MS came in and revolutionize online gaming for consoles with xbox live, in turn causing Nintendo and Sony to come up with their own online networks for the seventh gen..

I for one, would probably stick to PC gaming and would not have given consoles a second look but now the thought of online gaming from your couch in the living room with any of these 3 consoles was an offer to good for anyone refuse..

What do you think would happen to consoles if microsoft didnt enter the console business?

Would console gaming be strong enough to survive without the online element, just surviving on JRPGs and local multiplayer games for the seventh gen?

No the PC realm would still be festering with piracy and the PC market for games would be weaker as there would be no easy port to the console realm for PC developers to increase their revenues as the cost of development skyrocketed as it has with consoles.

I agree that the online component would not be at the level it is now without Microsoft entering the console market. I don't think PC gaming would have "killed" console gaming if it weren't for Microsoft coming on board though; PC gaming just isn't as accessible to the masses (i.e. casual gamers) like a console is.

Hahaha, I think it's the other way around.

Microsoft designed the Xbox specifically to fight PlayStation, which was trying to attack PC. Without MS interfering, who knows what Sony could have done?
Really, fighting PlayStation IS the only business reason of Xbox's existence.

That, and you're wrong about pc gaming(the online yo're talking about) being on consoles being the reason of survival of console gaming. Console gaming isn't a retarded form of PC gaming! Before this generation, there used to be a big difference between PC and console, and even this generation, the Wii is a console that doesn't have pc gaming blood running through its veins. And to prove my point, the Wii is outselling the pc gaming-consoles.

I have always felt that PC gaming and console gaming had very different audiences.

Even with the need to patch a game here and there and update the firmware, console is much more plug-and-play than PCs have ever truly been.

Thus, people who want quicker experiences -- or experiences that did not depend upon textual input -- prefer consoles.

Mike from Morgantown

Well, that pretty much sums it up.

PC gaming and console gaming are feeding off of each other. Even independant shareware developers are porting their games over to handhelds and console downloads services these days.

hell who cares if it would kill anything, what do i care about sales,
fact is that if you have a capable PC you're ok as a hardcore and dont need the cheap rip-offs ( sports and games are the exception ).
party games are a whole different thing

PC gaming has always always always trumped everything on consoles, when zelda was being praised for the revolution in 3D graphics, people on PC were rolling on the floor, because they compared it to half-life.

a hardcore gamer should be satisfied with a PC only, unless he is retarded enough to feel the necessity to play EVERY game, but hey, ofc i'd like to play god of war, but so what ?

man, this everlasting discussion is pissin me off

If PC gaming were the future MS would never have made a console.

I heard somewere that microsoft entered the console market to stop Sony from taking over the front room.  Microsoft must of seem Sony as a treat to their core business, may be not now or in 5 years but in the future.

No matter how much money microsoft lost they couldn't let Sony dominate the house though future products that will be coming though your TV movies, games, internet, shopping etc.

Just think if they weren't a Xbox, the PS3 will still be £500 and games costing £50.

Online wouldn't be as far, but it would make it in there eventually. Sega was already pushing the online capabilities of the Dreamcast, dating back as early as 1998.

Short answer: No.