Why is it not possible to build a PC that delivers the same performance as a PS5 at the same cost? What are we missing?
In: Technology
Sony subsidizes the cost of the hardware because they make it back in software sales and subscriptions.
Subsidies. Sony makes money on Playstation games they hold monopoly over (30% from every game sold on their system) and are generally more expensive than PC games and stay that way.
PC part makers have to turn profit on individual parts as they don’t have reoccurring revenue from game sales.
Early in the lifecycle they sell them at cost or even at loss and they might make some profit on individual units in a few years as they get older and the tech in them cheaper.
As an example Sony was losing about $300 per unit on every PS3 they sold, which cost about $499 on release.
In a similar fashion Valve sold their handheld Steam Deck at a significantly lower price as they could also afford to sell it at cost.
You’re missing optimizations.
Console games are developed for the hardware and therefore will come super optimized. This optimization comes in many factors but the one of the most important is graphical fidelity.
Consoles use a bunch of upscalling technology to achieve decent framerate and graphics. Even then, latest gen games struggle on the PS5 (I have one).
You’ll find that lowest settings on the PC is usually better graphically than on any console.
Besides what other people said, games can be optimized for a ps5, everyone has the same ps5.
But there are an infinite amount of possible pc’s
Two things.
When you buy millions and millions of the same components, Sony is in a very strong bargaining position to negotiate with AMD and pay the lowest possible price for those components. You as a consumer buying 1 CPU or 1 GPU don’t have that power. You are paying retail prices or worse, scalped prices.
The second thing is that consoles are often sold at a loss. Meaning it costs Sony for example $700 to build each console that they then sell to you for $500. They make that money up by locking you into their product and then you buy games and subscriptions.
The other comments are correct. I just want to add that the term for this “loss leader” in case you want to read more about the business strategy at play.
* Nobody buys a PS5 and then doesn’t buy any games for it, so Sony sells the console at a loss and makes up for it by taking a percentage of all game sales.
* Console hardware _used_ to be built specifically for running games, and not much else. This allowed a lot of corners to be cut and gave more bang for the buck, but since the Xbone/PS4 generation the hardware got a lot closer to just regular PCs.
* There are still a lot of differences in both hardware and software, and because developers have a fixed target to aim for, they can optimize their games for a specific system, making them run better on slightly cheaper hardware.
To add to what others have said, consoles are often overhyped in terms of performance. They often have downscaled graphics and frame drops.
Also, consoles are more expensive in the long run. I’m playing every game i want on a 1080p panel with a 1650super. My entire system cost me roughly 600 euros. A PS5 isn’t beating that. The thing is, you can’t expect ultra settings. You’re gonna have to fine tune certain games to find respectable sweet spots between frame rate and eye candy. But the same applies to a PS5, as i’ve mentioned above.
Taking playstation network cost and cost of games into consideration, PC is most definitely cheaper if you’re not buying high end or even mid-range hardware, which isn’t required anyway unless you’re hitting higher resolutions, want high/ultra settings at all times, want higher frame rates or are a Esports kinda person where these things matter.
lastly, you can upgrade your PC, whereas a console can’t be upgraded. Which means cheaper and more powerful options will inevitably become available.
TL’DR you CAN build a PC that trades blows with whatever console you have in mind. In the long run it is cheaper.
You can do it for around 100 dollars more.
You get so much more value out of a PC too. Games are ALWAYS on sale.
Edit:
If you take into account the cost of the cheapest PlayStation subscription cost then the PC is a better cost after a year.
You can absolutely build a PC (these days) to match the PS5 on price/performance, but its going to be second hand used parts from older generations than whats current.
When the PS5 came out, it wasn’t possible because Sony buys the hardware in bulk(often customized as well) and sells it to you at a loss, hoping to make the money back in the future(PS+, $70 games, digital exclusives, DLC). Or sell the console in a few years at nearly the same price, but by then the technology cost them way less because it hasn’t been changed much at all(except with PS Slim/pro versions)
Check out a recentish Linus Tech Tips video about the “modern PS5 killer” video. He made an even better PC for the same cost as a PS5
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