Consoles are subsidised by the games. PC's can't do that so there is a much higher barrier to entry for most people. Most people I know buy consoles and then get the odd game or two on release but trade in and buy most of them second hand via places like CeX. Which is why despite the move to digital, their brick and mortar stores are still doing well compared to their main competitor, GAME. Worse still, graphics card manufacturers, under pressure to sell their latest cards which can cost three consoles, are enticing game companies to up their specifications for games to shift cards and entice people to upgrade on the case of fear of missing out, status and bragging rights.

Oddly enough, the 3DO used the same technique of unsubsidised consoles hoping that competition would naturally bring the price down. It didn't. Its price point caused the console to fail quickly compared to the PlayStation and Saturn that cost half the price.