Declaring one thing better than the other is one of the areas where people show their confirmation bias at play. Saying PC gaming is better than console gaming or expounding the things a console does better than a gaming PC is harmless until you tie yourself to either camp, mistakenly fighting a "war" that doesn't exist. Companies aren't your friends, and fighting for them online is just plain dumb.

Owning both a PC and a console is the best answer to the PC vs. console "debate." Each platform has unique benefits that the other is missing, and you can enjoy both at the same time. No one is holding a gun to your head, forcing you to choose just one of them. If you're busy defending how your high-end PC is simply better, you can probably afford a console to see why some people will always be console gamers.

5 A PC and a console allow you unbridled access

Everything, everywhere, all at once

The biggest reason I am a proponent of burying both a PC and a console is that you no longer need to wrestle with the dilemma of playing some titles instead of others. Fancy playing a Sony exclusive at launch instead of waiting a year or three (or five) for it to land on the PC? Waiting for years to get your hands on GTA VI on day one? The PS5 is the easy answer. Sure, you need to spend another $500, but as long as you can afford it, it's worth every penny.

Many gamers own high-end PCs as well as consoles, and divide their time between the two, playing whatever they want on whatever they want. Both platforms have great titles going for them, and while many erstwhile console exclusives have come to the PC, consoles still hold the keys to many big-budget exclusives. And if timed exclusives remain the USP of the PS5, then the plethora of RTS, simulation, and indie titles exclusive to the PC is worth building a gaming rig.

4 Ultimate performance, mods, and emulation make PC better

The PCMR is right on this one

When it comes to cutting-edge graphics, uncapped framerates, and the latest software trickery from Nvidia and AMD, the PC is where it's at. Experiencing Cyberpunk 2077, Alan Wake 2, or Dying Light 2 in all their ray tracing glory is only possible on a beefy gaming PC. Utilizing DLSS frame generation to boost FPS into the hundreds will take a while to arrive on consoles. The experience on a console isn't bad by any standards, but it simply doesn't maximize the visual potential of the best-looking games on the market.

Besides high-end performance and the ability to tweak it to a granular level, PCs also provide a far more enriched experience with community mods and the ability to emulate almost any hardware. Whether it's ultra-modded Skyrim, RTX mods for Portal, or ultra-realistic ReShade mods for Cyberpunk 2077, you just don't have the option to enjoy them on consoles. Emulation further allows you to enhance your gaming experience by enabling old PlayStation classics, Nintendo gems, or 8-bit era icons to run flawlessly on your powerful machine.

3 Consoles are better when you've had enough of unoptimized titles

Optimization on PC is far from where it needs to be

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle might have reversed the trend of unoptimized games on the PC, but it's just one example. The bad taste from broken titles like Hogwarts Legacy, The Last of Us Part 1, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is still fresh in gamers' mouths. Consoles are usually better at providing a stable and consistent experience in most games at launch, thanks to the standardized hardware developers have at their disposal.

When you're not in the mood to fine-tune settings for a brand-new game on your PC, you can just jump on your couch and play it on your console for a quick and stable 60 FPS experience. With a subscription like the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, you can access your game library on both the PC and console, so you don't have to pay for the same game twice. Sometimes, you're too tired and just want some laid-back gaming — a console is your best friend in these troubled times.

2 PC is the best for multiplayer gaming

No online subscriptions and better peripherals

Playing online multiplayer is arguably a better experience on the PC. Not only do you not have to pay separately for the privilege of teaming up with your friends online, but you can also use whatever input method you want. Playing with a keyboard and mouse is far superior for a variety of genres, but if you wish, you can use your favorite controller on your PC and get going. Doing the same with a keyboard and mouse on a console is easier said than done because it's supported by only a handful of games.

Plus, many PC games have dedicated servers that remain alive even after the studio decides to shut down the official servers. The community keeps the game alive through unofficial servers, allowing you to enjoy the game on your PC long after its demise on consoles. The cost of an online subscription can add up once you consider the lifecycle of a console, making it a genuine concern. For your multiplayer favorites, you should trust your PC, while for many other titles, you can rely on your console.

1 Consoles help you ride out terrible PC upgrades

Stick to your existing PC and console till things improve

If you own a PC and a console, the urge to upgrade the former will likely be stronger. Consoles take far longer to get outdated compared to PCs, which can often feel like laggards in 3 or 4 years. However, when the market is filled with sky-high MSRPs, scalpers taking advantage of limited availability, and poor generational gains, you might just feel like giving up on upgrades altogether. That's when your console will come to the rescue.

You can keep enjoying your console while you wait for the market to stabilize. Not every GPU launch will be as bad as that of Nvidia's RTX 50 series, but if your PC's upgrade cycle coincides with terrible market conditions, it's better to delay it and spend more time playing on your console. Chances are that your PC is powerful enough to last for another two years while you offload some of the latest titles onto your console, and use this strategic combination to ride out the wave of unappealing PC components.

Ditch the war, buy both a PC and a console

There's no reason to fight an imaginary war and limit your fun to just one platform. Owning both a PC and a console allows you to access all the games you want (without years of waiting), and enjoy both high-end visuals and seamless convenience. PCs and consoles complement each other nicely, allowing you to enjoy mods and emulation on the former while you rely on the stable performance and longevity of the latter.