I would rather say its a misconception that console gaming is cheap. Its rather the other way around.

Pc is much cheaper then console.

Almost everyone has a PC at home. to beat consoles by a large margin it only needs a 100usd gpu upgrade thats it.

Also if its even made with 800usd budget. in the long run due to prices of games the PC will still be cheaper thats a fact. Provided the Gamer buys 10-15 games each year (which i am sure any game must be). In that case PC would be cheaper by the 2nd year of gaming on it compared to Console.

Lets not forget some consoles like xbox 360 require more then 300usd to get it to game.

you need to pay 50usd per year for live.
Accessories are very expensive.
Dlcs free on PC are charged on the Xbox.

when you add all that up, PC is clearly superior not only from a performance point but even cost.

"Very few homes would not already have a TV of some kind to connect a console"

this is where you come off as mis-informed. The 5770 comes with an HDMI port and most older computers have an S-video port while most older tv's have an S-video port.

Whatever you can hook up your console to. You can hookup your pc to.

add to the fact that console games are expensive. PC gaming is cheaper for people who like to buy games. Not to mention it does 100x more than a console.

The article is about the initial outlay on the machine not the long term costs but that can be expensive on a PC too if you want the right kit, I've got well over a grands worth of gaming related peripherals sat on my desk right now for my PC. Its certainly not the case that almost everyone has a PC in their home. Rather than try and hoodwink people and try to hide the real cost of a decent gaming PC compared to a console why not just list the other advantages having a powerful PC in the home brings? it just comes across as a bit of a fanboy slanted article.

evrfighter just proves my point though:

"this is where you come off as mis-informed. The 5770 comes with an HDMI port and most older computers have an S-video port while most older tv's have an S-video port. Whatever you can hook up your console to. You can hookup your pc to."

He didn't even make it past the second sentence of my reply else he would have seen the following sentence in which I clearly stated:

"It could be argued that you could connect a PC to a TV"

In todays day and age a PC is just required at home, just as much as your television or freezer. Just cant do without having one at home.

Cant say the same for a console.

I travel alot. Nevermind developed countries like the USA. Even in developing nations almost everyone has a PC at home these days its just a requirement.

Hence from a cost perspective if anyone has a recent PC like 2-3yrs old. Its always much much more cost effective to just add a gpu to the PC then to get a console itself.

Of course later on we know the games on PC are cheaper anyways so thats another huge added advantage.

Not everybody wants well over a grand's worth of gaming peripherals. The only gaming Peripheral I have is a logitech G25. Unless you want to call my cheap Keyboard , Logitech X540 5.1 speakers and Logitech Nano mouse as gaming Peripherals then the total cost of my gaming peripherals is aproximately 400 euro , My G25 being 300 euro of that 400 euro.

I do play games a lot but I also do a bit of video editing and video conversion so I need a fairly decent rig but im not going to spend stupid ammounts of money on gaming peripherals thats not realy needed.

I have to applaud the pc fanboys for all their great arguments as to why pc is superior to consoles for gaming. But come on we are gamers and you all forgot the most important thing; the FREAKING GAMES.

Seriously what's the point if I cannot play Gran Turismo, Killzone, God of War, Final Fantasy, MAG, Heavy Rain and many more. If you game for fun like most people do, then consoles are where it's at. Friends over? No worries, just play a few rounds of Tekken, FIFA or some Rock Band instead of looking like a complete d!ck on a pc by yourself.

"In todays day and age a PC is just required at home, just as much as your television or freezer. Just cant do without having one at home."

A PC is not required in the home at all and "Even in developing nations almost everyone has a PC at home" is not true either. PC ownership has increased a lot over the last decade but that statement is still not true.

Steve> I agree not everyone wants that but when you buy a console it comes with a controller so you have everything right there in the box and all games are created to use that standard controller so there is no need to buy anything after that. You could argue that the hardware I have sitting on my desk is a testament to the PC's versatility and range of choice but the article is not about that its another feeding frenzy for the PC fanboys.

I agree. I believe there are certain unquantifiable reasons for picking console gaming over PC gaming, which can ultimately affect a person's decision. I myself am a console/PC gamer, split 50/50. There are some aspects that are offered exclusively to both types of experiences.

I am certainly not detracting from your mindset. I just wanted to show some people's rationale for why they pick PC gaming over console gaming. But again, it comes down to the intangible aspects that each experience offers.

Gaming in general ftw! :)

@mushoomwig

Had you made the comment about upgrades back in 2002 i would have agreed with you. Since in that time graphics were progressing on a yearly basis.

That is no longer he case. There are minor improvements now, which dont really demand more graphics horse power. This is the reason why a 8800gtx from 3 years back still plays all the games in 1080p

Also one thing in your arguement i dont understand, if you are fine with consoles running at low/med res textures after 3-4 years into its life. Why must you demand the PC to keep running games at maximum settings once its 3-4 years into its life?

Also another point that most consoles although designed to last years generation do fail. Most of them probably will require a replacement after 4 years of gaming(more in case of the Xbox).

Also do not forget in the long run PC will always be cheaper due to prices of games and the fact that once the generation is over.. no one will be pulling the plug on the PC. The games will keep running be it the multiplayer games or single player. On console no one is going to gaurantee you further BC or the existance of a network to play MP games. So games wise its a total loss on consoles later on.