Experience Vs Performance When Playing Video Games

I think the biggest lesson I learned when I pulled away from playing games on PC and going back to playing on consoles is that experience matters way more than power, frame rates, resolution.

Now, ‘experience’ is a highly subjective thing but what it means to me is the ability to kick back on the sofa, turn on my console, pick a game, fire it up and just play; as opposed to sitting bolt upright at my desk like I do all day every day for work. No messing with OS updates, driver issues, or tinkering with settings. Just the lowest possible barrier between me and the game.

The older I get, the more I value that experience. It is why I put a lot of effort into making my PC handheld as much of a console experience as possible. It isn’t perfect, not with Windows, but it is pretty close; and it is kind of why Xbox’s Project Helix is potentially so interesting, if it is just a PC that can sit under my TV and play my Steam games then it is an enticing prospect. I can see a world where That Xbox sits in the living room and streams the heavier to run Steam games to my handheld while in bed; and honestly if the next generation of consoles do end up costing £1000 as is very possible, an Xbox that plays my Steam games is way more enticing than a PS6 that only plays PS games.