Seems hitting hard will get you a cake.
I do not defend Syberia by any means. I think it was a pretty good game, but mostly, as been pointed out, due to score and set piece.
I see where he was coming from. I hit with Tsar Bomb because whole thread seemed went totally wrong way.
I 'd agree on changing taste.( As nostalgia it will have much of an impact especially on older gamers.) Although genera changed too. Attention to detail is smaller. Writing is still good, but while old games let you enjoy even stupid moves by throwing at you funny lines new p'n'c games seemed to rush story and serving "No, I cannot do that". As been said with Overclocked - they took a step back.
For me seems like it was mostly false requirement thrown by other generas. Almost all new games seem short, "casual", 15-minute play and move on. Almost every adventure game review ends with "too short". With pace and rushing the plot new games tend to even lack of good characters.
Yes, I 'd agree even on growing tired of it. Tho it seem to me other generas taught us to not invest as much time as old adventure games required. New p'n'c games gone shorter and "faster", tho they still require much more of time investment than other generas.
New adventure games lack some bits for good or bad sake. Tho they still provide me much better storyline and enjoyment then most new fps/rts/whatever releases.
Pot is almost the same as for any genera. Lot of in it. Need to dig a hand blindly hope for best or girth teeth put snags in nose, search for lego blocks and having fun from putting things together.
Time for a stroll .
EDIT
Don't breath!
I'd vote for taste. It was sorth of slapstick where story is not the best part, at least imo. It landed on me well. Tho I don't like slapstick very much.
Thing is almost every major release here ( Europe) either FPS or RTS lands in "jewelcase" series. Cheap one, in even one or half year later. While adventure games are still pretty pricey. It comes down to markets and consoles that are not so strong as in USA i guess.
I wouldn't count on that to be honest. It's niche as you said, and those don't change too often.