Why I Choose PC Gaming

Recently I've given up on all consoles and have decided to stick to PC.
There are a few good reasons for this so I thought I'd get into why I personally prefer PC gaming over console gaming.

• Cost

Whilst it's true that PCs can be more expensive than consoles, in the long run you'll spend a lot less with games. Steam has constant sales where things go for real cheap and you can also get lots of games on giveaways, such as the ones Epic Games Store does.
The value is simply there, and it also correlates with my next point

• It can do other things

A PC isn't a console, it isn't a device made for gaming. I couldn't write this post on a console (well, I could but I wouldn't be able to post it), I can't run Photoshop, I can't run anything productive, only games and sometimes a web browser.

It also lets me run different ecosystems in a single place. For instance, in my PC I have Steam, Xbox, Ubisoft, Battle.net, Epic and Amazon Games launcher. All of these are separate and competing, but on console I can't run PS4 games on an Xbox One.

• Emulation

While this has been changing a bit lately on the Xbox side of things, emulation is mostly still something you do on more open platforms and there isn't a platform more open than the PC.
I can play all my old and ancient titles using whatever controller I want, with shaders, hacks, cheats, and infinite ways to have fun.

I've got a lot of games to emulate, and these retro delights can be as fun or more so than older titles.

• Choice

Once you buy onto a console ecosystem, you're stuck there. Your games will stay there and you're not leaving. You can't change operating systems, you can't run games from another platform, you can't communicate with people using other chat apps - you're stuck.

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On PC I can easily switch between Linux and Windows, I can use Switch controllers, Xbox controllers, Playstation controllers, hell, even Taiko no Tatsujin drums to play Elden Ring or whatever.

I can pick between buying my games on Steam with DRM or on GOG with none. I can choose if I'll be buying my games at all, I can run all sorts of accessories and parts and modify this thing to keep it running for years to come.
It's great! I love all this choice.

• My only gripe, which is solvable

Portability. PCs aren't portable.
Sure, you have laptops, but those do not have the same level of comfort as a Nintendo Switch or a Steam Deck (which is technically a PC, but good luck getting one).

However, once you find a comfy place to put down your laptop in and if it's powerful enough, you're bringing the entire experience of owning a PC with you anywhere with just a bag. I'm getting a laptop myself soon enough, and I plan on playing lots of easier to run titles there - but also to run Parsec and use it as sort of a terminal to access my PC at home when I'm over at my friend's places.

Those are a couple of the reasons why I personally take PC over console anyday.
It probably won't stop me from getting more consoles in the future, but I'm sure now what my main method of gaming will be. It just gives me more freedom, and that's what I value the most in technology, in whatever usecase.