Unreal creator Tim Sweeney had a slightly different take, claiming that while many hardcore PC gamers still (and always will) exist, playing computer games is akin to buying sports cars: "They [expensive gaming rigs] are everywhere, everybody writes about them, but there are only a few who can afford them."

PC World writer Matt Peckham sees the validity in Sweeney's statements, but argues that some of the very problems Sweeney mentioned are due to many high-end developers -- such as Epic -- aiming for that top tier of PC owners. "Those sorts of games are always fun to read about in a preview or to watch in a trailer," Peckham says, "but when it's time for the rubber to meet the road, most people don't have the tire tread to even register."

Doug Lombardi, marketing vice president at stalwart PC developer Valve Software, states that PC gaming is actually doing quite well - and the casual audience is a critical part of the platform's success. "If you took Steam, Peggle, PopCap, WoW and mixed it with NPD numbers," says Lombardi, "the world looks a lot different. All of a sudden, it looks like PC's probably the biggest one, and year over year, the fastest-growing."

Though casual gaming is an integral piece of the PC gaming pie, hardcore gamers -- those with and without expensive rigs -- will always be an important part of the PC game scene. Lombardi went on to say that there will always be "a continued group of people -- us, Blizzard, Epic -- committed to making great apps for [the] PC."

Lombardi added that "People keep innovating on the hardware to make it a more heavyweight platform." Put simply, it is the PC's versatility, manifested through its constant hardware developments, that will ensure the PC's gaming longevity (and its health) for a long, long time.