Former Blizzard president argues consoles offer much better value than expensive gaming handhelds

[Redaktion]

Former Blizzard president Mike Ybarra argues that expensive gaming handhelds do not offer good value compared to consoles. He believes systems like the PS5 and Xbox Series X are more affordable, longer-lasting, and a better choice for most players.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Former-Blizzard-president-argues-consoles-offer-much-better-value-than-expensive-gaming-handhelds.1195237.0.html

[Krod_Mandoon]

LOVE my Win 4, spent about $900 on her, plays everything and I can take it with me. Consoles (at least the kind that must be tethered to a tv) are hanging on by a thread. Are they the cheapest way to play the newest games with confidence? Maybe, if you don't include the cost of a TV to play it on, which I get, most would already have. But the convenience of handheld portability is real. Admittedly a bit bias as I cannot picture buying a console ever again, as I do not want to give up the freedom that pc offers over console. These statements exclude a potential nintendo console as they cannot be legally played on pc, but almost every Xbox game and a good enough chunk of ps games play as good if not better on pc. These days, xbox/ps is a financial compromise more than an ideal choice, in my opinion.

[Benjamin Giles]

That's a bit ironic coming from a company that refuses to support cloud gaming and/or console ports for World of Warcraft, Warcraft, or Starcraft.

[Tikwid]

It's like being an incompetent know-nothing is a prerequisite to being a president/C-Suite exec.

[Jum]

It comes with a screen.  The games are way cheaper.  Depending on how many games you buy, it could ironically cost you less money... I probably have $1000 "worth" of free games just from Epic weekly give aways.

But fact hardware is SUBSIDIZED by game sales... well they need to profit and make up for subsidies.

[Noisy]

I feel like steam deck (or even a $500 laptop) is the real bar to clear here, though of course it's also subsidized by the sale of steam games. The real advantage for PCs is the competitive software and hardware marketplace. Consumers get lots of options (I can run games on PCs costing $50 or $5000, depending on my preferences) at relatively competitive prices. Consoles are mostly just worth it if you just want to play a few non-subscription games.

[Gaboonus]

I guess these execs are trying to speak these desires into existence. Best move I made in gaming was to ditch console and embrace pc handhelds. The Steam Deck was my gateway handheld before I got an Ally X. Great systems! Like the other commenter, I don't ever see myself going back to consoles. Games can be had for much less (even free), there's more versatility in how you can play, and mods are a boon for revisiting older titles. And, murky territory or not, emulators offer near limitless hours of fun playing the titles you grew up with, especially those that are near impossible to find on original hardware. I too think consoles are on the way out.

[DaveMul]

This guy has clearly never had to compete for access to the single TV on the household

[Justin]

Hi well I've just bought new the MSI Claw A1M-016UK 9S7-1T4111-016 Intel Core
Ultra 7 155H 16GB Memory 1TB SSD 7"
Touchscreen Windows 11 Home Portable Handheld
Gaming Console - Black
 Brand New for £315 including vat and delivery and thought not the fastest. I believe at this price is worth it. O h and I game on xbox series x..ps5...my PC I built Ryzen 7 9800x3d.. sapphire nitro + rtx 9070xt 16gb ram...48gb ddr 5 @ 8000mt/s...Soundblaster sound gigabyte x870 wifi 7 ice motherboard and 2tb gen 5 t700 name.. on a 2k rog 27" oled display. My my magic pro 2 oled android tablet snapdragon 8s gen 3 12gb ddr5 ram and 256gb storage ...ans then my Samsung s23 all are choices for me how to play games foe me as someone who is 53 and don't drink alcohol or smoke or do drugs ..this is hiw I spend my leasure money..glad I finished my PC build before the price nonsence

Excuse grammar im dislecic.

[Worgarthe]

They do offer better value in terms of performance per $/€, indeed, just like desktops do over laptops. But how many minutes/hours can one actually use their console (or desktop) unplugged from the wall? Can they just quickly grab their console (or desktop), put it in their backpack, and go to their friend's place for a drink and a bit of gaming? Rhetorical questions.

Sure if one spends their days in their home with minimal interaction with the outside world then there really is no point to get a handheld (or a laptop), but that's a different topic...