Decline?

I have a question I'm hoping I can get answered by intelligent younger gamers and older alike, or at least ones with unbias opinions who actually think things through slightly before posting.

I'm starting to wonder if it's just because I'm getting older and games for my tastes are no longer being developed because the younger generation has a different taste or are games overall declining in everyaspect except for graphics?

It seems like now-days the games topping the charts have mediocre gameplay masked by insane next gen graphics that can't even be run on max by today's best computers (ie crysis). I'm starting to feel that game devs are spending their time making their game look like the most realistic thing ever and then spending the last few days of production putting in gameplay. And game series that were once good have now been altered and morphed into some casual form because that apparently is the movement the market is going toward and is the best way to make some fast cash (ie super smash brawl, and wow since BC).

I understand companies main goal is to make money, but it's not like nintendo is stopping to throw out some hardcore games (Im not talking insanely hardcore) for people who actually game a little more than their lunch break at work. They're taking use-to-be great game series and making them take almost no skill or dedication what so ever (new zelda on DS). I feel like this whole casual craze is ruining companie's once loyal fans who would be at the stores opening day for almost every game. They will be long gone, off to spend their money on lesser game developer's games who actually tailor their games toward real gamers. Games that might not supported ragdoll physics or insanely high-def graphics but are made up for by pure genious gameplay mechanics.

It's happened in the music industry already. The mainstream is filled with generic catchy tunes by bands/groups/ect who (some of them) once actually created meaningful music with real talent but were forced to dumb it down to stay on their label(which if they wanted to not have to work at mcdonalds to be able to keep their home they'd have to comply). Thus indie labels popped up supporting bands dedicated to creating what they want for people who want to hear them the way they are. Just like a lot of indie game dev's games, these indie label bands don't generally use the latest in recording technology and a lot end up selling their records quite raw sounding. However bands that do this (like Bright eyes) have become quite popular amongst people (mainly emus) and is enjoyed for it's depth, not how good and pure the voice sounds, or how catchy the tune is.

With what happened in the music industry, it seems pretty clear to me that the gaming industry is following in its tracks. Unless it's just me not understanding the appeal of today's current mainstream games.

So please, if you have intelligent input on this issue please share. I'm really wondering if it's just me or the market.

It isn't just you. I've seen it too. I don't think its anyone thing but a combination of several.

Part of it is age. As time goes by our memories of things we enjoyed in the past start to get whitewashed. The best parts stand out while the rest starts to fade. Take for example the old RPG Ultima VII: The Black Gate. Most old school PC gamers will tell you this was one of the best RPG's ever released and the one of the top Ultima titles. Most will also forget to tell how hard it was to get it to run on the old DOS OS it was built for. You ever hear and aunt or uncle talk about the glory days of high school? I can still remember what those "glory days" were really like. I reality things have gotten worse and better. Shooters getting shorter is probably a good thing. RPG's getting shorter isn't so hot. I rather have an RPG with lower graphics on the scale of Ultima VII than a RPG that the latest bells and whistles on the scale of Jade Empire.

The demands of the market are also a part of it. Things really change when Doom came out. Despite the fact that the gameplay in Doom and almost all other shooters is exactly the same the popularity of the genre soared. One of the few things developers had to improve was the graphics. The gamers latched onto this and demanded more. Then player started demanding it for other genres too. Developers were all to willing to agree and as a result the time of development went up. A lot of that time is put into the graphics. Since they still need to get the game out the door corners need to be cut.

There are probably some other things contributing to this but those are the two big things I can see.