I've always been attracted to innovation in all its incarnations.  The DS, for example, doesn't have a particularly amazing selection of titles, as noteworthy as they are.  It's the touch screen that keeps me coming back, because it has proved itself to be more of a brilliant development rather than a cheap gimmick.  Hardware aside, the real issue worth discussion is that games have been suffering from a lack of innovation for some time, as fewer publishers are taking risks with unproven formulas or franchises. 

Currently the most heralded launch title for the Xbox 360 is Perfect Dark Zero, which is essentially a reworked Perfect Dark.  Its not as if holding two weapons at once was worked to death, or that cooperative play was unwelcome, but it's rather depressing to see another empty promise of the next generation/evolution/upgrade/level up of gaming.  Who trusts Microsoft anyways?

The PS3 titles offer no solace to the next generation, with over half of the games additions to existing franchises.  Metal Gear Solid 4, Unreal Tournament 2007, Tekken 14, the list goes on.  There are, of course, many titles that are unique, but whether the gameplay follows suite has yet to be seen. 

The revolution is currently the highlight of my gaming prospects at the moment, with the possibilities of the hardware gleaming brightly in the future, but currently over half the games are simply Nintendo sponsored, such as Link and Mario.  I don't mean to imply that these franchises don't appeal to me, I love jumping on goombas as much as the next person, however, I'm positive that there could be a better use of the hardware. 

It's too early to tell whether the industry will expand its scope in the titles it pushes to the market, but if the current trend continues, the army of generic shooters seems posed to overtake the legions of gamers by force.  It’s frightening to imagine the possibility that after all this time and sweat and blood, that we've simply developed a better Nintendo.