TRUE DAT! 4-players one ONE CONSOLE/ONE TV playing online in the same room on a comfy couch with a small controller on a big TV just cant be rivaled on PC.

Why would you waste time on cables when you could just put the PC near your TV? Maybe YOU don't want to move your PC, but many people enjoys having a PC near the TV, and this is becoming more and more common. Hurray for HDTVs!!!

Shooters, RPGs, Adventure games, Action-adventure games, Simulation games, Puzzle/BOard games, Strategy games, etc...

The vast majority of genres are better for PC. Keyboard + Mouse is the superior choice.

True that!! PC is so amazing that consoles aren't even considered a rival!

well consoles are great and all but PC gaming is the best imo, i really want to play crysis and crysis warhead, stupid laptop i can barely run area51 on my lappy.

....Action/Adventure is better on the PC?

You mean the genre that includes Zelda, right?

You love to say that but I just don't believe.  I know a crapload of techy game people and have only ever known 3 people that keep a computer hooked up to their TV.

Most people just don't and just about everyone with a wife certainly won't.

PC v 360 - WINNER PC

Games

360-Find 5 AAA games on the 360 that can't be bought on PC. Hell, make it 3. Note that Fable 2 looks to be coming early 09 and GoW2 will be on PC eventually (Money talks and Cliffy B walks), probably Halo 3 too but who cares about that.

PC-Please don't make me list PC exclusives.

Both-Of the 360/PC exclusives, which has the superior version? I can think of TF2 and Supreme Commander where the difference is so vast they shouldn't even have the same name. The PC version of all the other PC/360 are still better on PC because they run faster, look better, have free DLC (can't believe people pay for that stuff), can be played with M/K OR joypad OR a mixture of both and they're CHEAPER!!! What more can you ask of a game? Oh yeah, MODS!

Granted the 360 does get timed exclusives (or beta tested as I call it) but when the game does arrive the extra content usually makes up for it. If the game is a 10/10 now, it should still be 10/10 in 6 months time right?

Multiplayer

360 has XBOX live, PC has Games for Windows Live. XBL costs £40 year (UK) or £200 over 5year console life. GfWL is FREE. £40 a year for P2P connections....WOW! I won't mention Steam because there is no need ;).

PC versions of the "same" game tend to have bigger communities on the PC because although the game may have sold better on 360, PC players can connect to more people through dedicated servers. This means that games last longer and don't die once the latest FPS is released. Oh and voice comms is better too.

360 has splitscreen

Price/Ease of Use

£130 XBOX 360 (cheapest)

£200-300 extra for 10 inferior games

£80-160 for online (2-4 years of XBL)

TOTAL £410-590

£100 Graphics card

TOTAL £100

"But....but... i need to upgrade the rest of my PC"

<£400 Gaming PC*

TOTAL <£400

"But.....but....connecting my PC to my TV needs 100m of cable and even though I'm happy to buy a console to plug into the tv a PC would be too hard"

<£500 Dell laptop with Nvidia 8600* **

TOTAL <£500

*is capable of more than playing games

**includes free 15" HDTV 960p and its frikkin mobile

Simplicity- PCs can be tricky at times but BSODs are much easier to fix than RRODs. If you're looking for ease of use maybe you should purchase a wii. Slightly more expensive than 360 but still well worth it. Connecting the PC to the TV is quite easy. You have a video lead, a sound lead and a power lead. You then insert the joypad  keyboard and mouse and your ready to go. But if thats too much hassle then get a 360....oh wait.

PS3 v PC = Winner PC

Pretty much the same as 360vPC except the PS3 does have more exclusives than 360 compared to PC but PC exclusives+superior versions of multiplat games win out over LBP and MGS. PS3 doesn't have to pay for online but online isn't great. Blu Ray Player, add £75 to gaming pc price, or £20 when they will actually be needed.

Wii v PC = Winner DRAW

Games- Nintendo has released more first party AAA exclusives in 2 years than Microsoft and Sony combined in 3 years. Nintendo can easily match AAA exclusives on the PC. It's difficult to match Nintendo when it comes to exclusives like Kart, Brawl, Galaxy, Zelda, Metroid but the PC does have all the HD multiplat games.

Controls- The many inputs of the wii allow it to DO THINGS A PC CANNOT. Both can play FPS games more intuitively than other consoles and RTS games are now possible on consoles with good controls. Wii controls can reproduce PC controls but they can also do much more. Playing Wii Sports just wouldnt be as fun with a mouse and keyboard or one of the classic controllers like the six axis or 360 pad. Wiimote and nunchuk has improved motionless games too. You no longer have to sit hunched over a joypad with your hands glued together. You can SIT ON YOUR COUCH with one arm resting or even both arms resting if you're really lazy. The Wii also improves single and local multiplayer with its speaker that allows extra information to be given to the player which makes the game more intuitive.

Online- Whilst online on PC is the best at traditional online, one of the best and worse things about it is hearing other people. People you like you want to hear. Wii does this by adding your real world friends list to the console instead of meeting random strangers and inviting them to be your friend. Wii also seems to have accounted for the problem of wearing a headset whilst trying to have a sword fight and eliminates the need to buy multiple headsets for people in the same room although I'm sure headsets will be an option soon.

Summary

PC v Wii cannot be compared in the same way PC v 360/PS3 because the Wii is a console and the other two are gaming pc-lites. The Wii knows what it is and it knows it can't match a gaming pc in graphics, media functionality, internet functionality because it's a console. Nintendo created the console industry nearly 30 years ago by showing people what consoles have that PCs don't and it wasn't graphics it was joypads, analogue sticks, rumble, light guns and the greatest games of all time came with them.

