I'm not sure what people are looking for when they ask "what happened to just videogames?". They evolved! Gameplay is more important than ever now. You can't get by on just graphics anymore. Games are more enveloping and detailed than ever before. Games my friends used to dream about in 7th grade are here now. Plus there are so many options from games that play like movies (Metal Gear, Mass Effect, LA Noir) to joints you just pick up and play (Angry Birds).

What exactly are people looking for?