The online streaming service Steam has allowed gamers to play their favorite games right on their own computer and also share those games with others. Now Steam has added a feature to their service that may change the “Big Picture” when it comes to gaming at home.

Steam now has a feature known as Big Picture, a new effort to allow users to use the application like a game console by plugging your computer into your TV. The screen changes to allow for easy use of a connected controller and looks and feels a lot like a game console. This begs the question: which is better, Steam on your PC, or an actual game console?

For starters, it’s important to remember the other strengths behind Steam. Every week there are great deals on random games, some times as much as 75-80 percent off, encouraging you to look at games you might not have otherwise. Steam is also flexible, compatible with all the major computer operating systems for PC, Mac and Linux. With Big Picture, you can now play these games like you would with an XBOX or PlayStation. PC gamers have argued for more than a decade their gaming experiences involve more keys and thus more complexity. Imagine that some games involve most of the keys on a keyboard and your mouse instead of around a dozen inputs on a common controller, and think about how many actions and combinations that might mean for gameplay.

However, there is at best limited game sharing allowed, as each instance you get a game is linked to your account. Sharing games is critical to a lot of players’ gaming experiences; with expensive games and ever-expanding abuse of downloadable content sales making games harder to attain, Steam can make sharing game experiences with less-well-off friends difficult and frustrating. Though there are so many games sales, they don’t always help you get the games you really want.

Used games are possibly the best strength of consoles. Sony and Microsoft had a tough marketing fight around used games in 2013, including Microsoft shocking the world by saying they would disallow used games followed up by Sony mocking them. This led to Microsoft reversing course and changing their XBOX One to allow used games again. This proved the power of sharing in the game community, to the point where Steam only recently started a trial period to allow friends to share games as well, which were major points for consoles.

Demerits however, must come when consoles ask their consumers to spend $60 for a single game. There are also rumors of games going up in price, and in this economy it’s difficult to justify such exorbitant costs. Add in that the hardware in consoles stays the same for years at a time while PCs constantly upgrade (themselves at escalating costs) and you have a very interesting debate.

And so when it comes down to it, whether you try Steam or consoles is really about what kind of gamer you are. Do you prefer a dedicated gaming experience on your television? Do you want to use a controller for your games? Are you able to pay the hundreds for a new console every 5 to 7 years? Then maybe consoles are the way for you.

Or would you rather have the complexity of a PC keyboard and mouse at your fingertips? Can you afford new hardware regularly and are you versed enough in technobabble to upgrade your own PC when needed? Do you feel comfortable using your computer to play games and then write that paper for Sociology? If so, then maybe you should give Steam a shot.

Either way, as long as you know what kind of experience you want, you’ll get your choice right. Just remember there’s more out there to game than just what’s in front of you.