Characters within games are generally quite an important inclusion, without them there would be nothing to carry on, alter and end a story. Giving a character a back-story helps the player to connect with them and care about what happens to said character as he/she journeys through the game.
For example, Link in The Ocarina Of Time. Set in the land of Hyrule, we learn that he is an orphan as his parents were killed in a great war years before the game is set. His mother, before dying, entrusted her son to the Kokiri tree, a wise being that promises to keep him safe. So Link lives amongst the Kokiri, a race of "children" for most of his life (8 years up to this point) and is seen as "different" by the other children so is a little bit of an outcast. This all changes one day however, when he sets out on an epic quest to save the land of Hyrule and ultimately become the Hero Of Time.
Game developers these days are starting to make their characters just as deep, and even deeper than Link in a lot of games today, and I'm really glad that they are. When I have an understanding of where a character's come from and his reasoning behind what he is doing, it can really help make the game more rewarding and enjoyable.
Imagine how odd and detached Half-Life would feel if you had no idea who you were playing as and what the hell this guy that you're controlling was doing in a lab. Are you a scientist? A visitor perhaps...Or maybe a spy or a terrorist breaking in? Luckily, they explain the goings on at the beginning...I think. I dunno, it's been a while.
It's much more important for the characters in TV shows, books and films to have depth to them as the entertainment value from the reader/viewer is gained from simply watching/reading, there's no interaction like when playing a game. For example, you can't take control of Mr Darsey and have him use the shotgun in the shed to kill his annoying house-guests, and likewise, you can't control the nitro-injected street-racers in the various racing films around today.
I think the link that people make between themselves and a character on-screen is very important, especially in emotionally driven films/shows. When you think of a film like Forrest Gump, a movie that tells the life story of the main character, you gain a very strong tie to him as you witness his tale unfold.
You live through all of the struggles that this character has to withstand through his life, and you end up feeling sorry for him. Especially at one of the ending scenes where his life-long love interest dies after the two of them only having a few months together. (sorry to anyone planning on watching this)
With a film like Forrest Gump, the script, acting and appearance of the characters is vital to making the film a success. With some films it seems as though one or a few of these elements are absent. This can sometimes lead to a bad movie-going experience. Doom is a brilliant example of this. The characters are poorly thought up and the script is poor. I can say that the characters do look the part, but this is probably the one redeeming feature...Personally, I think that a staring competition would be infinitely more fun to watch.
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