You are absolutely correct that the genre is maturing more than many gamers realize. Many gaming pundits that I follow seem to get caught in a particular game,

You are absolutely correct that the genre is maturing more than many gamers realize. Many gaming pundits that I follow seem to get caught in a particular game, and it changes their perspective of the format as a whole. For example, I have been hearing a lot of praise for Final Fantasy: First Soldier lately. I actually think something similar to the Gartner hype cycle applies [1]. Any shovelware became profitable during the Zynga/King heydays, but quality declined and the ecosystem become more competitive. We are now hitting a point where some quality is needed to distinguish ones self. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner_hype_cycle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gartner_hype_cycle