PC is getting loads of PSN and XBLN knockoffs

I think this has to do with the "quantity over quality", the flooding of the market who see it as a huge opportunity.

To do any modding these days, half the editors, half the mod tools, even the mods themselves often times, are available exclusively on steam.

Or cost an arm and a leg... I mod for personal preference - and there's only so much you can do without a 3d modelling studio or specialized file extension stuff... very frustrating.

Most games are either valve steam exclusive, epic steam exclusive, ubisoft steam exclusive, you simply don't have a choice in the matter.

Similar to how things like oil industry developed. Just the consolidation of properties and cash.

And yet, I don't think these gems are enough to make the PC significantly more tolerable when it comes to games.

They USED to be... but I agree, the quality is declining and the choices are being either ported quickly to other platforms or just ripped-off, copies of copies of copies, etc.

Personally, I see it as the developers no longer being accountable for the things they produce. The major "triple A" studios now have so much money that they can produce crap and it won't matter. 20 years ago, if Westwood put out a single crappy game, they would have gone bankrupt, but now... "eh, we can absorb the loss of a few million fans".

The gaming industry is something I've focused on, while searching for real world examples of "how much money, is too much".