I want to use my laptop as a "monitor" for my HDMI consoles, but since HDMI ports are only HDMI out on computers I was wondering if I could use an HDMI to VGA cable.
no, any video ports on a laptop are only for outputting the laptop signal out to another TV or monitor, you cannot connect a video device to it to run on the laptop display
no, any video ports on a laptop are only for outputting the laptop signal out to another TV or monitor, you cannot connect a video device to it to run on the laptop display