Technical specifications don't necessarily dictate where we play games. It seems like all decisions begin with multiplayer and how important it is to that specific game. However, even the best multiplayer game can't top a comfortable seat.

How do you decide which system you are going to get a multiplatform game on today?

• Ryan Billingsley - If people are going to be playing it together, that will be the most important factor. That being said, I am going to lobby hard for PC every time because I enjoy gaming on my PC. Especially if it is a shooter, I want a mouse and keyboard, it is how I came up. If it is single player, I will probably play it on the thing it will run the best on. Nine times out of ten that is going to be PC, but there are some notable situations where it was far worse. If PC is not in the equation, I will probably check the Nintendo Switch store to see if it is there because I am having fun with that console, otherwise, it is back to my trusty PS4, which is now hooked up to the same monitor I use for both PC and Switch gaming. It is a rough life...

• Aaron McNeal - It's mostly about those sweet game deals and comfort. Where and how do I wanna sit when I'm playing the game? How big is the download if I go the digital route? Will I play the game once and could I trade it in afterwards? I'm usually wrestling between the PS4 and PC for these kinds of decisions. And, like others before me, my setups for both platforms aren't created equally in terms of screen size and sound system. Thankfully, I own a Steam Link for when I really wanna recreate my superb PS4 experience. If we're talking multiplayer, I follow the crowd for Tom Clancy and loot.

• JB Buckner - The first question I ask about a new game is if my friends are getting it what are the multiplayer options? Staying on that thread will my friends play this game online long enough for me to care where they are playing? If online isn't a thing, I consider graphics next. That doesn't always win over playing convenience though. My PC is in the basement and with my PS4 upstairs I can play more often and get through the game faster.

• Cole Monroe - While the "where are my friend's are playing" thing is definitely important for multiplayer games that I'm interested in, everything else can be answered with a "it depends." For a game that's out on all the consoles, right now I'm leaning towards the Switch just so I have more games to play there with the caveat that it doesn't suffer from the Switch not being as powerful. If a game is being released on multiple platforms including the PC, I'm going PC all the way and that's for longevity and access to games. With other consoles struggling with backwards compatibility options throughout the years, right now the PC is a safe bet to be able to play old games at my discretion instead of waiting on console makers to come up with a solution.

• Andrew Cooper - The multiplayer question is the first that comes to mind. If that's a focus, I'll buy for the platform that has the most of my friends who will also be playing. Outside of that I default to PC as much as I can for my single player experience mainly due to it usually being capable of higher quality visuals and framerates. I have the ability to play my PC at my desk or in my living room with full surround so I don't have that need to use a console for the "couch experience." Consoles are more or less reserved for their respective exclusives at this point.

• Justin Gifford - My answer is similar to JB's. Where to get/play Destiny 2 is a different discussion than where to get/play DOOM - we're going to be playing Destiny 2 together for a while (assuming it doesn't suck), so the consensus on where to play is going to color that decision. I'm the reverse of JB on the location: the PC gets priority since it's on the first floor and I do most of my gaming after the kids go to bed. It's easier to hear them if they wake up by playing in the living room rather than on the consoles in the basement. Ideally, it's cross-play enabled so I can play in the basement on the Xbox or on the PC, like I did with Gears 4, but those options seem somewhat few and far between. One last consideration, which hasn't been an issue yet in this generation of consoles for me, is whether or not there are some kind of in-game bonuses for having save files from the last game (e.g., the original Mass Effect trilogy and I think some other games whose names escape me). Ultimately, though, I have been converted to a PC Master Race in the last year, so if its available there, and my friends aren't playing, I'm going PC.

• Justin Lacey - Multiplayer is definitely my first consideration when looking at platform. If it's available and interesting I have to guess on how much our crew or even myself will actually play multiplayer. There's definitely a tipping point when the single player is more important to me where I will decide solely based on the best platform for the single player experience. It's handy that recently PC multiplayer has been working out for us, but PC ports are starting to have issues again so I'm considering consoles as an option more than I was a year ago. Usually though, it's PC until there's a reason not to PC (thank you, Blizzard chat) and that's most likely because the game is a console exclusive.

Justin L. has anointed 2016 as The Year of the Return of Video Game Ass Video Games and I absolutely cannot disagree with him. We all got punched in the face (in a good way) by a shockingly good DOOM, bro-ed up with the best Gears of War game since the Xbox 360 launch title, and discovered that sometimes Polygon forgets to have fun when they review games with the not-Battlefield-or-CoD shooter because it has giant robots and soldiers with gecko-skills Titanfall 2 (which is awesomely fun).

Then, last night, having just finished the campaign the evening before, I fired up some Titanfall 2 multiplayer because I’m not a baseball fan and didn’t really care whether the drought that was ended was a century or a half century old.

And, friends, I died. I died a lot.

I got spawn killed, I got no-scoped, I got suckered by dudes kneeling in the shadows in a corner, I got smoked in every single way that I could. Even when I started getting back into the flow of the floor is lava, I was still more or less a punching bag. For bullets. The language I was using rivaled that of my wife, upstairs watching her beloved Cleveland Indians blow a two game lead. I was pissed.

And Then The Angry Titan Fell###

And then something dawned on me: you don’t practice enough to be very good at this. It was the same sentiment that occurred to me that finally allowed me to really enjoy the rare occasions I get to play golf. You sliced that ball into the thicket? So what? Worst case scenario, you spent an afternoon walking a few miles outside on a very well manicured lawn. Being really good at this isn’t the point. You play video games for an hour (sometimes two) in the evening after the kids go to bed because they are fun and a way to relax. Or, in short: it’s only a game. Save the frustrations for work.

So I’m putting my zen hat on when I play competitive multiplayer. Maybe I’ll make a highlights video of my funniest deaths/other people’s most impressive kills.

Because it’s only a game and I’m not going to have my fun ruined because I don’t have the time to ‘git gud.’