Are cutscenes in games dying?

[Shiken]

I think so yes, and it has to do with more than just in game visuals improving to diminishing returns (though definitely a contributing factor).

The culture of the gaming community itself has gone through a shift. Back in the day, pre-rendered cutscenes were HOT! I can remember a time when review scores for some RPGs would actually be negatively affected because they, "had a lack of CGI cutscenes". Back then, just seeing those visuals in a game was mind blowing, even if it was pre-rendered.

But now, people are more interested in what the in-game engines can do. You show off a CGI cutscene in today's climate and you get responses like, "That is not how the game will look, its just a cutscene." We all know that to be the case, but no one is impressed by them anymore. Throw in the fact that having them rendered with the in-game engine in real time is a fancy way of giving gameplay trailers with no real gameplay...and what we see is more incentive to do away with them altogether than to keep adding pre-rendered scenes. After all, what devs can do in games these days is already pretty damn flashy as it is. Technology has come a long way and there is little need for super flashy pre-rendered clips when the general consumer is less interested in them anymore anyway.