Great article on Joystiq about the decrease in interest in gaming. It talks about the gender divide, and highlights the lack of value that gamers are feeling from their game purchases.
Secondly, in the mindset of consumers games are still too expensive. According to 48% of gamers games still fail to offer good value for money. The report finds this surprising when considering a comparison to movies (games typically offer 30 hours of gameplay compared to a 3-5 hour movie with extra features) but we suspect the problem is more a matter of quality rather than quantity. Fortunately, the report provides evidence that advertising in games is acceptable to around 25% of respondents, providing that it meant cheaper games and provided that they don’t interfere with gameplay. Publishers – take the hint.
I totally feel this as most games only keep me entertained for a few days, because the game gets boring or I beat the game. While I agree that I can play a game more than twice as long as watching a long move a theatre, it still seems rather expensive for what I’d consider a repetative experience.