FatalSinz I do not agree with you on that on buddy. Why consoles are big it is only because of the marketing behind it. That evil thing corporations do to make you buy things you really do not need. Granted there are games that come out on consoles that do not come out on PC so I play them but I believe PC gaming is still strong. Also people will argue that console gaming is cheaper where as it is not. it is far more expensive than PC gaming in the long run. Lets go with some round numbers here.
PC Gaming:
Mid-high gaming computer 700-2000. It is anywhere in that price range because you decide how you want it made and how powerful it is. You decide how much to spend on the system it self.
Monitor 200-500

epending how big and features you want on it.
Here is the most important part of it. GAMES!!! 20-80 bucks depending on CE(collectors or limited edition). Now I say this is the most important part because I spend 50 bucks on Battlefield 2 when it first game out. 49.99 with tax is 54.11. 6 to 12 months down the road people will mod and make a new game out of it for you to play. Guess for how much???
ITS FREE!!!!! WOW FREE!!!! I DO NOT PAY A DIME!!!!
Consles:
I am basing this on current gen/next gen. Not older generation as it is not supported anymore and can not be put on a MSRP price point. Ebay and resales do not count on my research.
You have 3 systems to pick from
PS3:400-500 depending on the type you get.
XB360:200-350 depending on the type you get.
Wii: 250.
The bad part about it is that some good games not just game but GOOD games come out only on one or two systems. Not always multiplatform, also if you want to play with a friend who has it for PS3 and you have it for XB360 you lose out.
Now I am going to put the next part as it being on a TV. Not your comptuer monitor that has HDMI or HD inputs for it. Every commercial,event, or display for these systems use TVs not computer monitors.
TV- 1200-2500 depending on size and features. Now it is your choice as to which one you want to get but understand most people who dedicate their gaming expierence to console gaming goes with a TV.
Peripherals- Yes there is different keyboards, mice,even game pads for PC but we all know that PC gamers use mouse and keyboard. on a console system you do get a control but as you know consoles are built to have mulitplayer either online or offline. So if you want to play with friends and family who do not have your same system you need to get extra controls. Those can range anywhere from 30-50 bucks.
Online- Sony does have a friend online service but it seems not as popular as xbox live because the saying goes you get what you pay for. Since its free you get horrible service at times and it is not as populated as xbox live servers. Now with xbox live the drawback is you have to pay for it. 50 a year,20 three months,8 for a month.
Here comes the important part again.GAMES:
Games now a days have gone up 10 dollars. It might not seem like alot but it is when you consider how many games you buy. You end up buying more games for consoles than PC. So they start anywhere from 20-80 depending on CE status(depending on Collectors or Limited Edition). Yes there is DLC you can get but for the price of 20 bucks to get 3-4 maps,weapons,or characters it seems like a waste of money to only give xtra little life to a game you will only leave for another one coming out later in the month.
Yes you can trade in your console games to get new ones but you end up still paying money for a new game. Sure you can not trade in PC games but why do you want to? Ever been asked to play an old game and you do not own it anymore because you traded it in. Well you do not have to worry about that with PC games because if it goes towards more like Online Distrobution like Steam. You will not have to worry about losing the disc or getting scratches you just download it again and bam its there.
Also with PC gaming you have more liberty to the internet as you can browse the web,listen to music, talk on VIOP programs,chat on IM programs all at the same time because the direction PC design is going into multi-core systems. Yea the PS3 has the Cell chip and XB360 has a 3 core set up and yes it is designed for the gaming and not all those extra features. But if they do ever add them to future consles I can tell you that they will jack up the price just cause they can.
As a conclusion you can see that on PC gaming you would spend 2500-3000 on your total setup but hey its going to last you for as long as you want it to. 3-5 years even. If you built it right you can just add a couple of new items to get a whole new system out of it rather than building a whole new pc. ITS YOUR CHOICE.As with consoles you are around 3000-5000 because of all the new games to have to keep buying to enjoy your expierence with the system. Yes it is your choice what game you want to buy and which one not to buy but riddle me this. If they made GoW2 or Resistance 2 on Microsofts or Sonys new system and you want to get the game so bad you are forced to buy a new consle!. You will end up spending money either route you go with but it seems you spend more money in a shorter amount of time with consoles than you would with gaming on PC.
I also want to add that I jump from one to another, it is the kind of gamer I am. I just recently jumped back into PC gaming but before that I was really into my XB360 and before that I was into my PC and before that I was into my Xbox and finally back to PC,etc and etc. I based this reply on how PC gaming is not dying because alot of writers base it on the fact that people do not want to spend that much money on PC gaming when in reality it is the same with Console gaming as well. Both types are coexsitent because if it wasn't for the development of PC tech and DirectX there would have been no consoles and without consoles to spawn new IP(new games) PC would not have an idea what direction to take with its games.