My reply in italics:
1. Mouse and keyboard support
Well, duh. Console kids who have grown up with a controller in hand might argue, but there's still no better way of playing just about any game in any genre – not just shooters – than the combination of keyboard and mouse. It just works, offering orders of magnitude more precision and speed than fiddly analogue sticks.
Have you tried playing a driving, platform or fighting game with a keyboard and mouse? Yes a PC is better at playing FPS, RTS and WOWCrack, but consoles can play other types of games quite well.
2. High screen resolutions
While Microsoft and Sony scream about 'true HD' in their games – but in many cases don't actually deliver it – the PC has been happily running games at 1080p and above for yonks. In fact, the near-HD default res of 1,280x1,024 is very 2001; even a medium rig can handle 1,600x1,200 or more these days.
As long as your drivers keep working. There are countless stories where patches are issued because of glitches in drivers and such. Consoles are more manageable because devs don't have to write of a bazillion types of drivers.
3. Free mods
Were you a raw naif, you might be forgiven for thinking that LittleBigPlanet et al single-handedly invented the idea of (nnnggh) 'user generated content'. But guess what? PC gamers have been coding mods (modifications) such as add-ons, total conversions, unofficial levels and all manner of other gubbins for… well, pretty much forever. And then distributing it for free, for the sheer love of it.
True. And how many mods are you playing at the moment? How many good mods are out there? I can count them off with one hand. Mods really aren't worth it.
4. Upgradeable hardware
With the aforementioned higher resolutions and textures, chances are a new PC game already looks better than its console counterpart right now. But even if you can't run it with all the visuals tweaked to the max, processor and graphic cards prices drop so quickly that it's hardly bank-breaking to refit your rig in a year or so, for better graphics and more speed.
A PC is more customizable but it costs a hell of a lot more money than a console. All those upgrades just so you can play a game at 1600x1200. IMO it's not worth it to mess up your credit rating just to keep pumping money into an expensive PC to keep it "up to date".
5. Cheaper games
Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo's licensing and publishing costs inevitably drive up the cost of every single game released, and even pre-owned games tend to be far pricier than the PC equivalent.
True, but the piracy rates are killing PC gaming. At least they get paid for developing a game for consoles.
6. You're not tied to one online service
Imagine not having to rely on a single, central server such as Xbox Live or PlayStation Network whenever you go online. Imagine not having to suffer downtimes, silly licensing agreements, or daft console-restricting DRM. Oh wait… that's the PC online, isn't it?
True, but it just works. Have you tried it? A centralized multiplayer network maintained by the vendor of the console which is payed for by subscribers ... that keeps it healthy and up to date.
7. No extra dosh needed for playing online
Okay, this only applies to Xbox Live, but who's to say that Sony might not start charging for PSN as it keeps haemorrhaging money? And yes, Xboxers can use the free Silver service, but really – why would you?
Because the extra money is used to keep the high quality of the service.
8. Unlimited storage space
The Xbox 360 is limited to whatever can fit on a DVD (or, if you're unlucky, more than one). The PlayStation 3 has to struggle with turgid Blu-ray access and enforced installs. PC games, meanwhile, just sit happily on the potentially unlimited storage space of your hard drive. Easy.
You can plug an external hard drive to the xbox. Also you can download and run games right off the hard drive. I haven't tried running a game off of an external drive though.
9. Save game hacking
Like modders, PC gamers are rabidly enthusiastic about pulling apart save games and data files, fiddling therein, and finding ingenious ways to cheat or fix corrupted files. Try doing that with your Wii.
Have you tried it? Are you sure it can't be done?
10. Unofficial fixes for older games
PC games such as Vampire: The Masquerade often get unofficial, free, support long after publishers have gone kaput and official support is abandoned, thanks to the tireless efforts of their fans. Bug fixes, enhancements, new hardware support – it's all there.
I'll give you that. But how many people, sitting in the room that you're sitting in right now, have HEARD of Vampire: Bloodlines?
11. Abandonware
The geek term for 'old games which you can't buy any more'. There are a huge number of classic PC titles out there from years gone by, and many thousands are available to download, legally, for free.
Hmm. Yeah. You can download Nintendo 64 emulators and games (albeit not legally). You'll eventually be able to download PS3 emulators and "abandonware".
12. No red ring of death
Well, you only get this on the Xbox, of course, but the last thing you want your gaming machine to do is to completely konk out. At least when a PC goes wrong, it really goes wrong. Like, with fire and everything (possibly).
I'll give you that one.