How To Save Money With PC Gaming

By Thomas Hart on July 5, 2020

Gaming on consoles is expensive. On their own the consoles cost hundreds of dollars, games for them will average around $60 new, and there is a limited library of games. So if you want better variety, you will likely need to own consoles from different gaming companies. Gaming consoles are purely built for entertainment, and outside of gaming have no real use. But what if you could play video games on a system that you already own, and what if games were often cheaper and less restricted on them? It sounds like a dream, but it is a dream with a name: PC gaming.

Plenty of gamers claim the PC as their main console because it is cheaper in the long run and easier thanks to the wide variety of games and playing configurations the PC boasts. Image source: Pexel.com

When talking about PC gaming, what we are really going to focus on is one incredibly important gaming platform: Steam. Steam is an online gaming store made by Valve Corporation, and it has become the source of PC gaming. The reason it is so beloved is because it makes things very easy for video game developers and consumers. Developers like Steam because they can work on their games and sell them to a large customer base without having to work with the major brands that make the home consoles while also getting instant feedback on what those consumers liked about the game or what needs improvement. Customers like Steam because games are easy to review (without the swarms of fake reviews that plague many other digital stores) and there are constantly great deals on games without any hassle.

Saving money with PC gaming is all about using Steam (and emulators if you do not mind breaking the law) to smartly buy games when they are cheapest. A great example is the Batman Arkham series. What was once $60 at launch per game is now only $5 each. You can now purchase four of some of the best licensed games ever made for only $20. This is a common trend. Star Wars: Fallen Jedi Order, which released less than a year ago, is now only $30 on Steam, half the price it was at launch. The recently re-released Persona 4 Golden, once a PS Vita exclusive, is now available on Steam for $20. These prices are tough to beat, and they are all on one platform, removing the hassle of owning and taking care of multiple devices.

The cheap prices are the best reason to have the Steam icon sitting on your desktop, but there are some other perks, such as the adaptability. Steam games will be linked to your account, which makes it easy to switch devices and keep your games. By using the save data cloud, you can even keep the progress you made on those games. You can also choose many aspects of how you play, such as what controller you use. By plugging in a small adapter or just the USB charging cable into your computer, you can use Xbox, Dualshock, or even the Switch Pro controller. PC games also are able to look higher resolution and have better framerate than most consoles as they can work with beefier processors and graphics cards.

Many games can also comfortably support mouse and keyboard controls, so even if you do not have a controller there is nothing to worry about. Image source: Pexel.com

The one disadvantage with PC gaming is the machine that makes it possible: your computer. Getting a powerful enough computer to handle playing high-end games can be an expensive endeavor on its own. However, consider that you are not just buying a gaming machine, just a machine powerful enough to play games. Computers good enough for PC gaming are also great for other tasks, especially taxing tasks like video editing or rendering 3D models. Plus even if it is just for gaming, buying one PC to play all sorts of games will save you more money over a long period of time, rather than having to buy a new console every 5-7 years.

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