this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2025
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Huh, I'm kind of surprised that's a new thing. I would assume way more people own computers than consoles in modern times so you would think that would always mean more sales
Thoughout history a typical gaming machine could run you over $1000, game consoles often cost under $400. Consoles are very often sold as loss leaders to promote software sales, PCs are not. Oh and that's just the cost of the box itself; a console is usually designed to attach to a television which has built-in speakers and consoles usually have at least one controller packed in. Computer monitors are sold separately as are any sound equipment. Normie PCs like Dell ~~Inspiron~~ Basic Plus machines might come with a keyboard and mouse but gaming PCs sometimes don't because they expect you're going to buy premium peripherals. You've got a desk to put this on, right?
Oh also there just isn't much of a PC gaming culture in Japan. It may be increasing now but in the land of Nintendo, Sega and Sony they play console games.
On the other hand, a PC is good for things that aren't gaming, like work or something.
People are less likely to own a TV already these days though than they used to be so the price calculation for consoles favors them a lot less if you take that into account. Not to mention that console games tend to be more expensive than PC games, especially indie PC games now that triple A is more of a warning label than an indicator of quality.
People have been buying Madden and Call Of Duty reliably for decades now. Doesn't matter if they're good or cheap, there are people who identify as "a person who buys Madden and Call Of Duty."
Those are individual games though, console games are just much more expensive on average. There isn't as much available on the cheaper end of the market.
So? How many people bought a Switch to play Breath of the Wild and basically nothing else?
Probably very few among the people who carefully weighed which system gives them the better bang for their buck.
Nah, a lot of people just buy whatever their friends have, and only own a handful of games (Madden, FIFA, etc) and just don't think about it.
Look at how many people can't afford the cars they own and roll negative equity into the next one, or look at how much credit card debt people have on average. People just buy without thinking too much.
Yeah, to rephrase my post the other way around, buying a console and just a few games is only really possible because it is carried by people who don't carefully weigh if that is a financially sound decision.