Mods are great, within limits.  Unless you have the skills to do total conversions, then the modding ability just isn't worth it.  Oh, I do dabble with creating new games for Zillions, to try out new chess variants I have and so on.  Again, if you are like an advanced version of those who play Little Big Planet, then this modding is great.

What you get with console gaming is plug and play, and taking what is.  You do have the ability to rent and see if you like things or not.  And yes, the PC version will often come out with additions to them.

What are you talking about?  Did you not read my post (see Fable TLC/JE) where I modified the game myself and neither of which was a "total conversion?"

And no, the ability to modify just about any aspect of a game is not comparable to a mere level-creator ala LBP.  Suggesting that shows a lack of understanding.

What I get with PC gaming is the same as what you get with console gaming... and then some.  You are stuck with what you buy short of developers releasing DLC.  I can play a game and enjoy it then I can mod that game and enjoy 10 times more.  This is one of the reasons that my PC games typically get played dozens of times while my console games get played once or twice (depending on the type of game) and put onto a shelf.  Heck, that new Diablo II mod has taken a nearly decade old game and made it fresh again.

I've got some nice mods for Fallout 3 installed at the moment. Improvements to the PIP Boy display, proper hi-res texture packs for towns, scenery and weapons, a lovely little tweak to give dramatic sun glare and a level cap remover. I used a load of mods for Oblivion and Morrowind too. I love being able to take my game and alter and play it how I want. Yes, it's nice being able to just pop a disc in and play, but to me, it's far more rewarding to be able to tinker with the game and set it up just how I like it.

Ok, overstated on my part.  Take what I wrote and change it to, "if you have technical prowless and the motivation to do so", then modding is for you.  What I spoke about was someone like the LBP crowd, but at a higher technical level. 

With myself, I have Diablo 2 and others I can go to, if I was inclined.  I own the game.  It is just less preferable for me.  I will take ease of play over modding.  I have a Masters Degree in Information Systems (Computer Science).  For me, this is stuff I do to get paid for, and hired for employment.  It is not a distraction.

But, I do hack when needed.  If you want depth, consider the game Zillions.  I cranked out a number of games for it:

http://www.zillionsofgames.com/cgi-bin/zilligames/submissions.cgi/65556?searchauthor=126

Outside of that, I just don't have the motivation to want to mod.  I don't believe most people do either.  Games are consumable products that people play for enjoyment, and not to work on.  For REAL moddability, one can dabble with boardgame stuff.  I am able to do that and do crank out new boardgame stuff.

OK, so rather than making a general point, what you're really saying is that you've moved on from PC gaming because it's too much hassle for you. Which is fine, but tens of millions of other people still enjoy it immensely. I won't speak on their behalf, but I personally find your objections rather unconvincing. You seem to want to 'prove' that PC gaming isn't as good as console gaming to justify your preference, when the reality is that they're completely different.

The point was to show an example of PC gaming being worse than console gaming and why I moved on.

As I concluded my original message: Please keep in mind, there ARE places where the PC currently is better than consoles.  It usually is in the area where consoles are lacking in game genres.  Unfortunately for PC gaming, Puzzle Quest: Galactrix isn't one of those areas.

Here's the thing I think you're missing.

A lot of non-MMO-only PC gamers have that prowess. That's part of why they're PC gamers. Being a PC gamer you will eventually come across the modding culture and you will likely learn from it. Plus because a lot of it is community-based, people will want to help you. I remember playing Mechwarrior 4: Mercenaries where players would practically bend over backwards to help someone install the latest Mektek patch. When it comes to modding, you're almost never alone because usually someone else out there is thinking the same thing you are.

So maybe you don't know how to do certain things initially (I wasn't born with omniscience) but one of the joys of being a PC gamer is gaining that extra level of understanding yourself and with the help of others.

And that's just one side benefit of PC gaming. A lot of games are setup to where you don't have to do anything but toss the mods in or run an .exe (see Neverwinter Nights CEP or PRC) to get everything working. Adding new maps to an FPS. That's where a lot of people start. Something small, something easy, something they see a lot of benefits from without any effort.

When it comes to console gaming, you take away from it only what the developers intended.

When it comes to PC gaming, you take away what you're willing to put in. The more effort you put in and the more you experiment the more rewarding it gets.

The PC gaming culture, as you stated, tends now to be a more hardcore one, based upon game designers and people who want to create content, with dreams of breaking into the gaming business. Consoles haven't reached that level yet, but have made early steps to attempt to. It now remains a proving ground for people to break in the business. And, in that area, it works.

For more casual people, and the masses, it is consoles. Because, it is just play easier (dumbed down, if you prefer). See the example of the this thread for example of how dumbed down things are:
http://www.vgchartz.com/forum/thread.php?id=62051&page=1

The whole Killzone 2 fiasco with Gamestop shows you how dumbed down the game market is now, and where the growth is coming.

I would hardly call WoW, Bejewelled, The Sims and Peggle hardcore and they were all enormously successful.

PC gaming fills the entire spectrum from people playing Flash-based games on their lunch break to a grognard playing Hearts of Iron. There is no single culture or type, it's massive and all-encompassing.

There are exceptions here. If consoles haven't demostrated they can effectively do something as a game genre (this is in implementation and/or financial viability), which have been done on PCs, they tend to stay on PCs. What you have now, outside of the hardcore gamers (PC gamers, not people who game on PCs as something to do because they have them), is people who game on PCs as something they do with their devices. They aren't hardcore about it. Stuff like lunch break stuff. Similar to what you get with people who have cell phones. It is something you do because you have the device.

This casual approach would count myself as a "PC gamer". I will sometimes fire up Freecell or try a Flash game.

Massive multiplayer is another example of a genre that fits here. Consoles haven't demostrated they are viable there, so they stay with PC gaming. They also offer free trial periods so people can play them. And people can still stick with them. With those, generally people get married to one game, so it isn't the same as what you have with console gaming.