Mid-range GPUs still exist, they just dont get the same coverage as the top-end cards. An RTX 4060 is set at $300 which is much cheaper than a PS5 or Series X
$300 for the GPU only. You still need the rest of the PC to play games. The CPU will be at least $150 for anything that will run newer games basically at all, and then your RAM will be at least another $50. Now add on the case, fans, cooler, and any other accessories and for a mid-to-low range PC you’ve already passed the price of a premium console.
I’ve been a PC gamer for 3 decades. Most budget conscious PC gamers I know upgrade individual components as needed. Done this way, you can easily get more for your money than having to buy a new console every cycle.
Yes, but if you don’t have a PC, or one even remotely good enough, that cost is all up front.
Either way, you end up spending more on PC hardware than console hardware. For the price and for a person that isnt an enthusiast, they really don’t have a need to go to PC, when console does everything they want.
With consoles, you also run into the planned obselescense problem. If I bought an Xbox in 2015, I would now be at a point where the industry has decided my console belongs in a trash and I need to buy a new one if I want to play modern games. But with my relatively modest gaming PC I built in 2015, I can still play most modern games if I turn the graphics settings down. I haven’t upgraded a single part in my 2015 build in years and it still works fine for my usage.
A Ryzen 5600 is less than that and already beats the CPU in the PS5/X1X, especially in gaming.
The “mid-to-low range PC” already beats both consoles and when you consider that games are generally cheaper on PC and you don’t have to subscribe to a service just to play online, you’re quickly arriving at a point where PC gaming is cheaper while offering superior performance.
The “mid-to-low range PC” already beats both consoles
But not for the money. The console manufacturers sell their systems at a loss, which is something PC part manufacturers can’t do.