For the first time in your life you have facts to cut through the haze of cultural expectations and reveal to you the truth, but still you fight against epiphany.

That you are playing titles which are rewarding as games and not as experiences is a great victory. Embrace what your subconscious is telling you: pure gaming is more fun than the narrative experiences which dominate the marketplace.

"Either it's been a pretty lackluster year so far, or I'm simply incapable of following most games to their end."

Or Rock Band is really good.

Experiencing a few games deeply rather than many games briefly is a cause for celebration, not concern. If you were to play only a single game for the entire duration of 2009, you could safely regard that as the greatest year in gaming history.

The lessons are right there in your data. Stop fighting them.