It's a widely acknowledged fact that PC Gaming, and computer gaming in general, is on the decline. Matching the death spiral of arcades which began in the early nineties but took until earlier this decade to conclude, computer gaming is being beaten out by an easier, more cost-effective way to play. Arcades were a hassle because they were physically remote from one's other leisure activities. They increasingly required the repeated insertion of escalating coinage. Meanwhile, their advantages were eroding as consoles and (More so) computers began to match their technical proficiency, notably in terms of graphics.

To compound this, the amusement industry, which had likely seen this stagnation coming, began to transition away from making the latest arcade video games the centrepiece of arcades, opting instead for accessible and increasingly physical games, whilst retaining some classic arcade video games for nostalgia and other reasons. It just didn't make sense to continue playing games in arcades when you could get the same or better experiences in your own home - face it, not going outside is easier than doing so.

Matters were certainly not helped by the decline of one of arcade video gaming's premier genres, the fighting game. Audience interest in the genre was waning as deeper games with more to do became readily available, a testament to the idea that populist appeal beats suitability for pseudo-professional competition.

And so, a decade and a half of painful transition ensued in which many tried to resurrect the arcade. Finally, something was salvaged by the 7th Generation of home games consoles. Xbox LIVE Arcade, whose name is an obvious nod to the retired gaming pillar, as well as other download services began to offer some of the classic games for sale to play at home, often with features like online multiplayer and leaderboards. Further, classic arcade series have found new homes on consoles, ensuring those kinds of experiences are at least not lost.

Debatably, the worst part about losing arcades is the loss of a place for gamers to congregate. On the whole, gamers no longer see eachother in person, they meetup online. Yes, friends do still get together for the odd LAN party or to play splitscreen games. But gamers now meet new gamers either through non-gaming scenarios or online. That's the way it is now. Some cling to the LAN centre as a modern replacement for the arcade, and where they exist they serve this purpose well. But they're far from common.

It was computer gaming which adopted the arcade's throne as the bleeding edge of games technology, It was on the computer, through forums, online gaming, text chat and voice communication and online gaming with integrated textual and vocal communication that gamers began to congregate as they once had in the arcade. High scores remained important, but they gave way to the "e-penis" as well. Simply put, gamers now compared how "awesome" they were not only through achievement in games, but through how powerful the equipment they used to run it was.

This has been ongoing for some time, at least a decade and a quarter. And now, the gremlins are creeping in.

Computer gaming suffers similar problems to those which ailed the poor old arcade. It's competing against something which is simpler. Like arcades, it was able to hold its competition at bay for quite a while through other advantages. Principally, this was the PC being simply better at many popular genres and the sheer power of the computer. Computers have had the edge on consoles in terms of graphics for, well, ever. But consoles dont have to be better than PCs at delivering cutting edge visuals, because they already have the simplicty sring to their bow.

And the PC has lost enough of it's lead in its key genres to render the advantage meaningless. Take for example the venerable FPS. Whilst it's still true a console port of a computer FPS is rarelyy as good as the original, the inverse is now also true. Consoles are delivering entries in computer gaming's premier genre which are as good as or better than entries on computer platforms.

Meanwhile, more and more gamers are fed up with the substantial financial outlay (And hassle) necessary to keep their computer up to date. For years it has been the practice of computer gamers to update their hardware every 2-4 years. This routinely runs the cost of at least one console over the same time period and as a result, many gamers are content to simply buy consoles which, at any rate, last longer (5-10 years) and do not suffer incompatability woes.

All of which leaves the computer rather backed into a corner. And yes, it will likely fall to the console by the 9th generation. But computer gaming can have the last laugh. How? By becoming the very consoles which torment it.

The trend in computing is increasingly towards digital lifestyle hubs. Today's PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360 both aim to deliver this vision now, based around games consoles and movie players. Likewise, Apple aims to deliver something akin to this with it's AppleTV - a digital content hub for the TV - and Mac mini, heavily marketed as a video-friendly device for the living room. Microsoft even has a second entry, the Media Center PC specification which (Ironically) is licnsed to Sony as a hadware vendor.

None of these solutions is fully servicable. They are all missing (different) key features. The perfect solution is everything these devices have, and throw in the fun and accessibility of the Wii. Now we're getting somewhere.

The next importnt thing to note is that console gaming will canabilise itself once it has no pillars posing a significant threat. To this end, by the 10th geeration, console gaming should become a specification, like DVD. Not a set om competing standards, just agmes. Multiple vendors delivering hardware crafted to work with the specification and tailored to have certain strengths.

But while we're at it, why make the specification sepearate from these media hubs which are going to run our lives? They should be the same, right? Put the consoles on the Macs and PCs sitting beneath our TVs with their massive storage and rapid internet access. Truly converge the entertainment platforms. Make the consoles computers and the computers consoles. And holding it all together, a cross-platform system built from open APIs and important features.

Next Generation Computer Gaming Platform is a vision for a better Games for Windows than Games for Windows, a better Steam than Steam. A cross platform component of the media centre apps that we will all be using. Just select "Games" from the Media Center, Front Row or similar app interface and off you go. Even make the online components pervasive throughout the other media available on the same hardware - track music habits ala Last.fm, add vdeo watching stats...

The Next generation Computer Gaming Platform is also an Integrated Media Convergence Platform.

And that, is how you save computer gaming.