, and talk about how recent gaming developments have altered the argument:

The Cost

Cost is likely the first thing any gamers must consider when looking to make a big purchase. But there are a few complex factors to consider, especially now that Sony and Microsoft have both released upgrades.

According to WePC: a new PC with gaming performance on par with the Xbox One and PS4 is going to cost you $400. A new PC on par with the PS4 Plus and Xbox One X is going to cost you $600.

It’s easy to assume Console wins this debate, right? But that’s not the whole story.

Used PC hardware has seen a huge drop in price, even as the specs continue to stay on-par with current consoles. Meaning that you can snag a solid pre-built PC, along with a console-equivalent GPU, and you’d be saving a ton of money. Used Console offers do exist, but they can’t compete with the savings you can procure via a used PC and a little bit of digging.

It’s clear that PC wins out in the pricing-battle, but only in strict-terms. Let’s be honest, most of us will end up dropping extra bills, and upgrading our rigs.

The Games

Remember when your console decided which games you could play? With a few glaring exceptions, those days are mostly over…

AAA titles generally release to both major consoles and PC. Each console company definitely has a small handful of locked-up exclusives, but the question of “will this be a console-only game?” is likely about over. If it hits multiple consoles, chances are more than likely that it’s coming to PC.

So where does that leave the verdict? Well these days, it’s a little more complicated.

One major thing to consider, is that PC now has more games available overall than any other gaming console. There are two main factors contributing to this: indie games, and backwards compatibility:

Because of virtually open-marketplaces like Robot Cache or Steam, PC is now the most popular platform for independent developers. This means there is a practically endless trove of indie titles to explore on PC, while console is far more limiting. Backwards compatibility also contributes to the mass PC of titles available. Every time a traditional console gets an upgrade, only a small list of titles will continue to be compatibility on the new generation. But on PC, upgrades have little-to-no impact on access to older titles.

The Future

The final factor to mull over, is the future. As technology continues to advance at a quicker and quicker rate, consoles remain stuck in their current generation for years at a time. The concern isn’t just in hardware, but in the ways in which gaming as a whole is changing.

Consider one example: On the Robot Cache marketplace, users can resell their digital game purchases.

Reselling digital games was impossible just a few years ago. But with the development of Blockchain technology, Robot Cache has devised a way to make this possible.

We are on the cusp of this revolution, the very-near future of gaming holds much innovation and excitement. One of the best things about the PC, is it’s ability to stay on the forefront of that innovation. The fact that a PC is constantly upgradable means that it’s always making use of the latest tech.

From Blockchain to VR and beyond, we are excited to see what innovations the industry will bring us in the coming years.

About Robot Cache

Robot Cache is the world’s first videogame marketplace to buy PC games, resell them when you’re done and mine to earn free ones! We’re committed to disrupting distribution to be more fair, transparent and inclusive, changing the standard forever because it’s time.

If you’re interested in Robot Cache, head over to our signup page to become a Robot Cache Founder and receive:

  • Access before the general public
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PLAY. MINE. SELL.