Hello? Can you hear me now?

Here's an interesting take on the current status of audio in the gaming industry. The basic premise of the piece is that audio is unappreciated and badly utilized in today's games. That argument alone could be seriously damaged by loading up Call of Duty, Thief 3, or Halo. But the point that audio is considered secondary to video is well-taken and, in my mind, correctly attributed to the lack of competition in the market. With Creative Labs owning the store there's little incentive for the press to get excited about audio hardware.
With no competition there are too few audio design evangelists hopping from company to company offering their enthusiasm and technical tweaks. It is a shame but you know there's a small company somewhere that will knock the giant off its perch. Either that or a game will come along that uses sound in such a way that everyone must take notice. In the meantime, enjoy the pretty pictures.