if you make a game people want to *play*, you're going to do pretty okay.
the problem, as it were, is that the AA-AAA space is getting filled by people who want to make movies and award-bait, not *games*. You can certainly show up with A Story To Tell, and tell it, but you have to remember to make *a game*. Not a three million dollar piece of art that resonates with exactly 4 people. Not if you want to be successful, anyway.