Innovations... Lol... Everything listed has been before this gen. Some said that motion control. Actually some old gaming systems had motion control devices. Unfortunately(or fortunately) they failed. One example is Sega Activator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-UZv3AS-E

I choose other and say that current gen has dumbed down games even more. Thats only real 'innovation' or more like change I can think of.

The greatest innovation is Netflix and web porn.

/thread.

Except for the dumbed down thing, which is totaly subjective, I agree.

Nothing that has been done this gen hasn't been tried before. More than once. Only diference is that now it worked. Doesn't mean it's innovative.

Motion controls easily.

I'd say that's very much what innovation is; successful or emergent implementation, but not necessarily pure invention.  And in the console space, no platform historically really brought as much innovation to player interface as the Wii has to it's controller (accelerometer, IR pointer, dual handed) and thanks to smart design and attractive software it's really paid off them.

Just because it hasn't been done before doesn't mean it can't be an innovation.

Yeah, multiplayer, rewards, motion controls, DLC, and all that has been done before but someone took each of those things made them something special this gen and brought them to new heights.

• motion controls -- sure, in the NES and even the Odyssey had lightguns, powergloves, mats, and whatever else that you could use motion but they all sucked.  The Wii was the first console that really made a good use of them and made them what they are today.  If Nintendo hadn't of done what they had done, they wouldn't be 10's of millions new gamers today.
• Achievements (or rewards) -- again, rewards aren't a new thing.  Countless games have had rewards and high scores but Microsoft mandated all games must have these rewards and made one single system to house them.
• DLC -- PC's have had this forever and even apparently it was there last gen but it was nothing compared to what it is today.  Today it's the reason to buy games new, keep games longer, and provide more enjoyment at a small cost.

Laughing and pretending you're almighty for knowing some obscure piece of gaming equipment from the past doesn't add anything at all.  Who cares if it had been done before?  The point is that it hadn't been done well or made big until now.  Someone did something right and that's what is innovative.

For real innovations, look no further than your console of choice's menu/Xmb/interface. Parental controls, news channels, video stores, downloadable demos, message boards, etc.

motion controls, without a doubt, 4/5 consoles will soon have motion controls

Definitely online multiplayer.

Games for me, Games like Heavy Rain, its different and Superb, Also games like Mass Effect 2, the best RPG I have played and yes I am new to them but the RPG elements with 3rd person shooter elements is the perfect match in my opinion, I hope more come out this way, For graphics games like Uncharted2 and Killzone 2 really lead the way with Graphics. Motion Control is not a big deal to me yet, when Arc comes out we will see.