Is PC gaming dying

Time and again this question keeps comin to my mind. I have been a PC gamer for the past 7-8 years but i have to ask this question.
IS PC GAMING DYING !?
I have a decent system for now as seen in my sig, however i feel its time i quit PC gaming and move onto the consoles for gaming atleast.
For example X360 was launched late 2005 and still goin strong with new titles and content.
Also the game developers are following this new trend of delaying titles for the PC to avoid piracy all in the name of optimization and PhysX support delays.
There are fewer titles launched each year on the platform unlike back in the day.
The developers port games on the pc mostly nowadays instead of the other way around.
I have realised this a bit too late but maintaining a gaming pc has always been a daunting task and is a never ending upgrade battle every year or so for me.
I spent a good amount on my current system way back when it was launched and this will hardly be of any value next year. This is the most frustrating point on this platform.
I do play on the X360 at work sometimes and it doesnt look all that bad.
Sure i cant tweak the AA, AF and other advanced options but what i get for 16k keeps me happy for a long time without the need to upgrade.
Also the only worthy titles that are PC exclusive will be Diablo III and Starcraft II for which even a mid range card should suffice.
So should i sell my 260 off now and get a 360 ?
Help me make up my mind

Dude PC gaming is NOT Dying look at Dragon age origins it looks Wayyy much better on a pc than on a 360
if you want action/adventure games you can get RE5 DMC4 and Dark Void Which is gonna be releasing on PC even open world games like Mafia 2 Saboteur and Assassins Creed 2 are headed for a pc release eventhough they are deleayed a little bit but rest assured we get more quality gaming on pc than on a 360 due to the variety of customization options offered to us

IMHO i never found any trouble running game at high settings on my 3year old 8800gt any game i thorw at it it works really fine at maximum settings the secret for efficient pc gaming is to wait and see approach.if a new graphic card gets released we shouldnt jump the gun and buy it immeadetley we should wait till we get a sweet deal that can ensure Awesome Eyecandy in the long run

one more advantage of PC gaming is the Price of games they are VERYYY cheappp welll atleast in INDIA and also you have the option of trying out the game without buying it L4D2 in india costs around 699RS which is like 14$ and if you could utilize the deals given by dealers like prassanth you can get games at even lesser price
and if you dont like buying games there are shitloads of games which you can play for free and also several mods for half life 2 and other games give you a lenghty single player campaign and also MP.

So dont ditch PC gaming its good its realllly good and it will get even better once again i like to add there are a lot of games coming for pc this 2010 even Alient Vs Preadator is gonna have dedi support so Pc Gaming isnt dying and the PC community wont let it die
forgot to mention Mass Effect 2 which is gonna see simultaneous release as its console counter parts . if you want the best of both worlds why dont you be a OMNI GAMER

I would give you a hint.

We had this same topic on forums like AT in 2003.

We had this same topic on G3D(that time it was voodoo3d IIRC) 9 yrs back when PS2 hit the scene.

We had this same topic on TE 3-4 years back.

And we are again here with 1 more thread asking if PC gaming is dying.

We will have same question asked 10 years from now.

PC gaming may not actually 'die' but yeah, you can enjoy much more variety of games if you have a job and a console. That's a fact! I love gaming on my PC but simply can't skip on games like Heavenly Sword, Uncharted 1-2, KillZone 2, God of War 3 and many more.. I haven't invested in a high-end rig and have been saving up for upcoming PS3 games. No matter what you guys say, consoles have more and sometimes better quality games as compared to PC.

There was a huge article on the same topic on Bit Tech (the UK's most respected tech web site). CLICK HERE to read their views on this topic. I think the author summed it up brilliantly:

yep i need to jump in too

i dont think so

That applies only to the exclusives and that too they shine in terms of game play alone, not graphics and they would make a much better experience if the same game is optimized for PC. Killzone 2 considered to be one of the best looking games on PS3 wrt graphics seriously disappointed me in that division. KZ2 looks like a 2~3 year old PC game. A High PC + Console is a good combination, I have my PC and 3 consoles (360, PS3 and PSP) and don't miss out anything on the gaming front.

