Re: 'PCs are difficult to set up'

On Tue, 17 Sep 2024 17:16:21 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

On 9/17/2024 11:55 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

 
 
It's making the rounds, this quote: Hideaki Nishino, one of
Playstation's CEOs, claimed that a big reason to buy a Sony
Playstation 5 is that 'PCs are difficult to set up.'

>
Yeah, my PC was harder to set up, but then I built it from parts.
Software wise once I'm past the hardware stuff, which is what you get
when you buy them off the shelf, it was probably easier.

My son's PS5 I kept having to go back to the computer to set up a new
account for him, and I already had one.  Then updates and getting the
codes and spider-man (which came with it) downloaded.  It was the next
day before he could even play anything but the demo.

Similarly, a colleague of mine bought a new PC the other day (well,
okay, it was close to a year). Because they know how much I enjoy
stuff like that, I was invited to be there when they set it up (and
also, I suppose, to help if things went awry ;-). The set-up consisted
of plugging in the power cable, turning it on, and following the
prompts from Windows on setting up a Microsoft account* (which they
already had from another computer). Then they installed Steam,
downloaded their games, and were off and running. Taking out the
download time, total time of "starting PC for first time to launching
game" was probably ten minutes.

Meanwhile, the last time I set up a Playstation, I was having all
sorts of problems, first getting it to display properly and then
connecting to the WiFi. Admittedly, these issues had less to do with
the Playstation proper and more with the hardware I was connecting it
to.** Still, it shows that not even consoles are immune from being
"difficult to set up".

The point of this isn't really to argue that consoles aren't actually
easier to set-up. If pressed, I'd be forced to admit that, yeah, for
most people it's probably quicker and easier to start playing a game
on Playstation than it is on PC. But the difference has greatly
reduced over the years, and a lot of that 'extra difficulty' is
because of how much more you can do on a PC (for instance, you're not
just limited to playing Sony-approved games).

The Playstation CEO just seemed particularly out-of-touch with his
argument, as if he was still competing against DOS-era PCs. It's a
focus on the wrong things --or rather, still fighting a battle that's
already been settled. I don't think a lot of people are going to be
buying a Playstation because it's "easier", because ultimately that
console isn't much easier than PCs anymore. Rather, Sony needs to
focus on _real_ reasons for us to choose a Playstation.

Unfortuantely, those reasons are increasingly hard to discern. After
so many years of people saying that we're on the verge of seeing PC
gaming die, I have to wonder if in fact it's the opposite. Is it
_console_ gaming that is really the format under threat?




  --------------  
* Yeah, I know you don't _have_ to use a Microsoft account (and I
never  do) but a lot of people --including the colleague in question--
just don't care and do what Microsoft instructs them to do
** while my _PC_ hardware may be top-end, a lot of my infrastructure,
like routers and monitors, tends to be older stuff