I think this:
I read this via Gametab last night. Really sad stuff.
The piracy effect is a very real one too. It's killing the industry and reducing it to bare bones. The dev dollars just aren't there for the PC. Even if you really, really want them to be.
When you are seeing 5:1 sales performance on Bioshock (console vs PC) and 10:1 on COD4 (console vs PC) you are seeing piracy in action - in full flight.
is less of a problem then this:
The cost of gaming pcs along with the constant advance in graphics are the real threat to pc gaming and is the reason why pc game sales haven't really grown. With consoles you have a far cheaper cost and 6 years before needing to get a new one so it is far less expensive to play console games then pc games.
While piracy is a problem on the PC, I do sincerely believe it is not the main problem. Devs seem quite happy to blame it, but it is always easier to blame others then oneself I guess.
I can honestly say that back in the days when we (me and my friends) all got our first PCs, non of us ever bought any games. Instead we all just made copies of each other's games. I don't think I know anyone (personally) that ever bought DOOM 1 or 2, or Wolfenstein or Duke Nukem, so it is truly not a new problem.
I think the fact that consoles are becoming a true contender with PC gaming is the bigger issue. First of all there is the fact that they are easier to use and don't need to be upgraded a lot (but that has always been that way as well) but second of all (and this I think is the bigger thing) they are now capable of truly contending with the PC and we are seeing a genre overlap that wasn't there as much a few years ago. While consoles used to be the home of platformers, JRPGs, sports games and the likes now a lot of the PC only genres are on there as well.
FPS has moved over to consoles a while ago, and a few years ago it would have seemed unlikely games like TES and Mass Effect would have been on the console and now I believe RTS games are moving over as well. And with the internet acces the consoles have you can even download patches and mods nowadays.
I think that the truth is that a lot of people aren't willing to upgrade their PCs every year if they can play the same (or similar) games on their consoles anyway. And these more-then-a-year-later console ports aren't helping either, like the HALOs and Gears of War and Jade empire. they just look dated on the PC and most people would have gotten them for the console already anyway.
It's only really the hardcore gamers that the PC offers more for, like mods, but I think for a lot of people consoles are the better choice at the moment. And that is what developers see in the sales figures, and that's why the PC games only get one shelf in video game shops nowadays.
There is no easy solution to this in my opinion, and I'm not quite sure there should be. If the games I like to play have shifted platform, maybe I should just shift with them rather then complain that I can't play Mass Effect right away on my PC.
One solution I can see though is lower specs for PC games and allow more Pc users to play games on their PC that way. Games like WoW went for a cartoony look rather then ultra-realism and are very playable on low-end systems.
So yes, I'm considering not upgrading my PC anymore and going console instead. I'm a housewife on a budget and we are all avid gamers here which costs a fortune. Not having to upgrade my PC and grabbing games from the second hand user shelfs rather then buying them new will save me money and at least I don't have to play games at the lowest graphics quality anymore.
And if that means missing out on games like Titan Quest, well, for every Titan Quest there is a Mass Effect I suppose.
And if I'm (a reasonably hardcore gamer) am thinking about it that way, I can only imagine that for the average gamer the choice is even easier...