We were actually discussing something similar in another topic a few days back. While your statement, "Is the current game industry one that demands every good game must be 3D?", was all too true even a year or two back, I think recent trends indicate a shift in the other direction, and one that we've advocated for countless years here at Armchair Arcade, which is simply to use the viewpoint or perspective best suited for the game, not just 3D for the sake of 3D. New Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter IV, Braid, Limbo, Peggle, etc., are all fairly recent and popular examples of games - big budget and small, targeted to hardcore gamers and casual gamers - that, while sometimes offering polygonal elements rather than just sprites, still kept to a mostly 2D plane/playing field, and were the better games for it. I think publishers realize now (for the most part) that a particular game will not sell better just because it's fully 3D, complete with movable camera, etc.; it will sell better if it's a better game with the correctly chosen design, including perspective and playfield type. With all of that said, there is still a ways to go before it's a universal truth, and I think you correctly point out that in certain game series and even genres, developers/publishers are still struggling with maximizing modern technical elements with classically proven gameplay. I wouldn't lose hope though, because like I said, I think we are seeing positive trending...