GameSpot tried to build a Pc which costs around the same as a console.

[sc94597]

sterner said:

X86 is a thousand times easier to develop for than the Power PC (Risc) or Cell (also Risc?)architectures.

All right, expert developer in thread, I'm leaving

Nobody said I was an expert developer. This is common knowledge though. If there weren't any advantages to having both consoles use x86 why would third-parties have pushed Sony and Microsoft in that direction? They want a common architecture that allows them to take advantage of both systems at low costs. This common architecture happens to be the main hardware used in home computers since the 90's. That is why it's a thousand times easier for these developers (hyperbole.)  It is an architecture they are familiar with and it is universal for their purposes.