Game Theory - Today’s Industry: Has Anything Changed?
Not that these outfits or popular franchises ranging from Call of Duty to Assassin’s Creed will go the way of the dodo anytime soon, just like retail boxed products as a whole. (People still love the feel of physical products, and the lure of familiar franchises when disposable cash is too tight to risk on unknown series can’t be understated.) But as today’s most savvy business leaders know, the hottest action in gaming and most innovative industry developments are actually happening outside the shelves of your local GameStop. Not to mention, of course, increasingly being dominated by a mixture of venture-funded start-ups, scrappy indies and resourceful garage developers, who are quickly flipping the traditional game publishing model on its head, and running circles around larger corporations as a result.

LGRNexus.com - Whatever Happened to the Puzzle Genre?
Is it wrong to enjoy a video game that doesn't rely on graphics, but on a solid story that requires mental aptitude to puzzle out? Is it wrong to be disgusted at franchises that pump out the same title year after year, yet deliver only a few superficial changes in each rendition? Is anyone else as angry as I am that all the big titles in console games these days are First Person Shooters? As you can see, I am one seriously disgruntled consumer. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Call of Duty as much as the next guy, but the same type game gets old fast.

BitMob - Complexity Is Killing the Japanese RPG.
Modern-day JRPGs have evolved to become more complex and engaging, but in slightly altered ways. Instead of challenging the player to overcome obstacles using basic rules, gameplay has morphed to force the player to utilize complex mechanisms to achieve straightforward tasks. The player doesn't have to think more; they just have to do more. I acknowledge that things cannot remain stagnant in order for the genre to progress, and it should come from quality, not quantity.