Before the AI bullshit, no. There was a ton of builds you could do for the cost of the PS5. Not everything needs to be current gen. On top of that most people who build a PC don’t upgrade it for a good 5+ years usually (if not longer), and you’re usually not upgrading everything at once, just the GPU usually. It’s not needed since games literally still run perfectly fine for years and years on older hardware. AM4 systems running ddr4 are now a decade old. I have an AM4 system running a 5800xt (second CPU) and a 6900xt (bought used), and it still handles pretty much everything on high settings @ 1080p, even new stuff that comes out.
No one should be buying a steam deck, even a used one, in 2026 as their main gaming device. That makes the steam machine look like a 5090 powered beast.
People don’t want to buy a PC that already can’t play current gen games.
With how underpowered it is, there are a dozen Android handhelds like the Retroid pocket 6 that are significantly cheaper and will be better at playing your steam library than the steam deck.
Its getting better BG3 and Reanimal and a few other AAA games recently have made their way there.
I think selling it back from CD Projekt to the original creator will slowly see this change to where more and more games are found on there day one.
But yeah if a publisher is a dickhead and not budging on DRM steam or Epic is pretty much your only option. And that does tend to happen. But in that case it isn’t really GOGs fault for what the publisher won’t allow.
That’s the thing - it’s not GoG’s fault, but that doesn’t change the reality of the fact that it is a wasteland if you want recent AA/AAA games
The fact that CDPR sold it says to me that it’s never going to be anything more than it is now in regards to being a real alternative to steam. If CDPR couldn’t do it, with all their financial backing, no way in hell can a single guy.
Unsurprisingly, when a publisher is paying $100mil-$300mil to make a game, they don’t want it ending up on pirate bay and every other download site free of charge for all within an hour of release. They will never release on GoG without DRM.
What’s not true? The steam machine and comparable PCs are about USD$1200 when you add in a controller. The base PS5 is USD$650, or $600 for the digital one which is more comparable since the steam machine and PC’s are digital only.
That a super low spec PC is twice the price of a PS5.
A PC that will outperform the PS5 Pro by a decent margin could be had for about $1000 today. An entry level gaming PC could be had for $700 or so.
The premium you pay for a PC over a PS5 is only 10-15% and that’s only because Sony sells them at a loss to recoup later in PSN subscriptions and online store purchases (This is why they’re killing physical media).
You’re saving 10-15% up front at the cost of being trapped on their platform forever and you’ll pay more over the life of it in PSN subscriptions unless you play single player only games.
That’s not true at all. Have you had your head in the sand since the steam machines reveal? A machine that matches the steam machine is about $1000-$1100. That is less powerful than the regular PS5.
To make a PC as powerful as the PS5 Pro will cost a lot more.
Care to show me this ps5 pro beating pc for $1000?
It sure is. I think your problem is you don’t know much a gaming PC costs, or much at all about hardware, so your only frame of reference is the Steam Machine, which is a small form factor pre-built machine with notoriously poor value for the money.
Care to show me this ps5 pro beating pc for $1000?
This dynamically changes with price, so for posterity this listing is $1,062
Literally the only thing the PS5 Pro beats out in this build is that it has DDR5 instead of DDR4 RAM, but even that in no way makes up for its shortcomings in other areas. The PS5 Pro’s GPU is close but doesn’t quite match the performance of the 9060 xt, and the PS5 Pro’s CPU is absolutely gimped next to the 5600x due its remarkably small cache and power limitations.
PS Plus is $80 a year for the basic and $160 a year for the ultra premium with like 300+ games. And they give you 3 free games a month even on basic. And if you buy a game, you can share the game with a friend and play online together with the same copy at the same time. With steam sharing one of you has to be offline on that game.
At $600 for the system and $80 a year that’s going to take over 6 and a half years before you hit the $1000 mark.
I have PC and PS5 and am in the middle of making cheaper PCs to get my friends to finally jump ship from PS’s BS and I can tell you absolutely with 100 percent certainty that the guy is right. It is not cheaper. It is way more expensive.
Not sure why he got down voted for that truth.
I’m resorting to making BC 250 builds for my friends (basically will pay a subscription cost through electric now but progress is progress) and it still isn’t cheaper for what you get with PlayStation.
But fuck them though killing off physical and throwing their weight behind ESA to try and make hosting your own game servers illegal and just years of anti consumer bullshit has made me intent on leaving them for good after this year.
Just buy a PC, fuck the consoles. That will teach em!!
Unfortunately even a super low spec pc is still double the price of a PS5.
Also the overwhelming majority of console owners are already 100% digital.
Right now? Yes.
Before the AI bullshit, no. There was a ton of builds you could do for the cost of the PS5. Not everything needs to be current gen. On top of that most people who build a PC don’t upgrade it for a good 5+ years usually (if not longer), and you’re usually not upgrading everything at once, just the GPU usually. It’s not needed since games literally still run perfectly fine for years and years on older hardware. AM4 systems running ddr4 are now a decade old. I have an AM4 system running a 5800xt (second CPU) and a 6900xt (bought used), and it still handles pretty much everything on high settings @ 1080p, even new stuff that comes out.
