I don't think originality needs to necessarily mean defining a new genre or niche. I'm thinking of a re-invention of a stale genre. Okay, Killzone is good, okay, it's akin to resistance but with a slightly different story, but my question is why do we need to drag them out?
A new IP can certainly borrow good traits, but what irks me is that there seem to be far too many carbon copies, stories and characters (who's sick of the shaven headed, troubled male hero already?).
In the joyus world of commercial enterprise and going for the safe buck with tried and tested formula, don't you honestly feel something has died in the games industry?
Remember when Test Drive Unlimited came out? It was just another racing game and a pretty average one at that. The point is, it tried something different. It still has a decent online following despite it's flaws for that very reason. Without the adventurous online aspect it would doubtless have fallen into obscurity within a a few weeks.
Ico. A fantastic concept, well explored. I really don't need to expand on this one.
But what do we have to look forward to? Another painfully short Killzone. The same game but shinier?
Okay, Uncharted's story driven narrative is a nice distraction, but it's only what the Tomb Raider games should have become.
Look, this is just the ramblings of a gaming oap who remembers fondly the Speccy/Commodore era where it was about gameplay & not how realistic the sweat on someone's brow looked.
Maybe I just need to accept that...