Well, I know what you mean, I'm getting that with FPS alot, its like, OK another FPS, but some games are an exception. Bioshock and R2 comes to mind. I'm in the beta for R2, and the Co-op (and some aspects of the competitive, like 30 vs 30 in one area) have really wowed me.

I think the problem is hype... i remember in the old days the only source of hype I would get for games where from the Nintendo magazines... nowadays we have blogs, screenshots, trailers, teaser trailers.. the whole game is basically shown to us before we even touch a remote.

How can you be impressed about something that's been showcased for months?

I'm just going to point at my signature.

Graphics do not impress me anymore. At all. Sometimes games look good, even great, but I'm not ever impressed. I was slightly impressed when the 360 was released, but haven't been since then.

Indeed, the wiimote is a bit dissapointing. It has so much potential, that is being mostly wasted. It no longer impresses me either, but I've had some great moments with it.

The last game to have me completely riled up was Portal. I still rave about it on and off. The only game that I look forward to, currently, is Wii Music. It's the only game that I can see that has never been done before, that treads completely new and for me exciting territory.

While the industry probably has never seen better, more polished, more original games I have never been more blasé about it either. Then again, *points at signature* I am gamerdrifting...

Hmm. I agree that the hype and availability of information is much higher now than it was ten years ago. It's most definatly part of the problem. But I do not see it as the main cause.

To expand my previous post, I feel like gaming has shown me it's goods. I now know to within an inch what kind of experiences a game can, and more importantly cannot give me. That effectivly puts a lid on expectations, expectations that when I was younger made my heart soar and sent my mind into blissful fantasies.

I tried Dead Space last night and all I have to say is WOW! Seriously I love this point in each generation because it's where the development tools have matured enough that developers can start focusing more heavily on the content rather than the engine that drives it.

I don't know Happy.

Every time I replay Chrono Trigger it impresses me, it reminds me how wonderful of a game it is.  The magic it held so long ago is still very much alive today.  From the characters to the plot to the music to the backgrounds... it's all impressively well put together even today.

What does it say when a 13 year old game can impress me but not one coming out in the near future?  It says something about my gaming preferences perhaps, but it also says something about that new game.  I think that in some cases we aren't impressed by new games because it may be that they really aren't all that impressive in the first place.  

That which usually impresses people are things that they've never seen or experienced and things which they have that are extraordinarily well done.  I don't think we're seeing a lot of that in this generation in any one place but some games have shown us glimpses of it.  As time goes by, it will become much harder to do the former and even fewer people have the talent for the latter.  Here's an example from last generation of the latter which impresses me:

In that short clip, everything from the background music to the change of backgrounds to the sound effects contributes to the scene.  I think it's extremely well-put-together and when I watch it, I say "wow" because its execution is worthy of praise IMO.

Of course, I suppose that's all based on my definition of impressive.  A game can be good or even great yet still not impress me because doing so takes something... extra.  Also, not being impressive doesn't make a game bad by any means and I'm sure I'm a bit more harsh and unforgiving with my opinions on games than some.

This really makes we want to learn Japanese.

It is probably because you have already seen it before.

GEOW 2, Saints Row 2, Condemned 2 don't look to that great anymore like when I saw the prequels of the games for the first time.

Cool, "picture culture" is getting in. I thought perhaps it would happen during the generation.
As for myself, I haven't been impressed by ANY graphics from this generation or the last. Actually, I think no game can ever impress me unless it mimics reality perfectly, and even then I'm not sure I'll be impressed. Same in movies, no CG effect can impress me anymore since years.
Eternal Sonata and ToV nearly managed to impress me, but failed hard.
Thus why I was never surprised that the japanese weren't interested in HD games just because they were HD: they have even better picture culture than I have.

Most Nintendo games are more impressive graphically to me than most HD games.
What can impress me is the slick design, not the graphics themselves.

Nope.  I'm a happy camper.  I love the competetive levels that Microsoft and Sony are exerting and we are standing to gain much from their various plots to outdo each other.  Except of course Microsoft's deliberate attempt at playing dirty by buying exclusives and thus screwing with fans of Sony.  It's the equivalent of Tyson biting off Holyfield's ears, I mean I want to shout "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING MICROSOFT?!! WE'RE JUST HERE TO ENJOY THE FIGHT AND YOU'RE SPOILING OUR GODDAM FUN!!!"  Anyway except for that, they are really rising and both systems are gaining high amounts of quality as opposed to the relative stability of the consoles in the last generation.

Wii is always great, I also can't wait to play the next big thing in it I'm willing to bet some creative type will come up with truly awesome gameplay that will change how we play games.  Then again maybe not, but still I'm sure that there are a few more games that are going to come out that will truly exploit the full potential of Wii's control.