Amidst the growing popularity of PC gaming and Sony's recent decisions, more and more PlayStation fans are considering abandoning the console in favor of the Steam platform. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by Push Square among its audience.
More than 6,500 people participated in the poll. According to the results, 45% of respondents said they were seriously considering switching to PC. At the same time, only 23% are confident that they will remain in the PlayStation ecosystem, despite the ambiguous console generation and Sony's latest decisions.
Another 7% admitted that they had thought about changing platforms, but most likely would not do so. 15% of participants reported that they had already fully switched to PC, and 10% play on both PlayStation and computer simultaneously.
One of the main reasons for dissatisfaction was Sony's decision to gradually abandon the production of physical copies of games. 41% of respondents named this factor as the main motive for leaving the platform.
Although PC is also primarily a digital platform, many users noted that in such a case they would prefer the Steam ecosystem, which is considered one of the best digital storefronts. In addition, PlayStation Store was often criticized in the comments, in particular for its refund policy and lack of significant service improvements.
The authors of the study also asked how players would act if the cost of PlayStation 6 reached $1000 – a scenario that some analysts consider possible amidst rising component prices. In this case, 29% of respondents said they would prefer to build or buy a gaming PC. Another 29% replied that they would remain on the current generation of consoles, including PlayStation 5.
Only 14% are ready to buy PS6 immediately after release, and 15% intend to wait for a price reduction, although many doubt that this will happen in the face of continued growth in component costs.
At the same time, the authors of the material note that the survey results primarily reflect the opinion of the most active part of the PlayStation community, and not the entire Sony user base.