I think the problem is that people aren't discriminating enough consumers. Game companies have no incentive to make better games because they know people will buy crap, especially if that crap is part # of a series of games. Personally, I thought Quake 3 was crap, and didn't buy another Quake or Doom game after that (even though the engine was well done -- the game itself sucked and I didn't find any mods I liked). So I stopped buying Quake games. Same thing with BF1942 and BF2. I liked the first game. BF2 was godawful, though, and was really poorly managed and designed (despite some nice teamplay features).
Other people, however, are willing to throw good money after bad to chase that "high" they got with the first game in the series, or simply have far different standards from me. Game companies increasingly make shorter, smaller games with fewer content and replace said content with flashy eye candy and treadmill-style in-game rewards (IE: ranks, unlocks, stats, medals, whatever). To me, eye candy and treadmill crap is just to cover the fact that the game itself, at its core, is pretty lackluster or at least nothing all that special.
But the game companies know that, for now at least, they can put out Call of Medal of Battlefield 26 and people will buy it on brand-name alone (as long as the pre-release hype is good enough). So, to me, it's more the issue that people just buy games indiscriminately, or are satisfied with only getting maybe 1-3 months worth of enjoyment out of the game before they jump ship to the next shiny bauble that's been hyped up by some bought-and-paid-for gaming mag.
But the reason why? Not because they're ADHD, although it's tempting to level such a criticism. I think it's because they're desperate and have no other options. Or at least they don't perceive that they have other options. Basically, they're addicts. They're addicted to gaming, so they'll take whatever crap their pusher gives them because, hey, it's better than going without. This is why people continue to be suckered by super-happy-joy-joy previews and pre-release $5 discounts plus a snazzy pewter miniature if you just buy before the game goes gold.
What they really want is to be entertained the way they used to be entertained, and while they may gripe that they aren't getting it, they still buy. It's only in recent years that I've seen some of this turning around where friends of mine refuse to buy another BF series game, and the Quake series has gone from the bleeding-edge trend-setter to an also-(barely)-ran mediocre series (IE: ETQW).
The strange part is that there don't seem to be any signs that the gaming companies are feeling the pinch....yet. They aren't really trying to innovate with design, or to the extent they are, they're doing so with graphics and stats/unlockables. Those features keep people playing, but I think they also cause people to burn out eventually and become disgruntled. The MMO industry has, by and large, figured out how to stave this off -- with free periodic content releases followed by larger-scale expansions to give you more brass rings to shoot for. This keeps people hooked and keeps them blind to the fact that the actual game itself kinda stinks -- hey who cares if I've FINALLY gotten the last piece of armor in my Uber Paladin +25 Dragonscale armor suit!
So where am I going with this? Well, basically, I think the issue is that gamers aren't ADHD as much as they are easily fooled by simulated excitement. Game companies (including FPS makers now) have figured out that flashy visuals impress people and will get folks to pay for a game, so they tout them. Look how realistic that guy's eyelids are!! ZOMG!!!11! Likewise, they know that a game with otherwise lame mechanics can remain "fun" as long as you give someone a goal to work towards. It's not about the journey, after all, it's about the destination. So while I maybe absolutely sick to death of playing Karkand 24/7, I'll keep doing it if I can FINALLY get my gold knife badge. And when they release the platinum series of badges, guess what I'll start doing again. Never mind the fact that I view the whole thing as grinding. End result: games get boring, and gamers jump from game to game. The companies figure out how to string you along long enough to get you to buy the next shiny turd, and the cycle continues.
