Give up on PC gaming for now and buy an Xbox

The original impetus for this article was the news that, supposedly, the RTX 3090 Ti launch is nigh. Here's the issue: Virtually every single GPU launch in recent memory has been a case of "if a graphics card launches but no units exist anywhere on planet Earth, did it really release?" For examples of this, look no further than the RTX 3080 12GB, RTX 2060 12GB, or if you're feeling really masochistic, just go to any major retailer (Newegg, Best Buy, etc.) and try to buy a GPU. You'll either be confronted with "out of stock" or see MSRPs so inflated they could power an armada of blimps.

And that's not even the worst part for PC gamers. While every facet of the tech industry is getting hit by the chip shortage, DIY PC builders have it the toughest since they don't get component priority (unlike, say, a major corporation such as Microsoft), and they have to compete with PC-specific issues like cryptocurrency miners exacerbating supply problems. These factors have combined to produce an environment where ancient GPUs barely capable of outclassing an Xbox 360's processing power are still managing to command substantial sums on sites like eBay. The market's out of control.

Meanwhile, friendlier options such as the Xbox Series S are trickling onto shelves more and more regularly. Sure, getting a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X is still a tall order, but the Series S? That's a $300 temporary solution to keep you playing modern games while you wait for the PC market to stabilize. Time is money, and waiting months, if not years, for the best graphics cards, CPUs, and memory to return to normalcy in the marketplace is likely to cost you more than $300 worth of fun in the long run.

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