Now if you REALLY want a great GLP style conspiracy topic, talk about the way FUNDING a game works. Imagine walking into a room full of suits and saying, "I have this great idea! Can I have $25 million?" The people who control the purse strings determine what gets made.

Call of the Duty sales have been surpassing a BILLION frigging dollars. That's one reason they get funded. But honestly, it's the same game every year (just like Madden)! Same game but with new assets, maps and models cooked up with whatever the latest/hottest shader and lighting tech is available and with 20% more polys on screen.

I'm going to go out on a limb here though and predict we may be seeing the FPS markest beginning to crest. You may laugh but "E-Sports" are beginning to gain serious ground. It's to the point that it is beginning to influence game design. Make sure your game is as fun to watch as it is to play so pros can stream it and spectators can watch it! There's a huge side-market brewing with "E-Sports" that has gotten the attention of the project funders.

Current FPS games don't make great E-Sports simply because they are not as fun to watch as games like League of Legends, Street Fighter or even a platformer or a good MMO. Not to mention, the ultra-violence of it turns a lot of people off. So the next decade will likely see the marginalization of the first person shooter genre unless they take serious steps to make it more fun to watch. The problem is they may try but doing so will likely marginalize their core player base, reduce sales (and future funding) and slowly strangling the FPS genre out either way.