Usually I’ll get whatever the better version is, but I also don’t buy digital games if I can help it. I would rather pay $20 more than support digital distribution… Though physical games are often cheaper for some reason, limited releases aside, which is so weird to me.
After that, I usually look for what version runs the best, but generally speaking, I find PS5 and Series X are basically even. Series X weirdly seems to have more saturated colours though, I find? I am not sure if it’s HDR or what. But I notice this even in Digital Foundry videos pretty often.
I won’t buy a Switch game unless it’s exclusive or something that I’d prefer to play handheld - like I couldn’t see myself playing a TCG game on a TV. Visual novels are a great choice for Switch too. I find games run really poorly on Switch in general - like there are definitely some that run really well, but my living memory of the Switch includes lots of slowdown, dithering, low-res textures… Never really been impressed with this thing, honestly. Lots of great games in spite of bad performance, but alas.
PS5 is like… I dunno, man. If I have the choice, I generally prefer the Xbox ecosystem. The controller, the OS, all that stuff. But a lot of games don’t release physical on Xbox, if they release there at all. So the PS5 is kinda like the, “I couldn’t get the job I really wanted, but I’ll settle for this one” console.
But a wrinkle in that - I hate these “key on a disc” releases or “UlTiMaTe EdItIoN” releases that have all the DLC on a paper voucher. Xbox first party games are notorious for this crap, so I haven’t been buying them. But now that Game Pass is $30 a month after tax and all that… I don’t think that’s a particularly good value, either. But then you have something like Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, where the Xbox version is two discs with the DLC on disc. The PS5 version is just the base game with a paper voucher. This half-assed physical release nonsense has made buying games such a confusing mess, and really for no good reason.
I used mouse and keyboard when I first built a PC, but the ergonomics of it are really shitty. Sometimes I wanna lay back in my recliner and hold the controller behind my head. Stupidly comfy. Can’t do that if I’m hunched over a desk like a goblin, in a stationary position. I legit don’t even understand how office workers exist, y’all must be in chronic pain 24/7. And generally speaking, if a game needs so many controls it needs a keyboard and mouse, it’s too complicated for me to begin with.
Oh! The other big question for me is real hardware versus emulation, and this is one I really grapple with. I think stuff like the Evercade or the Anbernic (once you get the damn thing working well) are great solutions for older games, but I actually have a whole-ass CRT solution. I thought I would love having a CRT setup, but thing is, having that loud fuzzy EEEEEEE sound from a CRT display kinda sucks, and even though I spent so much time getting a TV cart and doing the cables up all nice, it sits up too high and the geometry of the TV (the bottom-left corner pulls out) really bugs me. I love the no-bullshit convenience of real hardware, but older consoles look like shit on a modern TV. I think the next step for me has to be a proper upscaler with a CRT filter. Series X is great for emulation too, though I only have PS2 working properly on there. You just have to rip a disc to a portable drive… And it just works. It pulls the optimal settings for whatever game you’re playing automatically, and I wish every emulator was so bullshit-free.