I expect video games to have better storylines than movies.

Movies only have a typical runtime of 90-120 minutes. Only so much exposition, action and character development can happen during that time. Video Games aren't limited by such time constraints. See MGS4 with it's 9 hours of cinematic runtime. With that added length games carry the ability to have far deeper exposition, storyarch and detailed character relationships than do movies. However most video games have not yet embraced that ability to tell such large stories in scope as does Kojima which is why we have such sub-par storylines in games like Uncharted and in most FPS games.

They generally sacrifice the story for gameplay, only providing us with maybe 20 minutes of cutscenes to explain the over arching plot which is simply not enough to create a meaningful plotline. Though developers are slowly becoming more and more confident in introducing longer cutscenes due to the success of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, but from most of their games it is still quite clear that the story is usually a tacked on feature there to justify the gameplay.

There's a great potential in video game storytelling.

I expect video games to have better storylines than movies.

Movies only have a typical runtime of 90-120 minutes. Only so much exposition, action and character development can happen during that time. Video Games aren't limited by such time constraints. See MGS4 with it's 9 hours of cinematic runtime. With that added length games carry the ability to have far deeper exposition, storyarch and detailed character relationships than do movies. However most video games have not yet embraced that ability to tell such large stories in scope as does Kojima which is why we have such sub-par storylines in games like Uncharted and in most FPS games.

They generally sacrifice the story for gameplay, only providing us with maybe 20 minutes of cutscenes to explain the over arching plot which is simply not enough to create a meaningful plotline. Though developers are slowly becoming more and more confident in introducing longer cutscenes due to the success of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, but from most of their games it is still quite clear that the story is usually a tacked on feature there to justify the gameplay.

There's a great potential in video game storytelling.

Anime is millions of miles behind Hollywood. I like anime and most of the storylines are laughable. Some make for great entertainment, but the "point" of the stories are generally lost in the sea of fan service and characters that are very far from real. Video game story lines can be great in their support of making the game an overall great experience, but many of games that try to push their story have the same problem that anime has that their characters are completely ridiculous and the story often does not fit the gameplay. Some like the stories but serious stories can be sabotaged by gameplay elements that are comedic and out of place for the story. Great video game storylines are hard to find but generally they are not found with the complicated games. Keeping with the KISS principle is usually key.

But, while we're talking, I'll take a bagel with that coffee. You don't mind warming that up for me also, right?

I disagree. I fail to see how having ridiculous or far from real characters translates into having a worse storyline. They are simply different styles of storytelling in a different context. Do you believe American heroes like Superman and Spiderman are very realistic? No. The reason why anime is superior to Holywood storylines is because unlike Holywood movies which typically focus on fast paced action sequences anime's tend to focus on exposition and thematic exploration.

There are of course a huge number of exceptions in both cases. However as a rule Hollywood movies are entertainment focused only. There's a very few US movies that try to go beyond that and raise different social, political and philosophical issues or have an underlying theme and meaning. Good anime focuses on exposition and dialogue and generally addresses certain themes and raises quite a few philosophical questions during their runtime designed to mentally stimulate the viewer.

There I think there's a great deal of disparity between the two mediums in terms of substance. Hollywood movies focus on action and emotion while Japanese animes focus on inellect and I consider the later far more important.

Also, the story doesn't have to fit the gameplay. The gameplay can be quirky and humerous but I consider that separate from what goes on in the storyline or as serving a type of comedic contrast.

I disagree. I fail to see how having ridiculous or far from real characters translates into having a worse storyline. They are simply different styles of storytelling in a different context. Do you believe American heroes like Superman and Spiderman are very realistic? No. The reason why anime is superior to Holywood storylines is because unlike Holywood movies which typically focus on fast paced action sequences anime's tend to focus on exposition and thematic exploration.

There are of course a huge number of exceptions in both cases. However as a rule Hollywood movies are entertainment focused only. There's a very few US movies that try to go beyond that and raise different social, political and philosophical issues or have an underlying theme and meaning. Good anime focuses on exposition and dialogue and generally addresses certain themes and raises quite a few philosophical questions during their runtime designed to mentally stimulate the viewer.

There I think there's a great deal of disparity between the two mediums in terms of substance. Hollywood movies focus on action and emotion while Japanese animes focus on inellect and I consider the later far more important.

Also, the story doesn't have to fit the gameplay. The gameplay can be quirky and humerous but I consider that separate from what goes on in the storyline or as serving a type of comedic contrast.

All of them are focused on entertainment. Anime generally takes huge amounts of time out of action sequences to have converstations that take ridiculous amounts of time. Just like Kojima, most of them cannot work the point of their story into their work and instead have to have characters speak their point as opposed to displaying the point through complex ACTING characters not complex TALKING characters. It's funny, for the level of depth you say you like in your games and apparently your anime, you are actually a big fan of media that isn't deep at all. Everything is right on the surface to be spoon fed to those that are completely sure that what they watching is high art because the characters discuss their complicated philosphy openly. The stories in those games and anime are usually highly predictable and don't require very much thought at all. I've watched a lot of anime, and I find it very difficult to find one that doesn't resort to lecture for it to convey the underlying reason for it's story. That is pretty pathetic.