Man, I've been console for ages, but this January I bought a gaming PC and hooked it up as my dedicated console, and it's been amazing. If you like a bit of tinkering, PC can dominate as a console.

• Playnite makes an amazing front end, stitching together everything my PC can do. Emulators, Steam, itch.io stuff, GoG and Epic and Xbox Game Pass, all seamlessly stitched together and 100% controller accessible.
• Emulators are fantastic, my PC plays Switch, PS3, Wii, everything.
• Real settings are a godsend, as is more powerful hardware. Actually play Elden Ring at a proper framerate. Play old games in true 4K/120.
• Tinker like crazy. Mods, ReShade, actual in-game settings, GPU Driver settings, if it bugs you, you can do something about it. Currently messing with emulating Demon Souls with ReShade, some mods, and connecting to RPCN for online multiplayer, and it's a delight.
• More powerful hardware too. Great to be able to push games past console, in whatever way you prefer. I'm already planning a GPU upgrade to be able to do more.
• Heck, even sharing features. My GPU can save 5 minutes or more of instant replay clips, which I used to save all of my Elden Ring boss fights, just hitting a controller shortcut when I killed the boss. My PC shares those via FTP, so I can just grab those on my phone and upload them to YouTube. Faster than Xbox uploads, and actually my files, with no arbitrary storage cutoff like I hit on Xbox.

Basically the only thing I miss is Xbox's Quick Resume, or suspending a game on Switch. But a good PC fires up games fast, so it's really not a huge loss in the face of all the benefits.

Gaming on a TV sucks and gaming with a controller sucks for majority of game genres. What's life without strategy games.

PC: can do all of those things with a $9 cable from amazon, just plug it into your tv lol

I will die defending kb/m superiority over controllers, mostly because most strategy games are not made with controllers in mind at all. Also because I hate having to wait for a camera to pan around when I can do a ~~very inaccurate~~ 180º in a fraction of a second

My brother got our PS3 confiscated for a year because he left bangbros open and forgot to turn the ps3 off, just the TV. Parents found out after we came home from church.

I'm STILL pissed. I was in a MAG clan and when I got it back the game was dead.

What side of this debate am I on if I have a dedicated gaming PC that stays plugged into the TV, that I interact with exclusively through a gamepad? Or my buddy who plays Xbox on a monitor at his desk? This isn't about PC or console, this is about couch vs desk.

Lol, that's my setup, but with an actual computer, not some dinky console. You wouldn't belive how comfortable coding on a TV with a good wireless keyboard is. And if I feel like laying back and watching something or gaming? HAHA! Already on the couch BABY! Man, it makes me feel old, but I have no shame. Also have a little lap table, so I can use a mouse for the odd occasion I'm playing something with an FPS camera.

I understamd the simple joys of conaole gaming. Spending a day building a pc vs 3 cables on a console. But (in AUD) $1200 for the PS5 Pro vs $800 for a capable PC i built with my students???

Then you have the Steam Deck which can easily serve as both.

Is a Steam Deck plugged into the TV and a set of bluetooth controllers a PC?