Funny, I read the earlier post as FF XIII being an AA, rather than an AAA title, in that it was missing an A from being tripple A.  

yea i buy short games at bargain-ben prices

I have been sayibg this since start, Cinematic games are the "anti-form" there Xxistence will only bring negative outcomes

The original article spoke about a lack of resources.  I had read that as technical limitations of hardware meaning that the more you throw into cinematic efforts, the less you have for other areas.  Now, thinking again on it, I say the lack of resources also refers to a lack of technical competency to pull off both.  The issue then is, if the suites believe the market wants more movie-like experiences, they will attempt them, even if they aren't gifted (producing a complete bullocks story like Modern Warfare 2).  Or they won't put resources into other areas.  Of course, take a first part effort (usually by Sony), who back something like Uncharted, and you get something that really, really works.  However, how often do these happen?  

I think a factor for the push for cinematic experiences is that the videogame industry wants to gain the respect that movies have, for being culturally relevant, so they end up emulating it.  They don't want to think they are making toys for kids, but actually trying to make a significant exerience.  Of course, take my opinion as someone who is supporting casual and retro games, and believe games should first be games.

Maybe... but most people don't even finish the games they play.

It depends, I have hated most games this generation, the only games I have really enjoyed are very cinematic.

Final Fantasy XIII
Metal Gear Solid 4
Uncharted 2

I guess I care more for story, immersion and atmosphere more than the gameplay itself. Gameplay matters, just not as much.

Still, I don't think there are that many cinematic games recently.

...And many AAA games back in the 00's and 90's were cinematic as well.

Nope. The attempt to be cinematic doesn't cause any such thing, the attempt to be "easy" does, as the article itself notes:

"Look at action-adventure climbing sections such as in Tomb Raider or Uncharted. There's usually a fixed path, but you're free to let go or jump in the wrong direction. Maybe you'll find a secret. More likely you'll die a hideous splattery death, but at least your fate is in your own hands. Compare that to the climbing from Enslaved, which doesn't even let you jump or fall off a ledge unless you're aimed squarely at the next designated climbing spot. This is just another way of walking down a corridor, except there's a big fat dude walking along behind you who keeps shoving you in the back if you try to stop and look at one of the pictures on the wall"

The issue is growth and trying to overly appeal to too many people via a lot of demographic analysis, etc. Titles made with passion by people with real talent will evolve game-play (and cinematic if appropriate) but of course, for every Uncharted 2 there's a Dark Void or an Enslaved, which are okay'ish but clearly lacking by comparison.

The whole cinematic angle is a red herring IMHO and something often focused on vs the real challenge of constantly being creative and evolving an art or entertainment form vs conservative business sense which wants to ensure the customer is happy and given "more of the same" so long as they show a desire to keep re-purchasing the same experience.

This is one of the reasons why so few games interest me this gen. A lot of them are long movies with very little content. It's also why I have the feeling that i'll be enjoying a portable more than anything else next gen. I hope i'm wrong.

This gen has been the best for games, they are removing the slow parts that add nothing to the game and giving us 4-6 hours of action packed greatness.

Lets look at Half life 2, the game is around 8hours long and came out in 2004? HL2 is packed with slow scenes and bad driving parts that really slow the game down and add nothing to the product. Get rid of the nonsense and the game is 4hours of fun.

CoD could do the same thing with 20min walking/driving scenes every hour, then add 10min convos of them telling you nothing about whats going on. Not sure aboput you guys but i'd rather have 4-6 hours of fun then 8-12 hours of stupid bullshit.

The fumbling in the end-zone ends up being more glaring whenever there is an attempt to do something like this.  Proper execution ends up falling apart, because individuals who aren't gifted in the area slip up in the end.  The mistakes games make in storytelling would stand out enormously if they were in movies.  Modern Warfare 2 burns in my mind regarding this, and the way the story went off the rails.  Had great atmosphere, but that story, went completely loopy.