I can agree with the majority of the comments here, I think gaming in general is not the same. As a few of you have already mentioned it has become mainstream. My first experience of gaming at home was on a commodore 16+4, then much later we got an Atari ST, a few years later I got my first console (three guesses what it was) and my brother got a snes. Flash forward to now and my house has a capable PC, an x box and a PlayStation 3. I can honestly say I have no interest in playing on either console, I very occasionally have a quick few laps on gran turismo 5 (not online).
I know what is lacking in most games now, fun and the challenge of playing well, too many games are just repetitive drivel where you can't actually lose. What's the point?
I used to enjoy a quick blast on my old PC thanks to call of duty, it was fun, it involved teamwork, if you tried going off Rambo style you would more than likely fail. I also used to enjoy a few hours play on operation flashpoint, plenty of free space to roam, lots of weapons and vehicles to play with, and a hell of a lot of fun online when you had a good team. The way I see it is there is no point in playing online unless it is with people, instead of against/in spite of people.
