I think a lot of the reasons for the way things were in the past (in both movies and games) are because of technical limitations. As technology improved, storytelling moved into the way things are today. Telling stories via gameplay however, is not hindered by technology (once again, see Cave Story and indies). Instead, it is hindered by artistic effort and creativity. The thing that has prevented the industry from moving in this direction is how much more difficult is to tell a story in this method. Mainstream gaming does not embrace doing things that are extremely difficult when the current solution is working.

you are essentially expecting game creators to solve a problem in a complicated fashion when a much more simple solution is available to them. Not many will go down the more difficult route.

What I am trying to say is that I don't think interactive storytelling is a natural evolution of gaming stories. I believe it is a sort of tangential line that has been around and will continue to be around, beside the mainstream. Every once in a while this line and the mainstream may intersect but I doubt it will become standard practice.

PS: I don't believe I've stated what I want to happen in any of my posts, just what I expect to happen. I understand that not all games need a story, and some are better without it.

Maybe you're right, but I hope that you are wrong :D I really do hope gaming can use its specific media to tell their stories, or else they will never stepp outside of the shadow of the movie industry.