On Indie games, mainstream games always retreading the same ground, lacking creativity, etc...people who take this position need to look around at what gamers actually play. Gamers have been playing iterations of the same Dungeons and Dragons game for over 35 years!...My friends and I also play Warhammer, which is on its 8th edition and has been iterating on the same thing for 30 years! Some people have been playing basically the same game since before video games were even around...Other gamers play nothing but Call of Duty, Football Manager, or World of Warcraft, or they replay their old favorites (Ocarina of Time...). I mostly play World of Tanks lately because its compelling and deep. All the hardcore gamers I know want deep experiences that last 100s if not 1000s of hours, not 1 hour novelties.

The most popular games have ultra-compelling long-term gameplay that the vast majority of indie games simply don't have. Games as short creative artistic expressions is really at the opposite end from what gamers want (obviously just speaking for those I know). Also, some have set an extremely difficult task for themselves. Trying to invent compelling gameplay mechanics that are truly new is next to impossible. Most of what we play are iterations of the same great mechanics that were invented decades ago. When something like that comes along you can be sure it will take off (Minecraft for example), but the rest will rot.