People have been saying that PC gaming is cost prohibitive. With the PS3 prices just announced, do we still feel this way?

Console gaming could hit diminishing returns in this next generation if people are getting fatigue. Aren't the big three already saying these consoles are supposed to last twice as long? At the middle point of this cycle, PC games will look better.

I think one of the bigger advantages PC games had- screen quality and resolution- is going to slowly go away because of HDTVs. Still, what percentage of XBox 360 owners are playing it on a 27" CRT Triniton?

PC gaming may always remain a niche market, because it's just easier to buy a console every 4-5 years rather than keep up with hardware upgrades, etc. But, a game like The Longest Journey 2 will never work on a console, and that will keep the market alive.

The reason I did not included keyboard/mouse because Xbox and PS2 do have adapter for keyboard/mouse - I'm sure 360 will have adapter for that in near future.

Not dead, for the reasons many have already stated. The latest consoles are certainly covering many of the advantages that PC's still had over consoles though, particularly online play, storage (hard drives), and resolution.

RTS games and games like Civilization and Baldur's Gate require a mouse for decent play. Personally I think analog sticks suck for FPS games and so my FPS gaming remains on PC as well.

As far as the upgrade costs, I always bought a video card once every 2-3 years, sometimes coinciding with a motherboard/CPU purchase. Generally about $300 in hardware.

The PCI->AGP->PCI express thing is exagerrated. You can still get fairly high-power AGP cards and should be able to keep getting them for a while still. If you aren't concerned about pretty graphics an old Radeon 8500/GF Ti4200 card will still run most games - albeit at lower rez/settings.

PC gaming is never going away, for a variety of reasons. My favorite aspect of gaming on the PC is the HUGE game modding community. These people take already great games and make them better, or into something completely different and fresh. The creativity of these hobbyists is breathtaking. I also prefer KB/Mouse for FPS. I use the analog stick aiming when I play Goldeneye on N64, and it just seems counter intuitive. Maybe that's because I'm a computer professional, and use a mouse all day long. PC and console... Two great tastes that are here to stay.

I agree with this. I've never tried, but playing for example Half-Life or Counter-Strike with an analog controller is unimaginable. Or a game like Thief. (You can probably tell that I'm a bit behind the times).

RTS is one style that I have not played on the console. And I agree a mouse and keyboard should be better than a gamepad. But, I'm not going to make a final judgement on that yet. The Lord of the Rings RTS game comes out on 360 this summer and I plan on getting that one. Then we'll see how that genre holds up on a console. I don't buy FPS arguement at all. FPS is probably my most favorite genre and I can bounce between a keyboard and mouse for Day of Defeat over to COD2 on the 360 with no problem. I feel like I'm just as good with either. They make an adapter for the xbox that allows you to use a keyboard and mouse for halo2. Those people 9 times out of 10 get owned by people using gamepads. I won't deny that a keyboard/mouse setup is more accurate but the console games have be adjusted to compensate for that in many cases.

I dont' know of any PC game announcements at E3 this year that are going to justify me to upgrade my PC and bring me back from using my 360 as my primary gaming device.

To be fair, if you hooked up a gamepad to your PC and started playing a FPS, 9 times out of 10 that person you get owned there. I think it has something to do with how the game was designed to be played, even if it's a port.

That said, I don't think that FPS on consoles are unwieldy to control. Then again, I haven't really dedicated myself to a console-FPS since Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. But I was a beast with the Nintendo 64 controller: truly unstoppable. Seriously.

With that said, I don't think PC gaming is dying anymore than console gaming could be said to be dying.

Agreed. I'm just tired of the "FPS games are PC only" comments.

Holy Crap, Baldur's gate came out in 1999, Welcome to 2006!

A friend used KB/Mouse on his Xbox and played CoD: Finest Hour online, many people accused him being cheating.

I can never see PC gaming dying. I still PC game but haven't touched my Xbox in years. The consoles are good for action games and sports, but I can't stand them for FPS. Not only do you lose the ability to mod, I can't stand playing without the keyboard and mouse. At the same time if I can use a keyboard and mouse on a console I can't imagine sitting on my couch to play.

My brother loves console gaming but never got into PC gaming then again he plays primarily sports titles. I don't so it takes a lot for me to justify wasting money on a console I may or may not play. At the same time I can justify upgrading my pc since I use it constantly and for more than just gaming. Also I can watch tv while I play which I couldn't do with the console except for PIP which would block some of the gaming screen.

edstein, I'm surprised you understood what I was saying. I just re-read what I wrote, and while I think both you and I understand what I was trying to say, it doesn't makes any sense at all.