I agree with you Dark Half. Been playing games since the late 70's and seen them evolve. Most recently it has been graphics but the underlying games themselves havent really changed much.
Untill developers move on from graphics to target something else like decent AI. Were going to be stuck with the same old games with the usual graphics which fail to bring out the wow factor it used to.
I remember when Terminator 2 came out, and it totaly blew everyone away. The movie industry jumped on the new enthusiasm for FX till we got saturated with them. People want more from their games just like they have wanted more from their films for a while now. A visual extravaganza isn't enough, we want good acting, story, and often to be engaged on some kind of intellectual level.
I see a lot more kids playing consoles these days, and I think that's what's driving the console gaming market. A lot of people still get to experience games for the first time and aren't as tired as I am. I think thats part of where consoles have an edge. Simple easy games with advertising targeting people that can afford to be consumers and always want the next great thing.
Generalizing a bit but thats roughly how I see it.
Untill developers move on from graphics to target something else like decent AI. Were going to be stuck with the same old games with the usual graphics which fail to bring out the wow factor it used to.
I remember when Terminator 2 came out, and it totaly blew everyone away. The movie industry jumped on the new enthusiasm for FX till we got saturated with them. People want more from their games just like they have wanted more from their films for a while now. A visual extravaganza isn't enough, we want good acting, story, and often to be engaged on some kind of intellectual level.
I see a lot more kids playing consoles these days, and I think that's what's driving the console gaming market. A lot of people still get to experience games for the first time and aren't as tired as I am. I think thats part of where consoles have an edge. Simple easy games with advertising targeting people that can afford to be consumers and always want the next great thing.
Generalizing a bit but thats roughly how I see it.