I have pretty mixed feelings about this article. I think that a lot of the thoughts expressed in it are things that I can agree with, but some of the criticisms don't seem very relevant to me.

What I do agree with is that it's pretty wonderful how developers (Nintendo particularly) are finding a way to mesh certain cerebral and physical activities with a genre that's largely considered purely recreational - and I also believe there's no reason at all that the twain shouldn't have met by now. I'm all for a real, genuine guitar-teaching video game. Why the heck not? It sounds fun. Games that are fun and improve your life in some way? Sign me up. How can you go wrong?

That said, there's not really anything wrong with developers releasing big epic sci-fi gun-toting games, because people like them and they're also fun. I understand that the view taken here is that this is all that's being released by developers, perhaps at the expense of seeing more games along the lines of what Nintendo is producing...but I guess I don't really feel like that's true, so I'm unable to take such a dim view of it. What about games like Spore? Like LittleBigPlanet? Like Flow? Like Rag Doll Kung Fu, or Katamari Damacy? There's a lot of stuff out there. The dearth of games being released in a timely manner makes it perhaps seem like a total wasteland out there (and believe me, when I go to a game store and look for something new and there's nothing for months at a stretch, I occasionally feel that way)...but I don't think that in actuality it really is. A lot of games that are upcoming may fall under the 'sci-fi' header - Starcraft II, Bioshock, Fallout 3 - but those three games are as different as can be.

More, there are games like the aforementioned Spore and LittleBigPlanet or the previously released Katamari games that indicate, at least to me, that games are still expanding on what exists and taking it in new directions. Maybe there's nothing new under the sun, but the variations on those themes are so, well, varied, that it's possible to create experiences that are fresh and new.

Another part of the reason that it probably seems there's nothing new and quirky being done is that E3 really whores out its biggest titles, and the ones which generate the most interest, which is usually the high-end graphically intensive stuff that appeals to the broadest segment of the games market - younger gamers who, for the most part, find the eye-candy the most attractive thing about games. That doesn't mean that there aren't independent developers out there who aren't trying to do something new and original. It's already been proven with games like Katamari Damacy or Rag Doll Kung Fu that developers with fun, unusual ideas might be able to turn those ideas into a foot in the door and a way to get noticed in a really competetive industry.

Anyway, long story short, I think there's a lot out there that isn't getting press, and that there's a lot coming down the pipe that isn't just 'the usual'. I am all for games that have substance beyond mere entertainment. I am also rather looking forward to some of 'the usual', and I'm not sure that the profusion of one necessarily hinders the availability of the other.

I agree with the main article and the first part of the previous poster. It would be great if there was more innovation in video games.

I disagree with the second part of the previous poster (and agree with the original author). I've felt for years that there was very very little new in video games. Almost every game is a rehash of what was successful in the past. Starcraft II will be an updated Starcraft (but that's a rehash). Fallout 3 will be very different from Fallout 2 but it will be a merging of Fallout with Oblivion (engine) which is a recombination rehash. I'm unfamiliar with Bioshock so can't comment.

I would love to see really new video games come out. I have high hopes for Warhammer: Age of Reckoning and Fallen Earth but they will likely not be hugely different from existing games either.

Actually the thing that irritates me the most, especially since I am a programmer; is the lack of two player co-op (cooperative) games. So many games are just one person or head-to-head, even when they are based off of something that can clearly be made into a two player co-op.

Co-op games are not much more difficult than the one player to produce, so I believe that it is just industry oversight of cranking out the same old thing over and over again that has given way to lack of imagination for game concepts.

The rewards for co-op games are so much more than one person or head-to-head for the following reasons.
* Parents I'm sure would agree that they would rather see their kids playing together instead of always fighting when one kid always wins, co-op games teach siblings to work together - not fight each other.

* My wife is one of those that does enjoy games but does not like to play alone, especially when she keeps dying. I've met many people that feel the same that if a game is co-op she is more willing to play.

In the long run, co-op games I think could up sales for the industry and provide an overall higher entertainment factor for the whole family.
And of course, if there is just one of you, well you can still choose one player instead of two...

I agree with post 3. Cooperative games would help. I lost out when Nintendo and Mario Brothers first came out, since my 7 and 9 year olds could play all Christmas vacation and I had to do the work of Mom with little time to play. They outstripped me within a week. I was killed off within a minute and had to wait 30 minutes or more for another turn. After that, I didn't try. Who wants to sit through hours before they lose all their lives. I also agree that teamwork, social skills of working together need to be encouraged. Doubles tennis is much more fun, especially if a good player is paired with me to give me at least a fighting chance at winning. My two boys would have benefited in the same way. They fought over it or the one gave up and went to play elsewhere. As a teacher I see way too much competition and not enough cooperation and team building skills. Employers should find this an attractive asset also.

all the remakes and reheats are how the video game makers make there money, and its that money that keeps them alive along enough to eventually stumble on an original idea.

listen up parents, 1st you need to discipline your children, 2nd you need to discipline your children, 3rd you need to be in your children's lifes and listens to what they have to say, just sending them to there room is not parenting. they will tell you what is wrong and happening in there lives. video games and TV are not to blame, its the parents who are to blame. the lack of mothers and fathers are a big deal, while not listening to your children is second. sooo many parents dont even conversate with there children twice a week. this means that they have no idea what is going on in there childs life. but the media still blames TV and video games.