Console Advantages
The most obvious advantage consoles have over PCs is cost. The Xbox currently sells for around $200, often with a couple games in the bundle, while it's easy to spend that much or more on a quality PC video card alone.
The second most obvious advantage is simplicity. Let's face it, PC gaming is a technical nightmare compared to console gaming. People can actually take a console home and be playing a game within minutes. No operating systems to configure or drivers to update, and better still, no purchasing a game only to find out that it isn't compatible with your PC for some obscure reason.
Multiplayer gaming is also made easy and affordable with companies like Microsoft offering online services for their product. The Xbox, for example, comes equipped with a network card, making it a simple matter to hook it up to a DSL or Cable Internet connection and get into a multiplayer game on Xbox Live.
Many people prefer to play games sitting on the couch, or they want to play with friends in the same room. While these things are possible on a PC, consoles are extremely well-suited for this right out of the box.
Console games are more readily rented than PC games, and more easily returned to the retailer if you're not satisfied with them. Generally speaking, it is difficult to return PC games because they are easy to copy.
Console games tend to have a relatively low learning curve. You might need fast thumbs, but you certainly won't need to spend hours in a "tutorial" trying to learn how to operate basic game functions. :tongue:
PC Disadvantages
While PCs have come down considerably in price over the years, they are still quite expensive compared to consoles. Perhaps worse, we seem to be at a point where manufacturers would rather make them more powerful than cheaper, whether we need the speed or not.
Computers are also getting a little more user friendly, but eventually every PC gamer will encounter some technical complication, be it a device driver that needs updating or components that are simply incompatible.
The truth is, installing a game on your computer is always a bit of a gamble. You never really know if it's going to work until you're actually playing the game, and even then, in the back of your mind, you're expecting it to crash at any moment.
Unlike most console games, PC games have the potential to get ridiculously complicated. This can give a game depth, but it can also result in tedious arrays of keyboard commands and lengthy tutorials which one must endure to learn how to play.
PC games are often not well-suited for playing on the couch, especially given that the mouse and keyboard are the preferred PC game controllers. Unlike console games, you also won't find many PC games that support two players on one machine at the same time.:tongue: