Also, you need to look at this from a business perspective. Companies are creating "dumb games" to appeal to the most amount of people possible so they can MAKE MONEY. Dumb games don't necessarily = dumb players, but they do seem to equal a larger player base with more opportunities to create income.
When it comes down to it, the game industry is much like the music industry. Big publishers don't give a flying fuck whether your game is good or not as long as copies fly off the shelves. Rage is a good recent example, along with Brink. Both of those games were hyped to shit, developed by big name companies, and both have been highly disappointing. The problem is that you have to drop $60 to find out for yourself whether or not you like it, and by that time the game companies have made their $$ and could care less whether or not you'll play it for more than 10 minutes.
MMO's offer a different business model but follow the same principles. Except with an MMO you are looking to have a player subscribe for an extended period of time (hopefully years) and therefore you need a game that will keep them entertained for years. In order to do that realistically you have to appeal to a wider audience that doesn't put it's entire focus into hardcore, end game content that is equally challenging as it is appealing to spend time on. The majority of the player base won't see that content, so you have to make other things available to them.
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