But a console alone is not much of a gaming platform for a serious gamer who wants to play a variety of games and in quantity. A console is suited only for the casual player who do not ply more than 10~12 titles in an year or those who have only one or two game like Halo 3 or COD sends their entire time for multiplayer. Further more, a PC works out a lot cheaper than consoles in the long run for people who tend to play a lot of games. If you are content with the quality you get on consoles, then the PC will work out even cheaper.

If you want to stick to both PC and consoles then that fine, but if you want to replace your PC with a console for gaming purposes, you should do that only if

1. You are a casual gamer who rarely finds time for playing 5~10 games in an year.

2. You are into multiplayer and keep playing those same one or two games every day.

3. You do not care much for graphics as part of the gameplay experience.

4. You are not too tech savy and would like to have a no nonsesne gaming (no technical problems to worry about) even if its not in the best quality.

Well summed up by LM
PC Gaming is for the higend and elite group, who wants everything best, be it graphics, gameplay, sound and controls. Naturally it comes at a price, but if one is smart enough to know when to upgrade, then its not much expensive compared to console gaming

Nothing comes close to gaming on PC with crisp and clear visuals, high resolutions, AA/AF, KB+M, Tweaks, Mods, Multiplayer....the list goes on

Beg to differ there. Having played Uncharted 2 and few other titles in the league, I don't think PC gfx can rival the PS3 as yet. At least you need not spend a fortune to see those on the PS3! Not to mention the fact that the PS3 uses an age old nV 7800GTX clone chip for the RSX and still churn awesome graphics and rendering.

I accept Uncharted 2 looks very nice, but to say PC gfx cant rival PS3, well i cannot accept that
There was a 2 year old game called Crysis ( can be played only on PC) which beats Uncharted 2 left and right, on visual quality

and this game can be played at mid-end rigs as well
say on mine, it plays super smooth on all high settings with high AA and AF at 1440 res

You are so wrong, i am not talking about the Wii :p
And if u mean to say consoles are only for casual gamers, u are most likely a fanboy.
I myself love the WASD+Mouse and consider it the best controller but all u guys point only to one feature - GRAPHICS.
Its always been about framerate on the PC, even the $470 295 can hardly cross 45 fps on Crysis (which pretty much sucks apart from the eye candy).
Graphics are pretty much pointless if the game sucks donkey balls.
Name one recent AAA PC exclusive that can stand its ground on substance and u ll get my point.

Game does not need to be pc exclusive to stand its ground. I recently bought ps3 but i still cant quiet feel home with the damn controller. I have tried for years and every time i have ended up ditching console. Hopefully ps3 will last longer thznks to BR drive.
There are plenty of games which i wont even play on console. I wont touch any fps on console. Playing fps with controller............ the idea itself makes me sick.
Uncharted 2 is great. But come on, this level of details wont blow away a pc gamer. There are plenty of eye candy gzmes for pc. And plenty of good games on pc to keep gamers busy.

Game does not need to be pc exclusive to stand its ground. I recently bought ps3 but i still cant quiet feel home with the damn controller. I have tried for years and every time i have ended up ditching console. Hopefully ps3 will last longer thanks to BR drive.
There are plenty of games which i wont even play on console. I wont touch any fps on console. Playing fps with controller............ the idea itself makes me sick.
Uncharted 2 is great. But come on, this level of details wont blow away a pc gamer. There are plenty of eye candy games for pc. And plenty of good games on pc to keep gamers busy.

You seem more like the fanboy
Nowadays its easy to develop multiplatform games, so any dev/publisher would look to maximize returns by making games for all 3 platforms, thats economics

now, u will ask why consoles get few exclusives which PC dont get - the answer is simply MS and Sony, the 1st party games get released only for their console to bring in customers to buy their console - bragging rights

another question u might ask, why PC games gets delayed - answer again is MS and Sony, they pay the publisher big money to delay it on PC, or the publishers want to make buyers to pay twice for same game
Reason, the PC version of the game will always be superior (unless some garbage developer ports it)
So, if they release all three games together, console sales will be badly affected, plus they can make them to buy the PC version again by releasing with addons, DLCs etc

Do you honestly think a game like Uncharted, MGS and Fable 2 cant be made on PC. The PC will eat the console version for lunch. The console makers are worried that the PC version will undermine the console version and thereby risk the console sales itself
This in no way means PC version is inferior to the console. It just how the market operates