I'm not sure it's really a valid point that games are now easier than the old arcade games. Since the early days games have come on leaps and bounds, okay lets take two of my all time fave games one from the past, another a lot newer. Pacman & Spyro the Dragon.
Pacman is very easy to pick up and play, but incredably difficult to master. Once you get the hang of the game, that's it, the same maze over and over, the same monsters only the difficulty increases. But it's one heck of a lot of fun! The GAME OVER scenario is ideal for this type of game as the only real challenge is to get to higher levels. It's simplistic and brilliant.
Spyro the Dragon on the other hand is an adventure, and adventures need save points. It could take you days to really complete it, and by complete I don't mean just getting to the end. To complete I mean finding all secrets, finding all gems etc. You get a secret level at then as a bonus.
I don't think that playing either of these games is less rewarding or less fun. For me they are simply different. When I beat my last high score on Pacman I'm very much the happy bunny. And when I complete Spyro 125% (Yes 125%) I'm still a very happy girl indeed!
Maybee it's just me, but I like to really complete games 100%. I know people who say "Yeah, I finished the game in like, 8 hours" But I bet they cheated or simply got to the end then the game ends up on a shelf, and they missed all secrets and some kewl visuals and experiences. I think this is where the problem really is. Gamers these days are getting lazy, if it's not liniar or on a plate the average joe simply gives up.
Here's another thought, remember Doom? I can complete doom easily. It's liniar, stright through, just find some keys, hit some buttons and advance. Remember Hexen? Hexen is hub based, and was heavy on puzzles. It's doom but more taxing on the grey matter. For me, Doom shouldn't allow you to save anytime, only at the begining of levels. But Hexen, is more of an adventure, and saving is a must!
Some of my pet hates in newer games were a critical point in the older games. Take Crash Bandicoot, now that game really annoyes me, you gotta be pixel perfect, and it's really makes me go mad when start falling off a platform that I have been leaping too and from earlier. Not sure this is a skill thing or me getting bored. Older 8 bit games that jumps had to be timed i.e. Donkey Kong Jr were just fun. I think for me that some game eliments work best if it's old school.
I think that a lot of the more 'fun' games are aimed at kids, and therefore they are easier, so I guess we should be comparing pacman against something much harder than Spyro! But for me, I love games as a whole, if it entertains me and makes me happy, then it's obviously a good thing. Talking of Spyro, where's me PSone gone