7/6/2026 at 2:33:11 PM
by redbell
7/6/2026 at 7:10:19 PM
I had my fully updated PS5 powered off for about a month. I could not login because it needed a new firmware update. But I could not connect to Ethernet for some reason. Swiched to wifi, downloaded the update but I failed to install. Required a few reboots. Now this is not a typical experience but it is far from the Sega genesis and Nintendo SNES cartridge games that worked flawlessby lobster45
7/6/2026 at 5:02:26 PM
I turn on my PS5 controller and it turns on my entertainment system and my game is right where I left off. All the games and the OS get silently patched while the machine is in "rest mode" too.Steam Big Picture means I get to deal with launchers, games without a gamepad UI or designed for TV viewing, Windows Update (or on Linux, incompatibility), shader compilation, etc.
I don't see PCs replacing consoles any time soon, when I'm done working I don't want to deal with any of that stuff. I respect that some people do but that is "brain goes off" time for me.
by tapoxi
7/6/2026 at 6:24:19 PM
Exactly. I don't want to mess with anything, I want an appliance that plays games. I don't want it to do anything other than that either. It must work every time, with every supported game, and have no manual maintenance.Consoles are also just generally more ergonomic for normal adults: they're built so you can inhabit your primary living space, around other people, on a couch, instead of being a bedroom-dweller sitting at a desk.
by redwall_hp
7/6/2026 at 2:42:14 PM
Hell yeah. I quit buying console games entirely when Gamestop went out of business in my town. Before that I decided I would only invest in digital-only games on Steam.I thought of getting a Nintendo Switch but the thought of building up an all new game library was daunting, and it's not like the good old days when it was affordable to buy used games for the Advance and DS.
The Steam Deck is great, if a bit big and pricey. I like the experience of having a nice neat box that sites next to the TV [1] and I want to see more Steam-compatible consoles. I tried an ACER handheld at Best Buy and it was kinda cringe how the first thing I saw was an ordinary Windows desktop with no effort to scale fonts for the screen size, hopefully people who "get it" will eventually have some say.
[1] ... and that it replaces an optical disk player has been a great selling point so far
by PaulHoule