That or buy a steam deck for like $300 used lol
Right now, and for the foreseeable future.
No one should be buying a steam deck, even a used one, in 2026 as their main gaming device. That makes the steam machine look like a 5090 powered beast.
People don’t want to buy a PC that already can’t play current gen games.
Yep. The steam deck was basically the equivalent of a budget PC stripped down and shoved into a handheld.
And this was 4 years ago when its new. Which relied heavily on low resolution and resolution scaling to even make due.
Now its even worse, especially with no significant price drop, and double especially with the ridiculous price increase they put on it.
Steam deck is an interesting device, and I’ll give valve credit for it. But its past its time, especially with the lack of price reductions.
With how underpowered it is, there are a dozen Android handhelds like the Retroid pocket 6 that are significantly cheaper and will be better at playing your steam library than the steam deck.
From the digital side,you can purchase games from gog, which offers DRM free games. You can download the installers and use them in perpetuity.
Yeah, as long as you don’t want to play anything other than indies. GoG misses out on 99% of AA/AAA games specifically because of the lack of DRM.
Its getting better BG3 and Reanimal and a few other AAA games recently have made their way there.
I think selling it back from CD Projekt to the original creator will slowly see this change to where more and more games are found on there day one.
But yeah if a publisher is a dickhead and not budging on DRM steam or Epic is pretty much your only option. And that does tend to happen. But in that case it isn’t really GOGs fault for what the publisher won’t allow.
That’s the thing - it’s not GoG’s fault, but that doesn’t change the reality of the fact that it is a wasteland if you want recent AA/AAA games
The fact that CDPR sold it says to me that it’s never going to be anything more than it is now in regards to being a real alternative to steam. If CDPR couldn’t do it, with all their financial backing, no way in hell can a single guy.
Unsurprisingly, when a publisher is paying $100mil-$300mil to make a game, they don’t want it ending up on pirate bay and every other download site free of charge for all within an hour of release. They will never release on GoG without DRM.
That’s not true at all, but yes consoles will be a bit more expensive than comparable Consoles.
What’s not true? The steam machine and comparable PCs are about USD$1200 when you add in a controller. The base PS5 is USD$650, or $600 for the digital one which is more comparable since the steam machine and PC’s are digital only.
The Steam machine isn’t as powerful as a PS5.
That a super low spec PC is twice the price of a PS5.
A PC that will outperform the PS5 Pro by a decent margin could be had for about $1000 today. An entry level gaming PC could be had for $700 or so.
The premium you pay for a PC over a PS5 is only 10-15% and that’s only because Sony sells them at a loss to recoup later in PSN subscriptions and online store purchases (This is why they’re killing physical media).
You’re saving 10-15% up front at the cost of being trapped on their platform forever and you’ll pay more over the life of it in PSN subscriptions unless you play single player only games.
That’s not true at all. Have you had your head in the sand since the steam machines reveal? A machine that matches the steam machine is about $1000-$1100. That is less powerful than the regular PS5.
To make a PC as powerful as the PS5 Pro will cost a lot more.
Care to show me this ps5 pro beating pc for $1000?
It sure is. I think your problem is you don’t know much a gaming PC costs, or much at all about hardware, so your only frame of reference is the Steam Machine, which is a small form factor pre-built machine with notoriously poor value for the money.
Here you go.
This dynamically changes with price, so for posterity this listing is $1,062
Literally the only thing the PS5 Pro beats out in this build is that it has DDR5 instead of DDR4 RAM, but even that in no way makes up for its shortcomings in other areas. The PS5 Pro’s GPU is close but doesn’t quite match the performance of the 9060 xt, and the PS5 Pro’s CPU is absolutely gimped next to the 5600x due its remarkably small cache and power limitations.
Yeah but you don’t pay monthly for internet access and you have tens of thousands more of pc exclusives
PS Plus is $80 a year for the basic and $160 a year for the ultra premium with like 300+ games. And they give you 3 free games a month even on basic. And if you buy a game, you can share the game with a friend and play online together with the same copy at the same time. With steam sharing one of you has to be offline on that game.
At $600 for the system and $80 a year that’s going to take over 6 and a half years before you hit the $1000 mark.
I have PC and PS5 and am in the middle of making cheaper PCs to get my friends to finally jump ship from PS’s BS and I can tell you absolutely with 100 percent certainty that the guy is right. It is not cheaper. It is way more expensive.
Not sure why he got down voted for that truth.
I’m resorting to making BC 250 builds for my friends (basically will pay a subscription cost through electric now but progress is progress) and it still isn’t cheaper for what you get with PlayStation.
But fuck them though killing off physical and throwing their weight behind ESA to try and make hosting your own game servers illegal and just years of anti consumer bullshit has made me intent on leaving them for good after this year.