I'm amused by how threatened the other commenters seem to be. These games aren't going to replace the Playstation or X-box. And I don't forsee someone like Rockstar abandoning console games to make Farmvilles. As the article points out, you can't dismiss social gaming because of how many people play it, but I also don't see it significantly influencing the console gaming business models.

One of my favorite gameplay moments in God of War II is when Kratos is leaping across the chasm in the swamp while the turrets he's using to support himself are falling apart (near where he fights the Barbarian King). The epic camera moves and animation really made that a thrilling gameplay sequence. :-)

My brother and I freakin' LOVED our Dreamcast. In fact, we still fight about who gets to actually keep the thing since we've both grown up and no longer live with one another (it was a gift to both of us, and we switch off every six months or so). Personally, my favorite memories of the system are the fighting games and the Japanese RPGs. I spent endless hours playinig Soul Calibur and Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and played through both Skies of Arcadia and Grandia II multiple times. And I have to give a special shout out to the unbridled fun and ORIGINALITY of Jet Grind Radio. Good times. Good times.

I still think there is a problem with telling stories in a way that only the gaming medium can. Many of the games credited with having strong narratives (like Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid) do that by completely stopping all gameplay so you can watch a cutscene (re: a movie). I love both those franchise and find their stories very entertaining, but it doesn't really make use of anything that can't be done in other mediums. I think the trick will be figuring out how to tell a story in-game, where the player is still in control of everything the protagonist does. This is incredibly difficult, since the player can't exactly be counted on to do what the writer intended/planned for, or even to be paying attention to the story elements going on. Which is why I think most games either have weak stories, or tell them through text and cutscene movies.