Minimum requirements for Stranglehold coming this month on 360/PC and next for PS3:

Windows XP SP2 / VISTA (Games for Windows compliant)
Dual Core Processor
2 Gigs of Ram
Nvidia 7800 or higher / ATI x1300 or higher
Disk space: 15 gigs

While I don't have interest in this game anyway, I'd personally have no sweat playing this! That game is absurdly lacking in optimization, however. At least on the PC. 

If this game already has these kinds of minimum specs, I can see gams going insane in a few years. This game isn't even as impressive as some...

The problem always with PCs is you need to upgrade much more often for more money than you need to buy consoles (once a generation), even with the new high priced consoles my point is proven still.

You are forgetting about optimization.

Let's see how Crysis runs, unoptimized in an HD console.

60fps? 1920x1080? Full graphics, texture and physics details? 16x anisotropic filtering? 8x FSAA? 2GB RAM? HDR?

No. No. No. No. No. No. And, no.

It wouldn't happen. What this shows you is that in fact, despite the excessive requirements, your average gaming rig will still be able to handle Stranglehold. The same cannot be said the other way around.

@Bodhesatva: I would be able to do this on my main home PC, too. But most people can't afford to buy a computer more than once every few years. Even right now, that computer would be pretty expensive for most. Even an AMD X2 (which is cheaper than a Core2 Duo) it would go over a thousand, mostly because so few PC's come with a 7800/x1300 out of the box. Most come with a 7650/1100 at best.

EDIT: I don't think anyone, but the blindest fanboys, ever argued with the superiority of PC graphics.  The argument is that high end PC games aren't accessible to the masses, hindering sales and hurting the chances that games will be developed as PC exclusives.  Most major FPS appear on consoles along with other games previously were thought of as PC only: Sims, Sim City, Civilization, Command and Conquer, etc.

I understand some folks don't want to shell this type of cash out, but the game is probably still going to be playable without those specs, you will just need to turn a lot of settings down and play on a lower res.

But from what I have seen, I agree with bod, these guys have done very little optomizing. The opposite end of the spectrum would be HL2: Ep 1 which required this...

• 1.2 GHz processor
• 256 MB RAM,
• DirectX 7 level graphics card
• Windows 2000/XP/ME/98
• DirectX 9.0c or higher

Episode two will likely be a boost to the min specs, but the boost will not even bring it close to the specs you listed. If developers are working with a good engine specs should not be too bad.

PS - Episode one was released in June last year.

Edit: clarified the post a bit.. 

I don't see the need to upgrade my PC for Stranglehold - and I hardly have an elite gaming rig.

On a related note, that excuse of constant upgrading is a load of BS. Let's put things in perspective:

Want to play Wii Fit? Board = $

Want to play Eye of Judgement? PSEye =$; Cards = $

Want to play Arkanoid with paddle on the DS? Paddle = $

Want to play that new sliding DS game? Slider = $

Want to party with Mario and three other buddies? Controllers + Nunchuks = $

Want to play Winning Eleven with seven buddies? Controllers = $; Multitaps = $

Want to play consoles in HD? TV = $

Want to keep all your downloads on the hard drive of your PS3? HDDs = $

Want to keep all your downloaded Wii games? SD Cards = $

Want to text-chat via Live? Keyboard accessory = $

Want to talk smack via PSN or Live? Headset = $

Console gaming this generation is designed with "upgradability" in mind more than ever. To do any of the above, you need to buy additional hardware. For all intents and purposes, this is no different than upgrading a PC. Even in previous generations you had add-ons (SEGA CD, SEGA 32X, Satellaview, NES Floppy, NES Basic Programmer, Rumble Paks, Additional memory, etc etc etc).

The main difference is, however, that for the above most of the "upgrades" are specific to one or few games; with a PC upgrade, you are addressing the requirements of all games as well as performance in general for non-gaming-related tasks.

Neither is better or worse, but to suggest that PC gamers are getting the short end of the upgrade stick is missing the whole picture. I bet if I added the cost of all the items listed above that would in itself cost me a PC capable of handling Stranglehold.

 7800 or x1300? They are two completely difference classes of video card. All I can gather from this is that it requires PS3.0.

 As for the 15 gig of space, is the 360 version on 2 DVDs?

Headsets, Dancemats, Controllers, Paddles, Nice Displays, and Windows Live all cost money for PC's too.

But even with out these we are talking over a thousand dollars to play some current games, just for the basic hardware. While let's pick a console: Wii with a balance board(guessing high $89), 3 extra controllers, 3 nunchucks, and a LAN adapter = $462 and 3 games are included (WiiPlay, WiiFit, and Wii Sports)

It's is fair to say that the experience is better, that is a fair opinion, but it is not cheaper. (And before someone says it: Wii and PS3 can do flash games, so that kills that argument before it starts.)

BTW, There is also the hardware confusion factor, which scares off many consumers.

What exactly is the point of the argument again. PC gamers are high-end consumers, console gamers are not.

 Except BioShock and others have already released their specs, and they aren't anywhere near this. Upgrading is certainly an issue, but this game is clearly at fault here. It's horribly lacking in optimization, as I said.