With the recent shift in XBOX and PlayStation marketing, discussion has spurred online as to whether this change is for the better of gamers.

What do you think? (Note: “PC.” vote option means software releases on PC at any point in time. Day one or three years later.)

I feel that exclusivity can be a good thing, in that it allows software to be more carefully tailored to a platform's quirks and strengths, and having killer exclusives is a big factor in making a console worth owning.

The main reason I bought a Switch 2 was to play the likes of Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza, while back in the day I bought a 360 to play Gears of War and the like, a PS3 to play Uncharted 1/2, a Wii to play games like Mario Galaxy, etc.

The good thing about console exclusives, is usually that they are pretty well optimized and tend to get the most out of the hardware. The downside of bringing console exclusives to pc, is that they tend to be poorly optimised for pc. If you want to do it right, you need to take MS is approach. PC as the main platform and Xbox is the port. However I don't see Sony or Nintendo take that approach. Porting from console to pc is a lot harder than porting to consoles.

If you release PC ports late you get crap sales, if you release them day one it harms your hardware business.

Sony was certainly making a profit on PC, as porting is so cheap in comparison to development, but sales have been lackluster. Helldivers 2 is the only massive success they've had on PC.

As for what's better for gamers. The games being wherever you want to play seems like the obvious answer, so no exclusivity. Though if that decision ends up killing platforms then it becomes less obvious.

Exclusivity is harmful to gamers, consoles dying is also harmful to gamers. You want every game on your chosen platform, but you also want your chosen platform to still exist lol.

If I were being selfish, I'd want everything to come to PC, but for the sake of the industry overall, I'll want to maintain console exclusives as a concept.

I see exclusives as a necessary evil. I get that in nature it is anti-consumer, as you are forcing people to buy hardware to play that game, when there is no technical reasons that they couldn't on some other hardware. Also, of course, you can sell more copies of the game if you release it on more platforms, and hence profit more of that game.
However, that is missing the bigger picture, exclusives strengthen the brand identity, it sells a platform, which in turn sell more games/exclusives. And exclusives also just flat out sell themselves. Look at the top selling PS5 games:
Spider-Man 2
Gran Turismo 7
EA Sports FC 26
Resident Evil 4
Black Myth: Wukong
Helldivers 2
Forza Horizon 5
God of War: Ragnarök
Ghost of Yotei
Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

2 of them are completely exclusive, 3 are console exclusives with significantly delayed PC release, 2 were timed console exclusives for at least a year. This is neither a coincidence, nor is it because Sony's first parties are just miles better than all other developers in the industry.
Exclusives sell themselves and they sell their platform, and they are useful for platform owners to get the edge over the competition. So exclusives also create competition in the gaming industry.

They should do what is best for that console/company and its success as a whole. They don't owe anything to other platforms by default.

Right option isn't listed.  Launch on PC 12 to 24 months after exclusive to their console.  I get sales will be lower because of the delay but ported can't be that expensive, thus it is free money (ish).  

The strategy is keep exclusive so people buy their hardware and subscription, thing is there isn't a chance I am buying a ps6, and I doubt I am alone.  It isn't like I am hurting for games.

That would be option “PC.” 

I wouldn't launch day 1 on PC though, that does hurt brand.  It needs to be delayed launched.  I went with other, more details below.