I agree completely. The industry can't survive these high budget flops. Development costs for these games are through the roof by comparison to the last generation, and where is the massive audience to compensate? They don't exist. The gaming population hasn't suddenly tripled to make it worthwhile. I don't see how this (sinking 25-40 mil or possibly even more into a single game) can in the long run be good for any gaming company. Even if they do cover their cost the profits from it would be minimal compared to if it had the same performance on a 10-15 million budget. Putting such excessive amounts of cash into a game doesn't make it sell enough to justify it.
As for content wise, I agree there too. More money doesn't equate a better gaming experience, just a prettier one with a orchestral score and real actors. And the trend of pretty 6-8 hour games is also disturbing. But not surprising given the cost.
Though I would disagree with one thing. I think it should go gameplay first, story to motive the gameplay second, and then graphics sound ect. The heart of videogames is the game part of it, rather than story.
As a whole I don't see how this gen can be good for 3rd parties. If it takes such inordinate amounts of money to make a game on an HD machine, but the consumer base has only increased marginally, and if 3rd parties don't fair well on the wii (which is far more reasonable as far as cost of development goes) then 90% of third parties will struggle, or possibly fall so hard they get bought out up by the 10% that profit from a few big name games. Either way I think the technology has expanded faster than the market, and it's the games and the companies that will suffer.
You can find me on facebook as Markus Van Rijn, if you friend me just mention you're from VGchartz and who you are here.
