The gaming industry isn't waning or hurting. People have been talking about how it's waning or hurting for decades. This is just the result of the latest generation getting in on the doomsdaying. In a few years, everyone complaining will realise that this sort of complaining happens constantly and it isn't a sign that the game industry is going to shrivel up and disappear.
Developers are always unhappy about something in the industry. This isn't the sign of the industry's collapse or decline, it's a constant factor that cannot be avoided. And it's true in every industry. Sure some people are happy, but there will always be parts of the business that people don't like or that they think are holding them back.
It seems pointless to say it again since it's said so often everywhere now, but piracy is not the same as lost sales and it isn't stopping anything that would be profitable from being profitable. In fact, it's turned several games that would not have been profitable into profitable games.
Pre-owned sales have been around forever. And we're starting to do a much better job of regulating them, allowing developers to get some of the money involved while still keeping them significantly cheaper than new copies. Despite all of the whining about it, things like Project Ten Dollar are a great solution to this problem.
Fewer and fewer games are coming out with DRM at this point and those that have it are tending to use systems that are more reasonable for the average person. Things like always-online systems are a problem for some people, but they're not at all a problem for a huge segment of the market and are certainly preferable to install limits and some of the more draconian schemes that have come before.
Micro transactions are, if anything, going to save a lot of genres. There are ways to do this fairly and even do it in-game. It's still a pretty new idea though, so everyone has a sour taste in their mouth from some of the first, terrible implementations. Look to games like League of Legends though and you see some very nice microtransaction models.
AAA prices are inflated. Unfortunately, game development costs are inflated. Lower prices would be nice and probably will happen, but that's going to come after we find ways to streamline development. And removing some of those costs will also help immensely with the fact that most AAA games have to make a killing before they become profitable at this point. Just asking for lower prices at this point means asking for less development.
Also, regarding all of the people speaking condescendingly about how more mature gamers are dissatisfied with shallow current generation games: do not let them fool you, not all of us are assholes. I've been playing games for an awfully long time and while there are some great gems from the past, the average quality of games has not in any way gone down. It's gone up tremendously. What's also gone up is the sheer volume of high-profile games produced. Only a small percentage of old games were good (and it's worth noting that the percentage that were truly reprehensible has gone down significantly) and that's still true. It's just that the number of games as a whole has gone up quite a bit, so it feels like there's more crap, even though there's also more quality. And again, the crap of the present has nothing on the crap of the past. They really do not make games like E.T. anymore.
If there's any problem with the gaming industry of today, it is, unfortunately, us. We bug developers, we declare "boycotts" over perceived slights from people who owe us nothing, we act as if we're entitled to features, games, hell even developers' attention. And the fact that developers are out there in public and capable of being reached on the internet only amplifies these problems.
