For people not smart enough to know how to build a computer

We need consoles because not all of us are hermits. Some of us like to play games with more than one person in the room, y'know, multiplayer without having to use an internet connection to find friends. Virtually every single offline multiplayer game that has released this generation has been on consoles.

You don't see Mario Kart (or an equivalent) on PCs. You don't see Street Fighter gettin' revived on PCs. You don't see 4-player platformers like Mario 5, LBP, Rayman Origins, or Kirby coming out on PC.

You can't in all seriousness write an article like this and even begin to think you know how the market will be in 5 or 10 years.

The Market for dedicated consoles has only grown the past decade and is getting stronger.

Dedicated consoles are the biggest reason that gaming is a billion dollar market, not Ios or PC gaming. Sure they are both big but every big game that is released sales far and away more on the 360/PS3/Wii/DS/PSP

Consoles dominate and this will not go away anytime soon.

It realy is simple. I like chilling out on the couch, feet up, with a controler, on my 42" plasma. I know I could do all those things with a PC but at a high cost.

Great article! Many valid points.

It is my personal belief that we will see something that builds upon the Vita and WiiU: A Portable Gaming Console that's beefed up to specs consistent with home consoles that u can just plug in to ur tv (think psp hdmi out) to get the large tv gaming AND just unplug it and play on the same "console" on the go.

I know there's some people that would possibly hate that, but I personally would LOVE for that to happen. We as consumers would get the best of both worlds all in one package.

Consoles may change but dying out no way..

Consoles gaming is ideal. I don't need to upgrade, I don't need to download thousand drivers and patches and I always know, that console's game always runs ok without black screens and freezes.
I also wonder with Onlive - this is geniusly. In the future it will break barriers among platforms.

What happens when internet goes down on those PCs/phones/streaming TVs? Do people have the patience to not be able to game at all when they have an internet outage? Last I checked the internet infrastructure is not getting any younger and we don't seem to be in any hurry to replace it. 4G in America is bullshit, for example. It isn't fourth generation technology at all, at least not what tech engineers say it should be. 4G was defined as something way the hell faster than this and US companies got congress to pass a law saying that they could call 3G.1 "fourth generation". An analogy: As defined, 4G is like comparing a jet to a car. In reality, the 4G being touted right now is like comparing a Mustang to a Lamborghini. Is the Lamborghini faster? Sure. But it really isn't nearly as fast as what was defined by engineers. COMPANIES LIE.

Analysts don't think of practical problems when they think of the "future." They only think of dollar signs. They could care less if you have fun while gaming and they won't do anything more than necessary to get your buck.

That is why we need consoles. We need companies dedicated to a quality product. Do you think Apple gives a shit about quality products? They proudly proclaim that their app store is "half a million and counting" to which I reply: "Yeah, and 499,850 of them are shit. Congratulations on your pursuit of selling a mediocre product for tremendous cash, laughing all the way to the bank."

Do you honestly think that people touting these forms of media give a crap about what you like? Tech hipsters are so fascinated with the specs that they can't see the forest for the trees and they're going to regret their opinions when they realize the implications.

I'd still like to believe that our only hope of retaining gamer-first gaming is to keep consoles alive.

Current Consoles - better sales and better exclusives (Uncharted 2-3, Gow3, Gears 3, zelda)

double post

Consoles all day baby.

I like PC gaming but don't like all the DRM and windows live crap you gotta have running, you can't save a lot games unless you have internet access.

I also recommend that the box sizing standards change I want a small PC with balls. I want it to fit in my entertainment unit like my PS3.

I want every game on PC to have gamepad support. You see I game in my lounge and ME2 only has KB support.

You see you run into soo many little problems that you get put off PC gaming, it's the little things. And it's not like I didn't give it a go.