pfft, consoles are fad as far as I'm concerned. I had an xbox a while back, and sold it a week later as it didn't really serve my interests. The worst part about consoles are game prices, PC gaming is much, much cheaper by comparison even if hardware may be expensive - but that's the beauty of it, you can pick and choose the parts and budget PC gaming a lot more than with consoles where everything is controlled by console company, with PCs it's pretty much free market. Take GOG - when it was cheap, I bought stuff here, but not any more since their pricing became unreasonable. With consoles, you are locked in, with prices set across the board by console manufacturer rather than the market in general, so you are stuck buying games from the same source, more or less.

The great bitcoin rush jacked up prices and consoles have dumbed down PC gaming and PC hardware prices are higher than normal.

You were saying?

because there are fewer smart people than dumb people

Is it? Don't be so sure. There is more to many things than just a bit of data, and many make ASS about numbers etc. You are under a misguided understanding there.

For starters, many people don't have a PC good enough for gaming (or only basic), often just a laptop, and many now have a tablet instead of PC, and that coupled with their phone sees to their needs ... games aside.

Who says, with any credibility, that PC gaming should be more popular.

Most PCs that are work related aren't that good for gaming, certainly not demanding gaming.

The fact is, PCs often have issues due to hardware compatibility etc, so Consoles are a better guarantee for good gaming if you don't want trials and tribulations and frustrations etc. And as has been said, consoles are far less cheaper than a comparative powered PC. And let's not forget about big widescreen TV and great sound systems - sure you could hook up a laptop or other PC to that, but a console is far simpler and often gives far better results.

Overall price also plays a part - hardware plus games. So you can get quite a variance there.

Depending on where you live, buying a console for the kids for Xmas or a birthday has great appeal to parents ... the price of games not so much. And once you get used to something like kids do, consoles just seem far less trouble than a PC for games.

Hell aside from a somewhat brief love affair with N64 back in the day, I remain a PC gamer, but watching my kids play on playstation and xbox devices has often blown me away and made me feel a bit jealous ... never mastered their controllers alas. Watching them play games like Witcher, Skyrim and Red Dead Redemption and Halo etc on our big screen TV where they looked so superb ... and they often connected with other mates online. Easy to see why they neglected the humble PC for gaming most of the time ... that changed a bit when they became adults, where they just expanded where they would play games.

P.S. Any true modern gamer worth their salt would play games on both PC and Console ........ me, I am just a Relic .... like a good number here. And many also play on their tablets and phones too ... they game anywhere and everywhere.

P.S.S. Games come in such variety and prices these days, that it is too hard to be objective about what is more popular. Many around the world would buy a cheap PC and cheap less demanding games. How do you compare them to those with plenty of money to spend on hardware and games. And then there is all those somewhere in-between.

1) Some people like to play good old games.

2) Not all "modern games" require massive performance. I dare claim that most point-and-clicks and turn-based strategy games made this year would run nicely on that computer.

3) The OP is wrong. Console gaming can be more visible than PC gaming, but in the long run PC always wins.
Very few people still play, let's say, PS1 games, but even if they do, they are probably using an emulator on some computer to play them. On PCs game really don't "expire" the same way they do on consoles. Newer hardware can always be made to run older games.

4) Does the question really matter? PC vs. consoles discussion was a thing 30 years ago, and still both exist. So obviously neither is going to disappear any time soon, although players per platform is changing all the time based on many factors, like latest game selection and pricing.

Price is a big factor. Consoles are cheaper. Also ease of use - the plug n play nature of consoles makes them much easier to use since no fiddling with drivers, compatibility, OS, disc drives, HD space, etc.

I use both PC and consoles and I like both.

Yes but many companies prioritise consoles
Wdym pal? Just asked a question.
Maybe Eastern Europe bumps up the stats

In the us everyone plays on console

Why these assumptions?
YTbers like Linus Techtips, Gamers Nexus, JayzTwoCents beg to differ on many occasions, granted they could be subjective but still you don't seem to have any hard numbers as well.

You're rationalizing against the norm though. People are playing big budget games, and that's what the OP is thinking of with gaming, or else he'd ask why mobile gaming is so big, rather than console gaming.

What does that have to do with your question? There have always been more computer gamers than console gamers since the sale of Windows 95.

There are more computer game devs than there are console devs.

There are more computer game making studios than console making studios.

There are more computer game store fronts then their are console store fronts.

Your question was true from 1972 to August 15th 1995.

The only competition for users right now is between computers games and mobile games.

Such an outdated and odd question for 2021. I can't even imagine thinking this way unless you're talking about your region or circle.

Video game consoles are a specialized form of a home computer geared towards video game playing, designed with affordability and accessibility to the general public in mind, but lacking in raw computing power and customization. Simplicity is achieved in part through the use of game cartridges or other simplified ways of distribution, easing the effort of launching a game. However, this leads to ubiquitous proprietary formats that creates competition for market share.

well
one of the reasons consoles tend to be a bit more popular than pc gaming
is because its more hassle free than a Pc.
In most cases with consoles its just plug and play and you dont need alot of knowledge or hardware to get gaming.
and its more easy to set up for couch gaming and a bit cheaper than a gaming pc.

There are advantages and downsides to both options in my opinion
and its not impossible to set up a pc rig in Living room as a couch game setup, just takes a bit more effort
and a bit more knowledgde than a console woud do.

But if you ask me
its kinda hard to gauge Popularity of a platform versus other platforms
I mean
there are made quite alot of pc games each year
and steam only contains a fraction of them even though they have more or less an open door policy now.
If pc games havent been popular or sold well then people woudnt make them annymore.

I think PC is more popular in quantity because you don't need a high spec machine like many people believe to play games, there are more players in PC over all but is more in the competitive department with games like CSGO, Dota 2, LoL, WoW, Fortnite and thoae kinds of games (very accessible and with low requirements), in other kind of games consoles is more popular for the concept people have, like "the console are made for play and the computers for work", after a long day of work sitting in front of a computer the last thing I want to do is play in my computer, always prefer to sit in my couch, or lay in my bed with my controler in hand playing from the distance, is more confortable, and having a high specs machine to play the latest titles is too expensive, is way better to purchase a console and forget abut have to upgrade it for the next 7 years at least, has less problems with compatibility, you don't have to worry about update your drivers and install all the redistributables you need, is more simple and in many countries people prefer it that way. Both are very popular in my opinion, but consoles got better marketing.