And end result is an industry that thinks videogames = FPS, or whatever flavor of the month is.  Back before it knew better and had sales greater than the music industry, arcade coin-ops and videogames would have greater experimentation in forms.  And also genres were also a bit more well-defined, and specialized.  Desire for large sales results in blurring and mixing, and some argue a dumbing down of genres to.  I say some of this is good, but a bunch gets missed.

I blame the switch to HD graphics... Sure it looked great.. but it became waaaay too heavy for most players...

Killed a lot of potential young players..

it didn't have online capability and have only one mode , but really its a good example why its not about graphics but gameplay.

Chess has had online play for a LOT longer than you think...not to mention, in Blitzen, which is what my dad (who has been using it for at least 10 years), and I use, there are like 28 different chess games they have available....so no, that has nothing to do with it.

Edit: And according to Wikipedia, there are over 2000 published chess variants.  So while there are only like 28 in Blitzen, there are thousands of different modes.

I think that giant stone chess set seriously lacks online capabilities.

Yeah I think I prefer the face to face interaction with Chess.  Sounds funny but I also like the tactile feel of the pieces.  Just doesn't feel right virtually.  I always fee like I want to have a physical borard, pieces and some sitting opposite me.

The giant chess board isn't portable like people said.  But it's not just that.  Why don't people like playing poker online as much as in person.  Poker is all about the personality in the room and reading each others feelings.  Chess is that kind of game as well to a degree.

CoD or Halo is not like that at all.  It's not a slow game that is turn based.  It's fluid in real time and so there is no time for reading expressions.  These old games of mano-a-mano need a closeness that is against what video games are all about - you focus on the screen.

Chess doesn't have to be a slow game...you can play online games where you have 1 minute each for a timer, and no time gets added with each move...and it is actually an extremely fast and challenging way of playing it.

I know, from experience, a reason why non-digital boardgames still get played is that you get person interaction that is not the same as online, plus you also get to hold bits in your hands.  It is just a different experience.  I asked about chess, because it is usually Euro style games or American style theme-driven games with plastic bits ("Ameritrash")  that would have such an appeal.  I didn't think chess would be as much though.

Chess is one of those games that could have benefitted from console exclusivity.  I actually DO have chess for the Xbox 360.  It's part of "Spyglass Board Games" on XBLA.  I don't know how well it sold but whenever I go online with it, there's ALWAYS somebody willing to play/kick my ass

Just thought i'd add that Spyglass Board Games supports the Xbox Live Vision Camera.  It probably supports Kinect, too.  That way, you can see the person who's kicking your ass.