I never owned a true gaming console as a kid--still don't, though I enjoy gaming on the PC. Instead, my parents bought me an educational gaming system called the Socrates.
I really did enjoy that thing, and I learned a lot from it. When I got older, we got a Macintosh and I played mostly educational (Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego, Amazon Trail) games on that as well. It wasn't until we got our first PC that I ventured into other games, and even then it was historical RTS (Age of Empires). I also didn't watch a lot of TV as a kid...instead I read a lot. I plan on encouraging my children to do the same.
If my (future and theoretical) kids want a console, they're going to have to buy it themselves. I refuse to purchase something of that nature for them. Educational games are a different story, but traditional consoles come with very few educational games worth talking about. So I think I'll stick with a PC, monitor their usage of said PC, and encourage them in pursuits such as reading or playing with friends. That, in my mind, will have a better impact on their intellectual and social development than letting them play console games--even while being monitored. It's healthier for children to be up and around exercising, or exercising their minds with a book, than to be vegged out in front of the TV--no matter what's happening on said TV.