If I were to really blame something or someone it would be sony. The introduction of the Playstation saw a shift from content to presentation. Hundreds of ads for PS one games, the majority never showing actual game play, only cinematics. I’ve always had a problem with the majority of the CD being used to store media rather than actual code. But that’s just a pet peeve. The new gamer, what I would categorize as the ’sore loser gamer’, spoilt kids who would run through a whole game just for the bragging rights of completing it first is what killed the industry. They have had access to massive amounts of capital from a very early age and through their parents help have solidified many companies, notorious for franchises, at the top of the industry.

Ofcourse, this topic deserves much more attention and concise investigative methods, but for no I’ll stick to that hypothesis.

PS: GTA’s current level of stardom is an example of this nonsense. I’ve never considered it a game, and its fans indicate the type of gamer that publishers want to market their products to. We’ll continue to see innovation but most likely from smaller companies, who I believe have more to gain than lose with those crazy ideas that we call innovation.

Keep up the good work!