TLDR version:
PC is king for a while, but cloud computing's' popularity will change things.
Cloud computing can be set up for any OS, any hardware platform. But also the power is in the company offering up cloud applications, games in our case.
They can control you game account on their cloud vs you controlling their copy of their game installed on your PC.
Hardware manufactures will make the change to servers / client terminals.
So once cloud becomes popular, dedicated gaming consoles may be used as they offer the controls (joystick, driving wheel, pedals etc) to join the cloud.
But games will be optimized for max for stock consoles, and modding consoles for better performance will be a aesthetic niche market.
beefy ribs / detail meat:
The PC will be around for a while, I can't give any predictions, but it will be a power house for some time.
PC's greatest power over console is the ease of game modification. The console's main strength over the pc was it's difficulty in hacking / modding its games so technically it's all skill.
Consoles used to have the power of online gaming and games un-hacked.
But that's changed in the recent years. The Console is very vulnerable, and unlike a PC, most users cannot install viable defenses (software firewalls, blocking tools, tracking utilities) etc quickly or in a way to counter. They have to wait for the lumbering console companies to make a change via updates or server fixes.
And they are like a B-17 without fighter support here because the cat and mouse game, the cats (hackers) are always one up (ahead).
Everyone playing Call of Duty series on 360 or PS3 knows in the week of release, online is already hacked.
On my first day of COD 3, they already had a guy that had homing knife / tomahawk throwing / when the round started someone would auto die from a knife or tomahawk.
PC servers were different, though they were hacked quickly, the server hosts were able to update the game and their servers. So some servers had monitoring and cheaters were kicked.
But gaming PC's death knell could be that cloud computing. It's something all the big companies and gaming companies want. They control the data and files. And this is big for them.
But for the user, alot of power is taken away from them. A company can control a person's cloud gaming account versus unable to control person having their own copy on their PC's. The only form of control they have is via patching or if the game is played on line, they can control the host servers . . . but that's nowhere near as comprehensive as control your account.
And that check box when you register an account, they can easily insert fine print saying they own you on the cloud.
Doing stuff on their end is so much easier (like IT security etc), and smaller companies can rent NOC (network operating centers)'s that house servers for all their data, network and cloud needs.
You don't have to sell / download major install files. Any system or OS can be used, just as long as it has the main cloud drivers / files / dlls etc and those are a quick and painless (usually 2 mb or so) . . .
And since cloud computing doesn't really need a powerful PC, gaming companies can use one game version for all consoles / slim PC's. And companies love that since they can purchase all these dumb terminals . . .
Wait you say, PC manufacturers won't let this happen. But they will. The ones that make beast PC's will simply make servers. Since NOC's will be popular, they will have more servers.
And they will make the terminal cloud PC's. They will make 'gaming cloud clients' which will be a PC like console that you can plug different controllers into . . .
They will have chip manufacturers pushing the envelope, but it won't be like the golden age of PCs like it now. Their efforts will be moved elsewhere . . . (servers, or other electronic arenas).
But cloud computing requires a robust, reliable, and hefty gig / s network . . . radio / wireless improvements may be the way to go . . .
But if the cloud computing catches, then the old gaming PC will be a niche market, and most heavy hitting game companies will all be for the one client to rule them all.
Even more so if gaming companies allow your cloud account to have a section of standard game and section to keep games with user mods, which will happen. One game company will want to stand out from the rest and offer mods to their game, and then others will follow suit.
Then once they figure on a console standard (like blue ray is standard now), each console manufacturer will make a client device for the standardized gaming cloud.
Sure you'll have people to mod their client, but with games being optimized to run on the stock / standard client, it really won't make a real difference, and PC monster builds etc will become a niche market for gamers.
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