That's not exactly true. 

Game developers and publishers make games that will be able to run on the maximum number of systems or in other words the most common PC, generally, only pushing up the requirements when the game itsef needs more. To say "Current Hardware" is kind of a meaningless statement, since there is a VAST difference between common hardware and up to date hardware.

CIP Games of last gen on PC didn't even utilize Quad Cores or 8gb mem because most PCs where dual core or utilized 32 bit operating systems which can't even use more than 4 gigs.

With the arrival of the new consoles many games started to push PCs, I actually experienced it first hand but is not as bad as the author makes it seem.

I remember when I built my 4k rig with 780tix3 as GPU, I had more than enough raw power(Still do today)to max anything at that resolution,but after just one year of building it vRAM requirements on games increased drastically thus unabled me to max textures, sometimes even shadows.I suppose though that at lower resolutions these little flaws will not be as significant.

Anyways AMD's Rx 300 series will realease this year and Nvidia's Pascal next year,the architecture within those GPUs, along with DX12 will completely change PC gaming. 

There's been a minor jump in required specs, but nowhere near as bad as the author makes out. 8GB RAM? Quad core CPUs? Some games were requiring specs like these 3-4 years ago. I think GTA IV needed a quad core CPU.

For comparison, I finished my PC build in early 2013 for relatively cheap and it's currently running all the games I throw at it at higher res and performance than the PS4, and certainly much better than the X1. At the start of last gen my reasonably priced PC was chugging along, struggling to play anything and required a couple of upgrades just to run to console fidelity.

How is the article redicolous, now we see all of the sudden pc games comming out who need quadcore as minimum system requirements, like The Evil Within who requires an i7 or equilant cpu with 4+ cores. Nvidia, Intel and co. made money before the new consoles came out but now they have actually to deliver instead milking costumers with renaming everything a corei7 like intel does or nvidia with their redicolous overpriced titan series.

If no games are programmed to require better hardware as every game is based on consoles now you wont see them making advancements.

first consoles are holding pc back now we're pushing things too far forward. ..can't do anything right.

And you can build a PC just as strong as the Ps4 and the XB1, for under 400$? You will be forced to upgrade anyway due for the requirements. so i am glad i invested a big chunk of Money in my Desktop and Laptop gaming Pc's. It have met these idiotic requirements which i don't understand why.. Bad porting.. Shitty devs! Devs have proven to be rotten, while being arrogant on their side. I know it's not hard, but if 2 guys over on Naughty dog manage to optimize a port from Ps3 to the Ps4 from a nasty coding system as the Ps3 was. i would think these devs could do the same

I'm glad I'm a console gamer. Way too much hassle compared to consoles.

Better know what you're doing and system requirement is sometime false message, it maybe unoptimized. Always check the benchmarks before buy software & hardware.

It doesn't help how this is an old article posted recently on here after the whole "DS II PS4 vs PC/360/PS3" thread and how IGN didn't mention PC and Xb1 were going to get the same version and then people started spouting over there and on YT that PC was ultimately weak compared to the PS4 and then we get an author of the article spreading the same kind of myhtical crap around, it doesn't surprise me as to why it's posted here and not under PC dicussion, heck I don't even know why the op wanted to dig up an old article since op isn't really coming from the PC space, last I checked it was the PS4 space based from profile info.

I'm also finding it hard to believe that current gens are apparently free of blame when it comes to ports considering their hardware is technically outdated and provided from a weaker manufacturer.

Tomshardware used a 200 bucks corei5 @4.6ghz with 8 gigs of ram for shadow of mordor who requires at least an i5. You have to take the whole picture into considuration thats where the author is ultimaticly right.

And yes alienware is overpriced but it doesnt change the fact that they try to compete with next gen consoles and are marketing as such, same way with all these low budget builds by various articles and videos saying they can build the same future proof rig like a next gen console for the same money. I think its lying to costumers and people unintenial or not,

If you want a future proof rig that can handle console ports in the future you will need at least a quadcore with hyperthreading or better yet an 6 or 8 core and 8 gigs of ram as well a decent graphicscards with 2 gigs of ram. And by doing that you will spent more, somthing these people and alienware want to overshadow.