Play X3/HL2 in widescreen and tell me it's no better. 
Heh - I can remember my in-laws getting a 32" widescreen CRT back in the day and everybody I knew was gobsmacked. Now, I have a 37" widescreen LCD on my wall...
To have a stab at answering your question, HangTime, I would hazard a guess that it is probably a loose conspiracy on part of the manufacturers and Hollywood/TV stations in that widescreen is perceived as a 'better' viewing experience (it gives a large area whilst focussing the eye/mind on the pertinent action/event... simply having more area around said action would be distracting to a lot of people - if not all - and prove to be less immersive an experience) and are therefore shovelling all of their existing material through the letterbox (apologies... *lame*), whilst the manufacturers have an easier time making panels: win-win for both...
The 'ultimate' experience, IMHO, is that pimped by Matrox: the triple-header box that enables true widescreen (i.e. almost 180 degrees, if I'm not mistaken)... but then I don't have space for that many monitors on my desk.
Heh - I can remember my in-laws getting a 32" widescreen CRT back in the day and everybody I knew was gobsmacked. Now, I have a 37" widescreen LCD on my wall...
To have a stab at answering your question, HangTime, I would hazard a guess that it is probably a loose conspiracy on part of the manufacturers and Hollywood/TV stations in that widescreen is perceived as a 'better' viewing experience (it gives a large area whilst focussing the eye/mind on the pertinent action/event... simply having more area around said action would be distracting to a lot of people - if not all - and prove to be less immersive an experience) and are therefore shovelling all of their existing material through the letterbox (apologies... *lame*), whilst the manufacturers have an easier time making panels: win-win for both...
The 'ultimate' experience, IMHO, is that pimped by Matrox: the triple-header box that enables true widescreen (i.e. almost 180 degrees, if I'm not mistaken)... but then I don't have space for that many monitors on my desk.