>Why is the American game industry doing so badly right now?
The industry is run by assholes who hate videogames and gamers
>What can be done to save it?
There's basically nothing that can save "The American Game Industry" as it exists, but people getting together and forming some AA size studios would probably help, but it's going to be a massive uphill battle because the entire media industry is completely fucked and actually getting the word out about what you're making is going to basically be a nightmare.