Arteveld: True, but that's how it's always been. I remember watching a great interview with Richard Garriott in which he described how games are made for specific hardware, where at first you make a game, later, someelse makes a better game, because of the hardware restrictions, then, new hardware comes out, and the cycle resets, companies make games that look better than the competition. Garriott also points out on how the hardware market develops. And frankly, i have to agree with him, we get a new GFX every year or so, and that's where everybody tries to focus their product.
Since i grew up on a C64, i was blessed with being able to see the cycle in slow motion [the c64 lived well for almost 10 years without any changes to the hardware]. I've seen the early games, then came graphics, and they got better and better, the music got better, but what was amazing, the gameplay didn't go to the bin. A good example are the Last Ninja series, which were kind of a landmark in the technological progress of the C54 [with LN3 failing on the gameplay aspect a bit].
I just feel a need to explain my "blaah"ing on the ME and Orange box, the first one didn't really impress me on any matter, just another action game with rpg aspects from Bioware. Hardly amusing if someone played BaK or Ultimas, and is hardly satisfied.;P
As for the Orange Box, well, that was a ripoff, i've already owned HL2 GOTY and EP1 when it came out, and it was a bit of a joke, no refund for the games one has already owned, and You paid a lot of money, for well, TF2, a ridiculously short episode of HL and a great, but short remake of a collage project game.
Indie games could be a good solution here, but they still focus on a "one idea stretched for the whole game" which seems more like a weekend project. Like VVVVVV, a nice retro game, but really tiresome afrer a while, and the price is funny too.. ;)
Can't wait for indie dev's to focus on variety.