Hhhhmm... I just got into naval sims with SH3; and now, I'm grabbing DW and SC as soon as I get back to the US (in two weeks). Yes, naval sims can be boring to some; but as a new-comer into the genre, I must disagree. All it requires is a lot of patience, a decent amount of skill, and you're rewarded with one of the most challenging and exciting gaming experience.
Unfortunately, I only got SH3 4 days before I had to travel to Cuba for a month; but in those 4 days, I had a ton of fun with the game. Nothing was quite as rewarding as finally getting to manual solutions and blowing the crap out of a convoy. And nothing is as rewarding as spending an hour running from 4 destroyers intent on sending you to DJ's locker; then pop up and nail two of them with your last two torps before running again.
So now, I've found this commnunity a few weeks ago and have been spending $2 an hour to log on to the forums from Cuba to lurk and learn about the newest interest in my gaming life. Anyway, my whole point is this: the majority of gamers will want run-and-gun games like HL2 and BF2; but there are many out there who are looking for a challenge and for something different. While I might not class myself as the typical FPS-goon, I do think there are many like me who would be drawn into this genre rather rapidly if these types of games had more exposure and general appeal. Not all simulations have to be 'niche' games.