You fled to tablet gaming?

Well, even if you take PC games out of the equation, you're still left with some pretty incredible software.

Final Fantasy VI
Final Fantasy VII
Panzer Dragoon
Metal Gear Solid
Ocarina of Time
Banjo-Kazooie
Tomb Raider
Donkey Kong Country 2
Super Mario 64
GoldenEye 007
Super Street Fighter II
SoulCalibur
Oddworld
The Last Blade
Super Metroid
Resident Evil
Gran Turismo
Tempest 2000
etc.

I don't think the quality of console games went downhill at all during the mid to late 90s.

I don't understand the price complaint at all. There has never been a cheaper time to be a gamer, relatively speaking. $60 now is mega-cheap compared to what games used to cost. Even then, it doesn't even matter, you don't have to pay $60 unless you have to play a game when it releases. I only buy a couple of games at full price a year and that's usually with some Amazon credit involved. Everything else, I pick up a few months later in the $40-$20 range. It just takes a little patience. I bought Assassin's Creed III in December for $30, which came out to $20 after using the $10 discount for AC3 I got for buying AC:L, which I then traded back to Amazon for $38. So many games I've broke even on after playing, or only ended up paying $10 or so. It almost makes me feel guilty. Gran Turismo 5, bought for $40 after Amazon credit, played for a month, traded in for $40, and just purchased the better version over the holidays for $10 to keep.

As far as gaming itself goes, I like where it's at. Everything is out there now, we have so much more variety than before (other than the JRPG decline). I was pretty listless about gaming during the NES/SNES period because it felt like 90% of everything was platforming or had major platforming elements, and the storylines and characters were so mind-numbingly shallow. I grew up with reading as my primary hobby, I need to have my imagination engaged to some degree. True, the mid-range games have taken a hit, but the rise of the downloadable game has helped a lot.

I'm pretty pleased, all things considered.

I've never quite understood this. The only cutscene-heavy game from Sony this generation is Heavy Rain. Then I guess you could qualify Uncharted as having a focus on cinematics, but to say it focuses on cinematics over gameplay is wrong imo. Aside from those games, I can't think of any cutsene-heavy Sony games that focus on cinematics over gameplay. There's Gran Turismo, God of War, Killzone, Ratchet & Clank, inFAMOUS, Resistance, LittleBigPlanet, every other racing game, etc.

Granted, you may not like those games because of their gameplay, which would be understandable. But that would mean you dislike most Sony games on account of their gameplay, not because of a focus on cinematics and cutscenes.

Somewhat.

I game on Playstation, Nintendo, and PC; and I have to say my average gametime has declined drastically over this past year. I still buy games, but I don't end up playing them.

I beat all my Nintendo games for the Wii, and then it was abandoned. Same goes for my DS games which I play on my 3DS. My 3DS is something I rarely touch at all now. I'm only looking forward to one announced WiiU game this year and that's Rayman Legends. Nothing for 3DS.

I have plenty of games for my PS3, however I just don't seem to get drawn into them anymore. The same goes for my Vita, though it's gotten most of my time for the last 2 weeks. What concerns me are the games. I don't like Sony's recent attempts to ripoff Nintendo (PSABR and LBPK). The third party has been a joke for some time as most big games are overrated imo. And don't get me started on all the shooters.

I'm fairly new for PC (only been playing for 3 years) but it's something I can't get into a lot. I prefer the console and the controller. Sure the graphics are nice, but the games are those same third parties that are fairly average imo. I play on PC, but it's no way my main platform to game on.

I also have a tablet, the Nexus 7. But serious gaming on a tablet is still laughable at best imo. No way app games will ever be my main thing.

I read fan of nintendo.. and then I stopped.. I can understand your dissappointment and fear.. I feel the exact opposite.. with my PS3.. constant game after game.. AAA after AAA... grounbreaking ip after ground breaking ip.. it really doesn't feel that way with my system =/

No, not at all. The console game situation is incredible right now. I just bought a WiiU and it's been the best system I've played to date. Both 360 and PS3 are outstanding and still getting good software support 6,7...8 years into their life. That's never happened. Visually, games are stunning. Sometimes I lament the lack of direct control and gameplay in today's 3D blockbusters... but then a game like NSMBU comes along featuring classic play with shiny visuals. And if that's not enough I can download for any of my systems modern 2D adventures, puzzle games... actual classic games from earlier times. Whatever you want is at your fingertips. Also, with more people playing than ever, it's hard to go somewhere and not run into a fellow gamer. And online options are amazing for multiplayer.

With WiiU it's truly awsome to be able to play classic style Mario for an hour, pop it out and play a match of Blops2 on one system. Then tap Trine2 on the screen and solve some puzzles. Then surf the net on the touch screen. Console gaming at the best it's ever been. And now within a year we'll see a new XBox and Playstation, both of which I expect to be groundbreaking. I was feeling some console fatigue before with this last gen lasting so long - especially Wii with its dated visuals - but definitely not now.

Forgot about that one, though that says something about the game quality right there ha.. In all fairness I've never played it, but I have watched a friend play it, and I've read about it, and the impressions I get were not good ones. Aside from the old school original Zelda on NES, I was never that into the series, even during its peak of OOT and Twilight Princess. SS just seems like an even worse version of those.

Agreed, that's another key factor I left out. Games are already overpriced even without DLC, but now to get the "full experience" you often need to spend ANOTHER 30 bucks to get the two or three DLC packs. I guess PC gaming is just as guilty of this, but at least they have a nice system through Steam where you can usually get them cheaper much quicker and often in bundles.

I hated early polygonal games and there were so many mediocre systems back then.  I was a dumb kid, but came so close to buying 32x, the Saturn, the Virtua Boy, the 3D0 or Jaguar.  Thank goodness I was poor (never thought I'd say that!) that I had to chose one (N64 because Saturn folded) and won a PSone in a contest.  I never so desperately wanted to move onto a new generation as when Dreamcast and PStwo came out.