Wolf

Interestingly enough, even though it doesn't seem like it, the PC is actually the largest and most successful gaming platform at 10.4 Billion dollars. It has continually been rising because of cheaper hardware.

"When was the last time a major PC FPS had packs of 3 multiplayer maps created, polished and tested by the original development team, and given out for free?"

I believe the last was Crysis. FEAR did it, UT2004 did it, Half-Life 2 did it, etc.
It is actually extremely common on the PC. Devs make free maps for their fans as a "thank you".

Strange, it seems my name has changed from Taowolf51 to just Wolf...

Yep, Crysis sold a million early February.
Actually, since it was written on February first, it would be more accurate to say they hit the 1 million mark in January:
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/02/01/crysis-goes-platinum/

Your right about that, actually.
I remember before I got a PS3, I just heard bad things about it, but the people who owned one loved it. And when I got mine, I love it as well. The quality of the constrution, the ease of the menu, and performance, stability, and the great games are things that aren't spoken much of.
The only good thing I have heard from Joystiq about the PS3 is when EA (and everyone else) said that 2008 was the PS3's year.

Thank you for the immature comments, that basically voids your credibility right there.
So your saying Crysis sold badly? I'm not so sure of that. Crysis went platinum (over 1,000,000 copies sold) within a few weeks of it's release, and it continues to grow very quickly.
What's funny, is that a week before that, there was an article stating that Crysis sold only 80,000 copies. Though what you had to dig to find, was that it was only US sales, and they didn't include digital distribution.
PC games are much more popular in other countries besides the US, and that is where they make most of their money. Also, digital distribution accounts for a very very high percentage of game sales, yet it is completely absent in all sales averages.
PC gaming is not dead at all. When looking at per year sales, PC gaming gets about 2 billion, while the consoles get about 12 billion. Only thing, is that they count all 13 consoles in one group. When you look at averages of individual consoles, PC games are right up there.
Let's take a look at CSS, or Counter Strike: Source. The game averaged the same amount of hours per month as Halo 2 did in its entire lifetime. Also, more people played the original Counter Strike then there were copies sold of Halo 1, Halo 2, and Halo 3 combined. All the while, people were saying PC gaming was dieing. (Oh, and BTW, dying is like "dying a shirt blue".)
Oh, and that article made me laugh.
First off, yes, most PC games are going to the 360, but most 360 games are going to the PC as well. In fact, it is a similar percentage. It's something Microsoft has been trying to do for awhile.
Oh, and those "little stands" with PC games? Sure, that is gamestop. Funnily enough, my local Best Buy's PC game section is larger then an entire Gamestop, and larger then the console sections at the Best Buy as well.

I would like to ask. How long have people been saying "PC gaming is dead"? It's just a misguided perception, to be honest.

Well, everyone seems to be mad at those who don't post resolutions and framerates when talking about how well their system runs Crysis.
I will, however, and I have to say, the game isn't as hard to max out as people say it is.
I will give the basic specs for my 2 systems that run Crysis, and how well it runs.

First system:
Desktop
Windows Vista Ultimate
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4Ghz
BFG 8800GTX OC2
2gb 1066Mhz RAM

How does it run Crysis? Max (everything at very high settings), at 1680x1050 with about 25-30 FPS (I would get more if I updated my drivers lol). It is absolutely playable, and because of the process layering, and the motion blur, it is possible for this game to be smooth at 20FPS, surprisingly. It looks spectacular, and with the proper configs and TOD files, you can get the game looking infinitely better then very high settings, with no performance difference (or very little).

Second system:
Laptop
Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Core 2 Duo T7800 @ 2.6Ghz
nVidia Geforce 8800m GTX
2gb 800Mhz RAM

How's it run? MAX! 1440x900. Yes, my laptop is fully capable of maxing out Crysis at it's native resolution (which is still larger then the res most PS3 games run at, and all 360 games run at). It is smooth, and it is great. I also use configs and TODs on this one as well.

The game isn't that hard to max out, people are over exaggerating the requirements of this game.

Oh, an I would like to add that I also have a PS3, 360, and a Wii, and are very big fans of them all. I am just commenting on the very common misconception that it is near impossible to max Crysis out, which is very far from the truth.
I would say $1200 could buy a PC that could max out Crysis, and a nice monitor to go along with it, which is surprisingly cheaper then a console and an HDTV.
PC gaming used to be very expensive, but it has really gotten cheap.
Oh, and also those PCs can max out games like UT3, GOWPC, Bioshock, and others at over 120FPS.

Its 1.2g

Its 1.2g

The computer is less than 2 grand. It isnt very fast, for an Alienware, Alienwares can go up to 3.8 Ghz, it is fast for a normal computer though, especially with duel core processors. The customer service was the highest rated of any PC company. They are hand made. It also looks awesome. Best looking design I have ever seen. I have one, but its for gaming, also, they make the most powerful computers on the market (their called ALX) and they arnt nearly 8g.