While I do agree with your point, I would also like to point out that it's not like you can't play a PC game when it's not on the maximum settings. The difference between console and PC gaming is the war between ATi and nVidia, which leads to deals between gaming studio with either developers to make a game that is optimised for their best product. Nothing bad really, if the game is really good, you can still play it in 2 years time when the optimum hardware price for that game is low enough for you to buy it.
If I do remember, Image Space Incorporated released F1 Challenge in 2002, and while the default setting was good enough, many modders found out that the graphic engine was not even 25% utilised, leading to hacks that unlock it's full potential. After that, they released rFactor, which uses an upgrade of that engine, and believe me, it will take another 5 years before there will be a hardware that can fully max out that game. But is it playable? yes, it look decent enough and real enough on my rig.
A PC game can never beat a console title on term of looks straigt outside the box, but it has more flexibility so that it's not confined to one type of purpose built machine only.

No, Vista Ultimate is not fully 100% optimised for gaming. But it includes some game friendly feature that only Vista Certified Games can use, like the upcoming Halo 2 will use the Drop and Play feature, where you put the game in the drive, and instantly play while the game is still installed in the background. Microsoft is hoping that all developers will adopt this approach, and also include Microsoft Live. The thing is, while Microsoft Live is good, you need to pay for the full Gold Membership. On a console that is not a bad thing, but for a PC, you have many alternative, such as Blizzard with it's own Battle.NET. Another thing is that Vista was built in tandem with 360, and in theory if you can run a game on XboX360 you can port it to Vista without much changing. But in reality it's not that simple. Monitors, ecspecially widescreen and HD are making it harder for gaming developers for 360 to port and not lose details on the PC.

@dattebayo: no. You don't need UAC
@t3chn0m4nc3r: It's a yearly subscription of RM300++. You have a free alternative, Microsoft Live Silver. The difference between silver and gold is that:


Sorry for any typos. I type as I read the magazine,