If the question is PC v Console then you should include all the PCs and all the consoles.

Gaming Mac/Gaming PC/PS3/XBOX360 v Wii

So PC v Console?

Answer. PCWii FTW

hehe i use both pc and ps3 and i have no preference.. But these days i play more on my ps3 because it's more easy to be laid back while playing (can't be arsed to play on hard) :)

Zenfoldor attempts to give his opinions about PC gaming fans and the PC platform in general:

Ok, here is the deal. PC gamers are the worse in the pool for elitism. Generally(and I'm generalizing here) they refuse to give in any aspect. They act as though the PC is always absolutely better than a console, and that's just not the case.

For instance, Pyro as Bill wrote:

Simplicity- PCs can be tricky at times but BSODs are much easier to fix than RRODs.

It's not as much fanboyism as it is blind elitism. These people spend so much money and time on their rigs that it's pretty much their life. They are PASSIONATE about PC gaming above all else.

The problem is, most of their talking points are vastly unrealistic, and they are out of touch with the common man.

This picture:

....pretty much sums of up. That's from a yhatzee zero punctuation review, where the man pegs the mindset of the passionate PC gamer. It's a direct insult to shio. A parody of a childish mindset. However, what is so amazing is just how many PC gamers have this mindset. It's rediculious.

Me, myself, I, you guys know that I'm a great debater, and even if I have no point, I can usually get at least a foothold in an arugment.

I can't argue with these people. i can't debate with them. They're as wrong as all hell, and I can't even get them to concede on ANYTHING. I can't even get them to admit that building a gaming PC is simpler than turning on an Xbox 360.

Again, I'm generalizing. I, myself, am a PC gamer, but I'm the exception to the rule here.

Elitism is ugly. What kind of rediculious mindset must you have to not admit that a single point in the OP is even remotely close to correct.

Console's have the advantage over PC's. Period. This isn't an opinion. Things exist that give the console an edge in some areas of gaming. One being plug and play. They're easier to use, easier to hook up, and usually easier to play. Not everyone wants the mouse and keyboard setup.

Not everyone can have their PC hooked up to their HDTV. Not everyone wants to build and/or pay 1000 dollars plus for a high end gaming PC to be able to play Assassin's Creed, and not everyone wants to deal with the hassle inherant with PC gaming, all the time. Sometimes my brother and I like to enjoy gaming together. Sometimes I want to play a Nintendo game, or a JRPG, or something along those lines. I can't play Tekken, StreetFighter, or Personal 3/4 on a PC. That is a big disadvantage. A big one. Period. No debate. No opinion. Those things are disadvantages.

As much as I like PC gaming, and I do like PC gaming, I would play far fewer games if I only had a PC. Frankly, imo, without Blizzard, the PC quickly becomes a great but expensive console with a mediocre HD=Library.

Ever wonder why PC owners choose the Wii? It's because they don't see it as a threat to their rigs. It's actually more of an insult to the Wii, than anything, if you think about it.

Right now, I'm playing Sam and Max ep 1, PoP: Sands of Time, and the original Half-Life. I've been to the mountain top. The grass looks greener, but it ain't. There is nothing more disheartening than building a 2000 dollar computer a week before a new superior type of motherboard launches, or seeing Wal-Mart selling a better computer than you build 2 years ago, for 300 bucks. There are problems with this platform, like with any platform, and denying them might full everyone else.

Here are the issues I have with PC games at the moment.

1. Production values: Patches, frame-rate stability (What do you mean im suddenly texture limited?!) and they don't always work. For example Even L4D was a bitch to get working because the virus scanner quarentined the exe file.

2. Complex/elitist gameplay on a lot of games. Strategy games have gotten so complex that halfway into it I feel like throwing up my arms and saying "WTF is going on?!?!" With shooters, because the mouse is so accurate all the time it feels wrong to be able to pull off a headshot ~95% of the time and that means im aiming at floating heads, ignore the body. Seriously, why can't I miss? I personally hate the headshot or else mantra, and I hate having a crosshair all the damn time when shooting from the hip and I hate the accuracy of the mouse.

3. Computer monitors are inefficient games platforms. You may think that its nice to have a 30" 2560/1600 Dell monitor, but wait till you see the graphics card you have to run it with. Theres a reason why consoles can get away with a 128bit bus and PC graphics cards need up to 4x the bandwidth. 4870 1gb is the minimum entry point at $299 for such a monitor.

4. Piracy, its not about not having games. I hate knowing that for every copy I bought there are 5-10 people who are playing without paying. I don't even go to a retail store anymore... if its not on Steam or Good old games im not buying it.

5. Resale/rental. I know there are some games i'll play only once so I get to play a lot more one off experiences because I know its easy to dispose of the game afterwards if I know im not going to play it again.

6. Controller vs Keyboard > Mouse vs stick for me. Added bonus is force feedback, absolutely love it! It gives me that tactile response that I miss from the mouse. Also it doesn't feel like im playing a balarina on speed with the ability to shoot more accurately on the move than someone with a steady aim at a firing range.

They are my main gripes.

Dude, Yahtzee is a true PC gamer. He knows well about the duality this picture represents, on how the overpowering tower the PC is against other platforms and the sophisticated palate of PC gamers, while having to cope with negative aspects that "Dirty console gaming peasants" wouldn't want to touch.