They're probably just afraid of the fact that Steam's available for Macs now, and Valve's been porting games over.  Otherwise, I'll believe it when I see it.

How have they not supported gaming? What is Direct X 11? Its awesome, it also runs a hell of a lot faster on the same hardware compared to the same games, same hardware on a Mac and thats a closed system. They've done a lot to support the back end even if they haven't been releasing as much content for the system but arguably its the back end software which is more important.

Piracy didn't stop Ensemble or ACES Studios from selling millions in every game they made. Yet Microsoft still closed them.

Microsoft didn't support PC Gaming because they shifted their entire effort to Xbox 360.

Now they are coming back probably because they are afraid of Steam, which was released on MAC, and will come to LINUX too. Steam is making Windows less relevant for gamers, and Microsoft got scared.

I think you are right Shio. I speak to many Linux and Mac users who buy Windows licenses, and dual boot for the purpose of gaming. Windows is the premier computer gaming OS, no doubt, but with the move of Steam to otehr platforms MS is losing their chokehold on their other major pull (other than business). With Linux creeping up on corporate, and the Mac gaining at home, MS needs to remind us why we went Windows. I for one would love to see MS re-enter the PC gaming market and stop screwing PC gamers.

Also anybody who thinks PC piracy is easier than a simple firmware mod on 360 is insane. PC games require tweaks, waiting for buggy cracks, and installs often with hand edited config files. The Xbox could be hacked by the mentally handcapped in a couple of hours and only requires a simple DVD burn to produce a workable game. If you don't think Xbox owners are that smart (which is insane), you can't really complain about PC  owners claming to be superior. 360 and Wii piracy is rampant, I can't believe that seems so foreign to the console-centeric audience of VGC.

what if...

Microsoft plans to shift from console to PC, with XBL as their platform.

They might even release some kind of Console-OS for PC's that way they wouldn't have to invest in expensive console hardware anymore, but might be able to keep piracy in check.  i can even see a licensed third Party "Gaming PC" for that purpose.

Possible, but that would mean moving away from Intel even more, which is likely already a strained alliance- assuming they want to maintain 360 that is. Otherwise it would mean a lot of porting across x86 and PowerPC which is obviously not totally difficulty, but it would need some API investments to make it even easier. The gaming pc concept is certainly possible though, but I think MS still has the delusion that they will somehow make more money than they lose on HW in a given gen. Which is a joke considering their spec armswar with Sony.

Before the Xbox launched the idea of a certified MS Gaming PC even one named and platformed by MS seemed like the smartest route. I think after the moneyhole the HW end of the Xbox has been MS would have been smarter to outsource a pre-spec'd design to 3rd parties and just reap SW profits.The word on the street in 1999/2000 was that MS would shake up the industry by perfecting the 3DO outsourcing method, but instead they made the (seemingly) unprofitable move into direct hardware themselves. While MS has been able to make money later in both generations, they could have done it from the start if they had let the HW companies fight over the scraps. Of course they would have likely had to lower license fees, but they should have done that with the first Xbox anyway as they were insane. Even the 360 has a rumored per disc fee that in light of Blu-Ray competition should be lifted. And yes I do think MS made the right choice avoiding slow as hell, competitior controlled BR-D. But they could have encouraged devs to do the same, not penalized them for having multi-disc titles/

I wonder how many of the people that complain about games not coming to PC are the same people who complain about DRM getting tighter and tighter.

Like someone else mentioned, the reason that less games come to PC are due to piracy.  

And like I just said, pirating more than a single game is easier on the top 2 consoles. Pirating on the Wii or 360 is far less of a hassle than dealing with the minefield of PC gaming cracks. Heck I know 2 people who quite bothering with the random "bugs" in Batman:AA for PC and just pirated it on 360 instead. I suppose it cost them $1.50 DL-DVD, but that isn't much of a sacrifice.

PC gaming piracy is the most commonly parroted industry BS meme. But anybody who knows how piracy works realizes what a joke it is. The fact that gamers give the industry their mouths to spread this absurdity is even more troubling. Hard drive loading on Wii for instance demolishes the simplicity of even the easiest PC hacks. Both the 360 and the Wii require nowhere near the skill needed to chang config files, update or downgrade drivers, replace .exe's, or install server emulators. I have young cousins with modded consoles, who couldn't even find the terminal on their PC's. Can we stop pretending like this isn't the case? Please?

Well, myself for instance will not mod my 360, as I like to be able to use Live and other services associated with the XBL service.  I suppose buying a second 360 would be cheaper than buying 5 or more games, however, I may be mistaken, but mods for 360 and Wii are "hard" mods right?  So in order to be able to do it you need to know someone with the know-how to solder.  (I could be wrong on that - there may be "soft" mods)  And doing a "hard" mod there is a risk that modding your gaming unit could brick it, also if you mod it and something else goes wrong with it, you are out of warranty :P

Microsoft should just leave Linux becoming mainstream and getting support to windows' levels. Then we would have a great PC gaming market! Unfortunately Microsoft without Windows would be nothing...