Hmm...It's a rather hard question to answer ,isn't it ?

Anyway , let's start. Here is a fact : PC gamers have lately been on the outside looking in.Resident Evil 5 , GTA : IV and Star Wars The Force Unleashed are some of the games which , despite their initial releases on consoles, will appear on pc (in case of GTA , a pc version is already released). But in what cost ? They will appear a year after their console counterparts. Is this bad ? I have to say, yes. Once a game is released , you read reviews ,you watch gameplay videos and you even play it on your friend's console. As a result much of the story , the setting etc is spoiled. In addition , there are pc versions of games originally exclusive to consoles , which seem , or should i better say, are rushed versions of the original game.The first game it comes in our mind is , i suppose , Resident Evil 4. While the PS2 and GC versions were praised for their brilliant graphics, great gameplay etc etc , the PC version was , by common assent , a total let-down.

But there are worse.Games and game series such as Infamous , F1 , Killzone , Halo series , Virtua Fighter , Motorstrom and MGS 4 seem that will never appear on pc. Both Sony and Microsoft have managed to keep some great franchises exclusive to their consoles.

And when it seems that things cannot get any worse for the pc gamers and game developers ,here comes the final blow. Along with the arrival of next-gen consoles and the ease of connecting them to the internet , came the fall of the one of the last strongholds of pc gaming. First person shooters have now become a part of PS3/Xbox 360. While ,back in time when PS1 was the dominant console , the use of only one analog stick* made those games difficult to play on PS1 or any other console , nowadays gamers are used with both analog sticks and ther usage in first person shooters.

And then , there is the common talk : Piracy.The problem's obvious, so I needn't elaborate any further. Publishers lose money , while PS3 and Xbox 360 don't have this problem yet.

So yes, there are reasons for the publishers to abandon pc gaming. In my opinion however, they won't.

Jun Takeuchi, Capcom producer,has stated that pc was the main developement platform of RE 5. I don't think Capcomis the exception. While game publishers continue developing their games on pc first , pc games will continue to appear as the cost will be extremely low...

Furthermore , there is still one traditionally pc genre that holds his own against all the other ones : RTS games. Despite some attempts to bring the genre to consoles too (Tom Clancy's Endwar), i don't think that anything can replace the feeling of holding the mouse in your hand while trying to defend your castle (:D) .

And last but not least , when people say that pc gaming is going todie , i don't think they take into account the whole pc gaming industry. I am sure they will never let Sony and MS ,despite their influence and profits, make gaming their affair...

To sum up , i think that pc gaming won't disappear .Indeed , there is much competition from the consoles but isn't there everywhere ?

So , that's all. I know it was discussed before but I really wanted to express my opinion.

P.S. I didn't mention the high prices of graphic cards , processors and everything else needed to run a game smoothly on your pc as well the graphics of pc games (which are considered to be better than the console ones) ,as it is widely argued. I will only say this : I find them too expensive but there will always be gamers willing to spend their money in order to have the absolute experience of a game...(meaning that better graphics, result in more money.Although there have been some games like Killzone 2 which have shown the true potential of next-gen consoles)

* Correct me if i 'm wrong , but i remember playing Medal of Honor : Underground. You couldn't use both analog stocks to run and aim at the same time. In order to aim , you needed to stop , hold R1 and move the left stick...

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Sorry for any grammar or syntax errors. It is quite difficult to write something that long in anything else than your native language...

Thanks for reading - aggelos6