PC gaming has always been a major part of video game history. During a large part of the 1990s and the early, PC gaming was the playground of major western developers. Games like X-COM: UFO Defense, Deus EX, and Command & Conqueror were among the great titles that dominated the PC market and influenced modern developers. But PC gaming ran into some big problems at the beginning of the 21st century. First, while people knew how to use computers and knew what some of the parts were, few knew how to build a PC or upgrade one. Second, consoles were a lot simpler and easier to use for most people simply plug them into the TV, put in the disk, and play. Third, hardware and software requirements for PC were constantly changing, making PC gaming absurdly expensive. Fourth, piracy was rampant, which made producing high quality games for PC unattractive to many publishers and developers. For a while, it did seem like PC gaming was dead or dying. But as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 kept chugging along during the longest console generation to date, things were slowly getting better for PC. Hardware and software requirements became a lot saner and more stable. The Xbox 360 controller became the default controller option for PC games, making it easier for people who didnt like mice and keyboards to play PC games. And then Valve came along and created Steam, a PC gaming marketplace that was a better option than piracy thanks to sales and great features. Now PCs are competing with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for a share of the gamers looking to leave the last generation behind. Heres a look at 9 reasons PCs will dominate the next gen console race.