The ONLY thing increasing cost are graphics. And know what? I don't need my explosions to look that good. They looked fine in Halo 1. Anything you wanted to do could be done back then. Maybe go into the next generation. Now? It feels like the artists are jerking off on my screen. And considering how much the actual content we're getting lately, or better yet how well a game simply WORKS (ie, not at all) it's clear where the work actually goes. Sad fact? People are stupid enough to want the shiny thing either way.