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Comment by jxdxbx | Hacker News Reader

It always seems like the kind of gamers who are attracted to the XBox are better off with a PC. Like, if you are a dedicated gamer, maybe you have a gaming PC, a Switch, and a PS5, and that gives you pretty broad coverage / FOMO avoidance. What incremental gain is there from XBox? It seems like it would be better positioned as a PC that you can use on your big TV with less dicking around than attaching a full PC to a regular TV.

But in general I think Valve has beaten Microsoft to the console-ization of PC gaming with the Windows-less Steam Deck. Maybe the Steam Machine is ready for a comeback.

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I switched from being a hardcore PC gamer to Xbox and haven't turned on my gaming PC in the 2 years since I got it.

The gain I get is how much easier it is to use. I'm fairly tech savvy, but Windows has been a curse and there've been too many times I've spent my intended gaming time troubleshooting Windows, or a game's display settings, or drivers etc.

Steam as software never felt great to me. I don't have the greatest eyes and I find it difficult to use. Xbox UI is just stupidly simple and intuitive.

I like that the Xbox gamepass experience is so streamlined I can sit down on a couch, turn on my controller, and that will turn the console and TV on and I can be playing a game in 10 seconds. On PC it just ain't even close.

I've had more bugs on the Xbox side than with Steam. Stuff like quick resume server issues where you have to launch the game, then backout to the dashboard, then quit the game, then launch again. I've also seen games get stuck in matchmaking without actually searching and with no way to back out.

The XBox is basically a mid range gaming pc with a better gaming oriented os.

No idea if PS5 has this, but XBox’s ability to suspend games and instantly start back in the game is indispensable for someone with a minimum of gaming time available!

Every gaming console has that functionality, though depending on the game it's better to exit and restart often. Memory leaks and all that, aside from bugs caused by long runtime.

I have a gaming PC, bought it beginning of the pandemic. I turn it on and things start trying to update and eight different game storefronts pop up and windows will reboot to install updates when I step away to go to the bathroom, whole thing is just a nightmare.

I vastly prefer my Xbox. I sit on the couch, power up near instantly, pick a game. Play my games. Everything’s works. The UX is just sooo much better.

I have had both PlayStation and Xbox consoles every generation since the inception of both and every generation I just find Xbox more inviting. Maybe it’s some form of dyslexia but I also have never internalized the PlayStations button labels. Every time it tells me to hit a shape I need to look at the controller.

Microsoft isn't in the business of selling you a box, they want you in their ecosystem. They'll be happy if you play on PC as long as you buy their games to play on it.

Only if one likes to mess with hardware configurations.

The main reasons why game studios love consoles, and the gamers as well, is the development and user experience of using them.

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