>I think we're starting to see the effects of this, games that try to sell themselves on their narrative, which simply end up taking the player through a series of corridors and cutscenes, are losing. Games that sell themselves on their gameplay and build narratives around the player are winning.
And that's exactly the problem - it creates a monoculture of genres even though those "losing" genres are still popular enough to be at least watched.
I disagree, I think this space you called a monoculture is incredibly diverse, and will continue to be incredibly diverse. Cinematic games are relatively recent territory, not established aspects of the gaming market. If the only limiting factor for games is that they'd have to look entertaining to people after someone has seen them play it, then I think you could look forward to some extreme diversity.
And that's exactly the problem - it creates a monoculture of genres even though those "losing" genres are still popular enough to be at least watched.