Middle-Class versus Gaming Consoles
If you grew up playing 8-bit games( Mario, Contra, Snow Bros etc.) like I did, then there is at the very least once in your life that you thought of getting yourself a PlayStation or an Xbox.
And if you’re still in school or college when that thought occurs to you, all the best for convincing your parents as to why you need such a device which run games while your computer is very much capable of running high-end games like Mario and Dave.
It took me years to convince mine.
But recently as I started working, they finally agreed that I can “waste” my money on whatever I want for the first few months of my work.
So, after saving for a few months and meanwhile doing an in-depth research on which console to get, I bought a PS4 slim for about ₹30,000.
I had two choices, either to get a PS4 slim or to get an Xbox one S.
How did I choose which one to get?
The answer for me was simple.
According to me, What makes a console worth buying are the platform exclusive games.
And Xbox exclusives aren’t actually exclusives. Almost all of them are available on Windows as well.
Nowadays, you can get a decent laptop with a mediocre graphics card which can run almost all games at low settings for a price of ₹35k-40k.
So, there was no way I was going to get an Xbox One S.
Are there other parameters on which you can choose between two gaming consoles?
Well, yes.
There are many parameters actually.
Let’s compare two of the most powerful consoles in the market.
PlayStation 4 Pro VS Xbox One X.
Footprint: PS4 Pro is a lot chunkier compared to Xbox One X. So, if there’s a size constraint, you know which one to get.
Power: Right now, no console which lived in the past or is living in the present holds a candle against Xbox One X. That console is an absolute beast with 6 teraflops of power as compared to its nearest comparison PS4 pro which clocks at 4.2 teraflops.
Output: On paper, both PS4 pro and Xbox one X are capable of giving a 4K output on the screen. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll see that Xbox One X runs a game in native 4K while PS4 Pro upscales the game to 4K.
Video Playback: Here again, Xbox One X wins the round with its capability of running 4K Blu-Rays while the PlayStation 4 pro can’t. Though it can play 4K from streaming services.
Controllers: This comes down to the personal choice and comfort. Third-party controllers with similar footprints are available for each other too.
Price: None of the consoles are officially available in India. You can get a PS4 Pro from Flipkart at ₹31,990 but that’s an imported variant. Imported from Dubai, so you might want to ignore that as there will be no warranty. But in the US market, there was a 100$ price difference between the two at the time of release. PS4 Pro being the cheaper one.
Games: All major AAA titles are released on both of them but while Microsoft has veteran titles like Halo and Gears of War under its belt, Sony had a lot more of them including The Last of Us, Infamous Second Son, Uncharted series and a lot more.
Isn’t assembling a gaming rig more reasonable than getting yourself a gaming console?
Yes, it certainly is.
Getting a decent graphics card(GTX 1080) and all the required hardware may cost you a few thousands above the price of a gaming console, but you can use the PC for multiple things apart from gaming as well.
With a console, you’re restricted to gaming.
But personally speaking, I like to keep my workstation and gaming station separate to save it from all the clutter.
That’s why I prefer gaming consoles over gaming PCs or laptops.
But it comes down to your personal choice.
Do not forget about Nvidia GeForce NOW which can actually revolutionize the way we game(Read more here).
Are there other options in the market for gaming consoles apart from PlayStation and Xbox?
I thought you would never ask.
Last year Nintendo released its latest Switch console(I’ll write a separate blog for it) in India.
Nintendo Switch a hand-held hybrid console with an unconventional way of playing games on it.
It’s priced at ₹30,990, which at the first look seems a little steep for a hand-held device but that small package actually surprised a lot of people.
Its gaming catalog is surprising as well.
With exclusives like Pokken Tournament, Mario Odyssey, and Zelda.
And a lot of indie games and other famous games being ported to it, it is making a big impact on the gaming console industry.
and in doing so, is getting itself a big fan following.
Are the gaming consoles worth it?
All three major gaming consoles namely PS4 slim, Xbox One S and Nintendo Switch costs between ₹30,000 to ₹33,000.
PS4 slim was available at a discounted price of $120 during the Black Friday sale in the US.
Even without the sale, it is available at a price of around $200 which is much less than the price at which it is available here.
Same is the case with Xbox One S.
The price difference is one of the biggest deal breakers for these gaming consoles.
Even Nintendo Switch which is comparatively newer is available at a price of $350 in the US market.
And I think that’s what the price should be in India if they want us to be as major of a market for the gaming consoles as in the western countries.
I would be happy to pay around ₹15,000-₹20,000 for the gaming consoles.
Yes, it is half the price of what we are paying right now, but that’s the actual worth of the consoles currently available in the Indian Market.