Upgrading GPU every gen and CPU every couple gens (so, the cost of a brand new console every gen, and about double that or so every two, new monitors and other peripheral can come along at their own pace like new TVs or whatever would) is pretty good price wise, timing it mid-gen so that you can infer what kind of power/budget you need to last the generation and match/surpass (or whatever your personal desire is to achieve) the consoles without buying the most expensive top of the line model at the start of it to break the bank and still not be sure it qualifies. Yeah, your PC will struggle with the biggest budget AAA games at the start of the generation before you commit to the upgrade (like, Wicher 3 was the game that got me to finally upgrade my last GPU for example, around a year after its release where I struggled to enjoy it with my old one and even then I kind of regretted it afterwards, I could have waited more to get better stuff for less since it wasn’t that great a game for me after all) but there will be plenty more to play in the mean time with lower requirements (rather than arbitarily block the hardware even when a game isn’t so heavy as it happens with consoles, the old ones don’t get all new games even if they’re low-end indies) and it will also breeze through everything after that point of no return (not to mention remaster previous games for free with higher resolutions, better framerates and potentially mods, simple like adding new visual effects and shaders with programs like ReShade or with in depth content overhauls by fans).
Not everyone buys the consoles day one or the Pro models day one or whatever anyway and similarly PC gaming isn’t just about upgrading every year to have the best graphics and performance, you can be more budget conscious too and also not pay subscriptions (at least before they become the norm as so many companies want to move gaming to the Netflix era but it’s not happening just yet imo, I mean for basic things like enabling online play and services and such, you get so many features for free from Steam and other clients/storefronts that keep improving and offering unique things), have backwards compatibility spanning decades without rebuying the games, emulation on top of that for the back compat to span even more systems and decades and all sorts of other perks. That said of course I’m not saying that following these scenarios the hardware will be brought down to a $500 console level or even less as they also get cheaper as the generation passes, but not that bad for a hobby one commits to either (let’s say, compared to car nuts or whatever) and there’s usually far more price competition on PC between digital and physical storefronts (at least when a game is not a timed Epic Games Store exclusive etc., but hey, I can wait).
Honestly, I don’t really care for Sony’s fist party output bar rare exceptions (and the same goes for Microsoft to be honest, not singling them out, just the topic here), they just do the usual AAA cinematic/open world stuff nowadays which lots of other big publishers develop and imo they never had great IP on their own, they relied on third parties since the PS1 and now third parties (even Japanese publishers which used to shun PC back in the day, so good) are all multi platform or at least one console exclusive + PC. If I wanted platform games and such which they also do at times (like the new Ratchet & Clank) I’d be going for a Nintendo system as secondary as nobody really matches their diversity and difference to what other publishers tend to develop as a rule. Without SEGA as a first party, they’re the one with an identity left. The last time I had two systems was to have PC and Wii and it was a great experience.
That said even a single platform has more games than one can conceivably ever play nowadays, I can deal with missing the few Sony games that don’t fit that mold, there’s plenty more to play from big publishers, small publishers and indies alike that don’t all reach consoles either (not to mention pioneering new fields like VR, sure consoles will get that too at some point but the current PSVR is super lacking in terms of controllers, Sony really botched that with retrofitting the Move and Aim stuff instead of developing new purpose built hardware, which heavily limits the experiences it can get and by the time consoles get on par I’ll have been enjoying it for a generation’s worth of years), or do it after they succeed on PC.
Journey was okay when it came to PC (I didn’t feel it deserved its hype beyond the striking art style but maybe because I had already tried its mobile cousin which is basically the same thing with the harrowing social/grinding aspect on top and different visual themes), Horizon: Zero Dawn I’ve yet to delve into, it didn’t grab me through the intro sequences, very by the numbers Ubisoft-esque open world action adventure, and I don’t really like any David Cage games so far, at best they’re flawed like Fahrenheit and at worst bad. Dontnod and some indie developers here and there do that style of game better with a lower budget imo.
Some of these are no longer and/or weren’t always first party and I didn’t have to have those games regardless of that status. From the PS5 known potential exclusives I’m mostly curious about Demon’s Souls so far but it’s a very strict remake and it wasn’t as good as Dark Souls to me, even if it now looks better than all previous games on a technical level (perhaps not artistically in all aspects), I love my cohesive seamless metroidvania worlds and its design didn’t employ that in the same way sequels did, possibly due to its weird development before finally becoming a cult hit that spawned a beloved style. But even so, From Software still exists and will likely be making more games in that style I can play on PC, from Dark Souls to Sekiro, so I don’t need to get a PS5 even if Sony does get this remake or even a Bloodborne 2 or whatever they secure as exclusive, even if they don’t put those on PC like Horizon. Plus other devs make this style of game since Dark Souls became a hit series, so as I said, they don’t have much that other platforms don’t also get in some form to really wish to have the console for unique things.
Just my 2 cents.
