My only computer is a Macbook Pro running Arch Linux (which is my ideal setup for getting work done). In general it struggles to achieve unplayably low framerates in the small selection of games that even run on Linux.
Given that I want to play games, my options are to spend a bunch of time and energy researching, price-shopping for parts, and building out what would likely be a $1000+ dedicated gaming Windows PC, continuing to funnel time and money into upgrades as games demand more and more horsepower; or pick up a $250 current-gen console at Walmart, knowing that it'll be able to handle anything I throw at it, and only worry about upgrading several years from now when some game I really want comes out on a future generation console.
As someone with a limited entertainment budget, the latter option is by far the more attractive option.
I bought the PS4 recently to play Crash Bandicoot, great game. Other than that, I just don't understand how people play anything else other than racing games with a controller, that thing is absolute trash for actually "controlling" anything.
I build a new PC approximately every 7-10 years and so far my computers handled everything fine. My current one which I'm about to replace has a first gen i7 and a GTX480 and they worked perfectly with pretty much any game. I'm about to replace it, probably with a 7700k and 1080Ti which should again last for quite a while. The only reason why I'm replacing it at all is because some random component on the motherboard started overheating so I finally have a good reason to upgrade.
> spend a bunch of time and energy researching
This is a terrible argument, I know jack about hardware yet am able to build a relatively decent computer. It's not rocket science, a couple minutes of looking through your local computer shop should give you a good idea what sort of components are good or bad. You can also throw your build into PCPartPicker which will generally let you know if something is wrong.
> I just don't understand how people play anything else other than racing games with a controller
Oh, not up to the challenge of playing games with a controller? /s
But seriously, adjusting controller sensitivity/etc to your liking and practicing helps a lot. You can also turn on aim assist in most shooters (it's usually on by default, actually). There are plenty of great PS4 exclusives that it'd be a shame to ignore simply because you think they're unsuitable for controllers (depending on your taste - Horizon Zero Dawn, Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, The Last of Us, Nier Automata, Nioh, Ratchet and Clank, The Last Guardian, Persona 5, Gravity Rush).
That said, there definitely are plenty of games that have terrible console controls (especially bad ports, like Kerbal) and I've never seen an RTS done well on a console.
> I just don't understand how people play anything else other than racing games with a controller
Don't forget top-down and fighting games. RPG's too.
But if you're talking about games that have a first/third person aiming component, yeah, mouse and keyboard are better, but if you're stuck with a controller, you just aim a bit differently. You have to rely more on strafe-aiming, sweeping, and movement prediction.
It's usually not so bad the controller is a reason to give up on otherwise good console-only games.
Given that I want to play games, my options are to spend a bunch of time and energy researching, price-shopping for parts, and building out what would likely be a $1000+ dedicated gaming Windows PC, continuing to funnel time and money into upgrades as games demand more and more horsepower; or pick up a $250 current-gen console at Walmart, knowing that it'll be able to handle anything I throw at it, and only worry about upgrading several years from now when some game I really want comes out on a future generation console.
As someone with a limited entertainment budget, the latter option is by far the more attractive option.