'PCs are difficult to set up', argues PlayStation co-CEO as he sticks up for his precious console's honour

I've been having my fingers crossed for a while now that Sony's recent success with Helldivers 2 (despite their best efforts) and other ports is a sign that we'll all get to stop having to sit around and kick dirt for a year whenever there's a new, great exclusive on the PlayStation we can't play.

Apparently, my wish magic isn't very potent, since PlayStation joint-CEO Hideaki Nishino has emphasised in an interview with Nikkei (via VGC) that—surprising nobody—consoles are still going to be a central part of a console company's strategy for success.

«I think that with mobile devices, there are many games that show advertisements, and PCs are difficult to set up, but with PlayStation, once you turn it on, you can experience the content you bought straight away.»

It is with great frustration that I, as someone with nary a console in sight, must grit my teeth and admit: yeah, that is somewhat true. PCs are difficult to set up from scratch—either you shell out a nonsense amount for a prefab, or you engage in the world's most stressful version of a LEGO set, where you're not quite sure if you've aligned the CPU's pins right, or whether that loud click/clang was supposed to happen or if you've just wasted several hundred quid.

And then there's the updates, the weird OS features, fretting over kernel-level anti cheat and Denuvo, updating your drivers, and suddenly that $700 price point for the PS5 pro is looking pretty reasonable, if pricier than console gamers are used to. I mean, even here at PC Gamer, we describe a$800 build as penny-saving—penny-saving!

Granted, you're also getting a computer, and that can do other stuff, too—but still. If you want to play videogames with a videogames box, any console (or a Steam Deck) is just simpler. Experiencing the content you bought «straight away» seems like a stretch, though, since last I checked, most games come with downloads but hey. He's having to big up the console market after a rough year.

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