I don't know. PC gaming and Steam has been growing throughout the years. I don't like the idea of no physical media and no used games. But I have been supporting it with XBLA and product keys on software for years. People like to complain (myself included) but aren't very introspective. This is not directed at anyone. I'm as guilty as anyone else. Honestly, I love XBLA and Steam.
That's true, but I think a key difference is that with PC gaming, it's designed to be a dynamic, evolving ecosystem. Steam will continue to be updated, and by and large, what you buy will continue to be playable, re-downloadable, centralized, and can easily be backed up or played offline. When a new version of Windows comes out, at some point, I know that there will probably be a way - even if it requires a little tweaking - to play older games. We can even still play DOS games, which is kind of remarkable.
With consoles, it's a closed ecosystem. Once new models are released, old software and hardware tends to be abandoned entirely, except in instances where "classic" games can be re-released and re-sold at a profit, but there are rarely any provisions for people who already own the original release. So for instance, I can buy a digital copy of Odin Sphere on PSN, but am prevented from playing my disc copy. I can re-buy my PSP games for Vita, but there is no adapter for UMD, and no discounts offered. I can play some Xbox games on Xbox 360, but not download any of the DLC that was previously offered, and patches appear to be strictly related to backwards compatibility, and some of the games listed (King of Fighters 02/03, etc) as working actually don't run to any playable extent. Online-centric PS2, Xbox, and DC games are basically paperweights. When the PS4/Durango/whatever are released, there's a good chance that eventually, I won't be able to re-download any DLC or games I've bought.
Ideally, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo will make an effort to ensure cross-console compatibility and consistency, but since this doesn't make them money in and of itself, and wasn't accounted for to begin with, I really don't see it happening after the fact, and I think (or hope) most gamers recognize this as a deficiency.