Prices or Software?

[TheSource]

I actually think its just that people's needs change over time. The system that meets those needs sells the best - trust in the wisdom of the masses. I don't think you can objectively say people suddenly got stupid going from NES/SNES to PS1/PS2 to Wii at whatever junction.

These days people are far busier than they were even five to ten years ago, and so short, super fun experiences are now huge. I can't really think of any single player games that are doing banner numbers for instance. If you look at the current market, I think the one thing Wii & X360 have in common is that they are both excellent at multiplayer and have games that can be played in short sessions but are fun. PS3 has some too, but not nearly as many as the others.

Even Nintendo's top stuff pretty much is all multiplayer now - NSMB Wii / Galaxy 2 have co-op modes, DKC & Kirby will too. Obviously Brawl, Halo, Mario Kart, Call of Duty are sort of the "online kingpins" of the generation. Pokemon and GTA are moving towards more and more multiplayer as well. Even more obviously stuff like Wii Sports, Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus, WSR, Wii Party, Mario Party, Mario & Sonic, and Just Dance benefit from multiplayer too (even if its experiental multiplayer vs. true multiplayer). Single player experiences on the HD systems now seems like a side "mode" rather than what the developers want you to play. Other than some titles from Nintendo with hardened fan bases like Zelda or Fire Emblem, single player experiences seem to be in pretty steady decline, and other than tactics and pricing, I think thats one of the big reasons PS3 is still in third place. PS1 / PS2 to me was always three markets: Shovel Ware, Single Player Action Games, and New Genre / Big Exclusives. Shovel Ware is on Wii, so thats a third of the PS1 / PS2 market, Single Player Action is in decline, but still on PS3 to some degree, and new genre / big exclusives have moved to Wii or been split between PS3 / X360.