Seven Great Perks A Gaming PC Offers In 2020 And Beyond

The debate of whether consoles or PCs offer better gaming platforms is a never ending one. Consoles usually provide a far more streamlined, easier entry point into next generation gaming at an unbeatable price, whereas PCs will be a more involved, more expensive option but offer far better future proofing, ultimately giving you a greater investment.

The new consoles launched last month with specs that rivalled PC systems costing twice as much, so the question is; if you just want to play games, is a PC worth it?
Both consoles and PCs are awesome pieces of hardware in their own right, but this time, lets observe seven enticing perks on the PC side - even considering the Xbox Series X and PS5’s enticing price point!

    


Lower price games

A lot of people don't consider the fact that console games have a higher price-point, even though up-front the hardware is significantly cheaper and can therefore be more alluring. For example, CD Project Red’s Cyberpunk 2077 costs $60 on both new systems, but on PC you can buy it for $56 - a price that was even cheaper a few months ago if you pre-ordered. Games are more expensive on consoles due to the fee that game developers have to pay the console manufacturers for the privilege of releasing on their system.

PC as a platform doesn’t have that problem, with many different distributors competing price wise meaning it’s very rare to pay full retail price. Also, game prices come down in price considerably faster and with pre-owned games essentially a thing of the past now, you’re going to pay more over the years for games with a console. It is definitely worth considering that saving just $10 every couple of months on games with a PC adds up to a substantial amount over the long haul.

 

On exclusive games

Looking back to SEGA’s iconic Dreamcast system that was first released in Japan in 1998, the console was defined by its exclusive and undeniably unique and diverse library.
While many of Microsoft and Sony’s series are iconic in their own right, they don’t really hold the same weight they used to for the consoles they represent; most, if not all, of Microsoft's exclusive titles will be available on PC anyway, with PlayStation heavyweights like Horizon Zero Dawn and its recent PC port paving the way for Sony franchises to reach the platform, too. 

Then there’s also game modding - a commodity that has breathed new life into countless games that otherwise fizzle out when the developers dictate.
Minecraft is an unbelievably richer experience thanks to the PC modding community, as is Skyrim - a game in which people have fully voice recorded and scripted brand-new quests which are arguably as good as anything Bethesda themselves put out, and all for free. 
There are also, of course, hundreds of PC exclusive titles to explore that are unique to the platform.
 

  
 

A huge back catalogue

There’s a lot of talk over backwards compatibility on consoles, with PS5 only enabling you to go as far back as the PS4 (unless you want to buy titles you owned in the past on their store). The Xbox Series X allows you to play Xbox 360 and original Xbox games through the nicely implemented Xbox Game Pass. Those are welcome features for sure, but they unequivocally pale in comparison to the backwards compatibility of PC, which consists of, more or less, its entire back catalogue as a gaming platform.

PC is as backwards compatible as it gets; you can pretty much play every PC game ever made dating back to the 80s, meaning you have access to a positively gargantuan library of games, nearly all of which cost barely anything. System Shock 2 and the original Thief - two critically acclaimed PC games from the 90s - can be had in most cases for under a $1!

 

Upgradability

One of the biggest perks of PC gaming is the ability to upgrade your rig at will.
Where a console’s hardware is set for the six or seven years of its life, a PC is indefinitely upgradable. Its modular design allows you the freedom of swapping out individual components when you feel you need to, placing the user in complete control of their experience.
Graphics technology moves at an incredible pace and while the consoles are impressively cutting edge right now, even in a year that will have changed dramatically.
With a PC, you can shop around, buy pre-owned components and throughout this generation's lifespan, you may end up with a system comparatively better bang for buck than the consoles in the end. There’s no denying that Microsoft and Sony’s latest machines offer an unbeatable price performance ratio right now, but that won’t necessarily be the case a couple of years in.

 

Virtual Reality

VR is just beginning to take off, with industry heavyweights like Valve, Oculus and HP all at the cutting edge of the technology, producing better quality and ever cheapening headsets.
The new Medal of Honour has just launched as a VR exclusive, while Valve shocked the industry this year when they brought back the quintessential PC exclusive franchise Half-Life with Half-Life: Alyx - a monumental success that has gone down as one of the best games of all time, and an experience you can only have on PC.
Then there’s Boneworks, one of the weirdest yet most enjoyable sandbox experiences on the market, as well as non VR games with VR features like Dirt Rally and No Man's Sky. There’s even a great mod for Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC enabling you to play it in VR!

Microsoft haven’t announced any sort of VR product (although there are rumours that they might), and while there is a PlayStation VR2 on the way, that’ll be your only option for a VR experience on the console - narrowing your choice to whatever software is possible on the hardware.
On PC, you can choose whatever headset you want, experience far superior visuals and choose from a plethora of PC exclusive VR titles and mods. You can even control your entire desktop from within a VR headset. 

    

You can still use a TV and a controller if you prefer

While playing games on PC is synonymous with sitting at a desk with a mouse and keyboard, it doesn’t have to be that way.
In fact, there’s nothing stopping you from hooking your system up to a TV and playing games with any Microsoft or Sony wireless controller you want; even the Switch Pro controller can be used.
This setup can be achieved with ease using Steam’s big picture mode which mimics the streamlined console user interface, so there’s nothing to stop you using a PC as you would a console.
You can hook up racing wheels for driving games and joysticks for arcade games; there isn’t really any restriction on what peripherals you can use, and you can tailor your experience however you like.

 

It’s also a computer

While this list is considering gaming only, it's still worth noting that your PC can do a ton of other stuff besides playing games.
Considering the graphics focussed hardware your PC is built around, you can use your system for animation, video editing, modelling or even game design itself (Unreal Engine is free now, after all). You can learn to code, you could use it for music production, for writing, for watching and storing movies and TV shows in a home theatre set up - the list is endless, and it can offer you so much more than the investment in a console could bring you.

 

This list is not a smear against consoles. Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X offer an incredible package and are a marvel of engineering, offering the most streamlined, hassle free platform and unparalleled powerful hardware at an unbeatable price.
That’s not to say, though, that PC doesn’t bring its own perks to the table. The PC holds its own in a wide plethora of categories, even with the enticing lure of the next generation consoles.

Which is your preferred platform and why? Let us know in the comments. 

 

Linden Garcia
Editor, NoobFeed