The shift in gaming devices alone changed a lot of things, as the explosion of games on mobile phones attests. When children have a phone (or a tablet) from a very early age, they won't suddenly turn to PC just because. Not to mention, again, the commitment problem. I prefer to call it "You mean I have to spend a month to level up a character before I can start playing with most people? Screw that, I'm gonna play angry birds instead".
You mean companies should take risks and not make carbon copies of existing products? Yeesh, shareholders will eat you alive for that. You're much better off publishing "Call of Duty volume 135" or "Angry Birds vs Ponies".