I'm a PC gamer (not a PC elitist- it IS possible not to be one), and I can confidently say that PC gaming is definitely not dead. As is the case with different consoles, the PC has its own strengths and weaknesses as a gaming platform.
Strengths:
- Mods. I can't say this enough. What do you do when the vanilla version of a game gets boring, but you don't like multiplayer? Mod your game up. Moddability is absolutely crucial to my decision to buy a game (most of the time), and some of the games I own have no less than two or three dozen Mods downloaded for them. Plus Mods can tweak away poor game design or bug issues (like STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl and Oblivion).
- Input devices. There is still no finer tool for me, in FPS or RTS/TBS games, than a keyboard and mouse. Gamepads can be annoyingly imprecise, and you can only map so many functions to eight or ten buttons as opposed to a standard 101-key keyboard. Plus, for those games that play better with gamepads, there are dozens of different types to be had.
- Infinite upgradability. Expensive sometimes, sure, but there's few things so satisfying as locking in a brand-new video card, loading up your favorite game and watching what had been a slide show turn into a beautiful, smoothly-flowing panorama.
Weaknesses:
- Technical difficulties. While consoles may be somewhat limited in their applications, they are also a solid foundation for game coders- a known quantity upon which they can build their games. You will be hard-pressed to find any two gaming PCs which are identical or even vastly similar, and the consequence of all this complexity is a mishmash of drivers and technical limitations which can cause all sorts of problems.
- Cost. While you can theoretically build a decent gaming computer for around the price of a leading next-gen console, in order to future-proof yourself you're going to have to invest a bit more. A console is a one-and-done purchase (a handful of peripherals and add-ons aside); a computer is a complex and never-ending project.
- Time investment. At its least complex, buying a computer for gaming involves going to a superstore and getting a pre-made one, which leaves you with an operating system burdened by someone else's idea of "useful software" and requiring such things as firewalls, anti-malware programs and software updates to keep it running smooth and free of issues. The do-it-yourself route is usually cheaper but far more complex, with a small but very real chance of rendering your expensive equipment unusable through an innocent mistake. While I can assemble a computer within the space of an afternoon and have it ready for gaming by dinnertime, not everyone has my level of expertise or can put in that much time. For some it's simply not worth the effort.
The PC elitists will tell you that the PC is the only worthwhile gaming platform and that all consoles are nothing more than childrens' toys. They are full of crap and no more correct than the console fanboys screaming at each other. The PC is simply another valid avenue of entertainment, and I for one encourage further competition between it and the console world, as competition breeds improvement and therefore brings better efforts to all of us.
*sings "I'm a PC gamer and I feel fine...."*
