I hear you, and I agree. I did just upgrade my ok PC because I had saved up the money and wanted to get the most for them before the tariffs take effect. Before that I was gaming in a decently capable laptop about 4 years old, and before that I used hand-me-downs and upgraded maybe every 5-10 years. With the exception of this last upgrade, I’ve stayed about mid-tier for GPU and other components.

While consoles may be less expensive up front, I don’t care about exclusives and I grew up as a PC gamer who still can’t use a controller right. I’m also a developer so I can justify the upgrades when I have the money for it.

When asked, I typically tell people to pick a budget and get the most computer you can get within that. If you’re always wanting “the best” your can always spend more money for some increase in performance. Don’t spend money you don’t have.

The cost of PC gaming keeps getting worse every year and the near future doesn’t look very promising. With fewer gamers being able to afford upgrades, I except that will have a chilling effect on game studios and independent developers as well.