Missed Approach: Ace Combat

For the longest time, the Ace Combat series was the undisputed king of combat flight simulators on consoles, mixing arcade-like gameplay with enough realism to call it a simulator. Ever since the release of Air Combat in 1995, no other series has been able to overthrow its firm rule on consoles. Recently however, development for the main consoles seems to have slowed down, and its undisputed reign has provided an opening for competitors who seek to supplant its market dominance. The potential downfall of the series on consoles may continue to an ignoble end, or it may just be reversed. Why has the series been so successful, why has it been failing, and how can the death of yet another series be averted?