games are too short nowadays

[Alpha Six]

Honestly I don't think he's talking about NES games, he's actually kinda right. A lot of games have become shorter nowadays (even if it's just a small difference) but this is mainly because games tell you more of what you're supposed to do. Like shooters. How many people really think Doom or Duke Nukem 64 is long? They're not, the games just has you figure EVERYTHING out on your own. Doom and DN64, in reality, can be beaten in LESS than a day. A day. Compare that to new games like Call of Duty 4. The guys you're working with tell you "okay let's do this," or "let's do that" and there's also an objective tracker on your compass. Thus, the game becomes a bit "shorter" because you don't have to find everything yourself. You can still beat it in a day if you put that much time into the game, skip the loading cinematics, etc.

The games that DO do it best are games that tell you "hey, this is where you go" but then reward you for exploring the area. I don't wanna say "games like Zelda," but... games like Zelda.

I think the reason games are "getting shorter" is because most games nowadays add in really nice, dynamic cutscenes that rope you in (Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War 2, etc...) and make you want to watch them, and that cuts down on the amount of gameplay you have because those programs and videos require more disc space (and these cutscenes usually tell you where you're going as well) Although with Blu-Ray, there really isn't that problem, hence MGS4 AND MGO, which takes up the entire disc. And MGS4, while not extravagantly long, is probably the longest game in the series; even though you can beat MGS4 in a few days, and the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 can take you weeks of dedication. Because Metal Gear 1 didn't tell you ANYWHERE you were going, and Metal Gear 2 only told you a few things.
That, and gaming is becoming a lot more like the other industries; if it looks pretty and is fun for at least a little while, people will buy it, and we will get money.