When did video games become so boring? About 1998 — when they changed into something subtly different:
If there is a single change that we can point to, it is that video games used to be tests of skill, and so were challenging (and frustrating), whereas now they are tests of having free time, and so hold the player’s hand through the game (and are boring). Today’s video game is more like a movie — as long as you turn the crank on the side of the projector, eventually you’ll experience the entire thing. That is the opposite of playing a game, since you are never guaranteed to win a game.