"The graphically intensive games of tomorrow are not optimized for many cores (still) and will need the raw power of a higher clock. This is especially true for

"The graphically intensive games of tomorrow are not optimized for many cores (still) and will need the raw power of a higher clock. This is especially true for strategy games like starcraft that make heavy use of the CPU." That's not true. Console video games have 5+ years of experience dealing with multiple cpus, and some even with different ones communicating through DMA (ps3). There are physics, sound, graphics, even data compression libraries optimized to use all CPUs there are. The problem is the PC games where you don't really know on which machine your game would land on - dual core, or quad core - what kind of memory latency, etc. If you are making an MMO you would shoot for more widespread PC, even laptop/notebooks. If you are shooting for high-quality FPS game, not caring about sales much then you can require high-level machines (but you won't get much money back). Or provide options for graphical selection.