Most people in th GDNet forums will say "Gameplay is all the matters" or "The story is the most important thing" and many of them will tell you "Graphcis don''t matter." A lot of people will tell you that originality or innovation are important also. Some will even tell you that 3D games aren''t fun and 3D is the downfall of the game industry. I find that these things are generally wrong. This is what I personally think matters to most players.

Polish

Polish encompasses a lot of different elements of a game. Generally it means a stable game with a slick interface. It also tends to mean the game is balanced, with no blatant degenerate strategies and that the artwork is attractive and consistent.

Graphics, sound, story and other content

A lot of gamers claim graphics don''t matter, but I think it would be more accurate if they said "The newest 3D graphical chrome doesn''t matter." At their very core, graphics need to give you information about the game world and the game state. Beyond that graphics can be used to convey character and a game world, which is a very important thing to most players. How many people would still play their favorite game if the space marines, anime babes or ninjas were replaced with stick figures, boxes or spheres? I''m guessing not as many. That is "better" graphics don''t necessarily have the same appeal to someone as "bad" graphics. Some people think 16-bit SNES style graphics are more attractive than any of the newest 3D first person shooter graphics for example. The same thing applies for other content. Good music, sound effects, character design, story, etc. all add a lot to the game.

Relatability

How much do you relate to the game and the game world. This describes some of the appeal of The Sims and GTA. They both take place in the modern world and don''t have any weird sci-fi or fantasy elements. It also explains why western games usually don''t sell well in the japan. It is one of the reasons why sequels and liscensed games often sell better than original titles. It also explains why so many people on gamedev and other websites have a strong dislike for newer games. The games that they played during the child and teenage years and games that play like those have a bigger appeal than newer titles.

Interface

Not only the control scheme and layout, but also the way the game "feels", which has a lot to do with physics and animation. If players feel like the game is responding well to their commands they''ll have a better time.

Play balance

The game needs to feel fair to the players. If players feel like they''re being challenged, but at the same time are not entirely stuck and feel like they are improving then they''re more likely to like the game than if they can''t improve or if it poses no challenge.

I also like games with a lot of interactivity (lots of stuff to do) and immersion (feels like you''re someplace else). I''m not sure how important these things are to other gamers though.