People have complained about game specs since the days of the Intel 486, but there are good business reasons for making hardware-hungry games. Developers exploit advanced technology available for PCs because it gives games a long shelf life, allowing them to license their engines to other developers. And PC game developers set the bar for graphical wizardry.

But, in recent times, show-offs like Microsoft's Flight Sim X, Hellgate: London and BioShock, have irritated the hardcore gamers. When a new game reveals visible lag and stodgy graphics, and its low settings on an average PC are frankly arse, there's reason enough to be peeved. This is a huge dilemma for developers, says Jørgen Tharaldsen, Funcom's Product Director.

"Getting the system requirements right is something we've spent a lot of time on for Age of Conan. On the one hand we have to develop a game that pushes the boundaries of the MMO genre; on the other we need to make sure that the largest amount of people can play it. I think we have found a nice middle ground. Most PC gamers get to play it (Shader Model 2.0 or higher is required). The older machine you have, the less of the goodies you can run, but in general we have tried to develop our tech so it runs on old machines too."