I just got an MSI Dragon Edition Gaming laptop about a week ago that has a 980 with 8gb in it. I have tried quite a few games and it plays them in ultra at 60fps or better and 1080p.

I haven't bought any games that are available on consoles yet. I have also played a bit of WOW on a 10 day free pass and have been a little surprised that the graphics in ultra look so much better. I have been very pleased to finally have a computer that can play games at a high level.

Also keep in mind that people don't use their computer purely for gaming. You'll still need a computer for everyday life and tasks alongside whatever console you decide to get.

Also, there's the ultra-cheap games and wide variety that you can't get on current gen consoles that will more than make up for the heavy price tag if you plan on getting more than 15-20 games.

You're right - a laptop is a must. Desktops are useles though.

That price tag is the reason consoles still sell so well. A lot of people need to save up just to buy a 300-400 console.

How much did that cost and how many years should it play games at ultra?

I can play most of actual on Ultra settings @ 40 to 70fps, exceptions are Crysis 3 (have to setlle for High on a couple of settings) & Battlefield 4 (same as Crysis, couple of settings on High).
My 3 y-old PC cost me $1250 @ the time.

$2,400 for the laptop.    How long?  Don't know, but I would guess at least a year or 2.  And after that, It will play games at a high level.  I usually get 3 years out of a laptop, and then hand it down to one of my kids.  So it will get plenty of life out of it.  

my 2k USD laptop can play ACU games on 1080p 30 fps at high setting.

I had to investigate building a rig this christmas for my buddy's kids.  I was asked if I could build 2 for $800 that would be comparible to xbox/ps4.  I think it's possible but you have to deal search since there are a lot of components.  You can't just go out an grab every comonent at once at current pricing, you would have to be patient and use a site such as slickdeals.

There are often motherboard/processor (6-8 core AMD) combos for 100, GPUs (R9 290) for 200 and thats probably way more powerful than the ones in the consoles, and case, fan and 8G RAM combos for 50 (maybe even less) after rebates.  HDD less than 50 (They even had a 240GB SSD for 20 or so after rebate hell).  Keyboards and mice can be had for modest prices.  So you're at 350-400 right there withoug

So therefore, I think I could build a PC rig that costs ROUGHLY the same as PS4 and Xbox One current MSRP and performes ROUGHLY the same as PS4 and Xbox One.  PS4 and Xbox One are not running games on Ultra either.

EDIT

Actually, the R9 270 is a 2.37 TFOPs (31%+ more than PS4) card that can be had for 100 - even further reducing the cost.  Mobo combo for 100.  100 for case, ram, and HDD.  You're at 300.  Even if you added an OS like windows 7 and kb/mouse, you can come in under budget of 400.

So far so good!