I think it has to be customised to the particular group and individuals involved as opinions vary so widely on the topic. Some players have a million ideas for new characters and get bored easily, so PC death doesn't bother them much, it's an opportunity to try something new. Some other players are very invested in their particular PC and storyline and may not gel with a replacement PC at all. Most are in the middle somewhere. These varying levels of attachment to a current PC IMO make it impossible to create a single rule for the problem, as different players want different things.
Some players just want their PC back, and in a game with sudden out of the blue death effects, and situations resulting in inevitable death, a reset button can actually make sense.
In my D&D games, the most important question re PC death is if the player really wants the PC back. If they don't, and often they don't, no problem. If they do, it generally can be made possible in game by a variety of means, but there's always some cost. That cost isn't just money, it's often a quest or obligation. At this point some players decide it's too much hassle and are content to create a new PC.
In games where players form attachments to the gameworld, it's possible to endanger places and people external to the PCs that the PCs care about. This expands the range of jeopardy the game can use dramatically beyond the PC's own life. Now, far too many players have been conditioned never to form attachments to the setting by the DMs immediately targetting those attachments and burning them down.
PC death is the main trigger I have seen for players leaving games or games ending, so the problems created deserve some serious consideration.
