I really love the article. Never did I imagine such deep, philosophical analysis about Mario and his games.
In the end if we think more about the why we like it then just enjoying it...we are old.
People do understand this happens in the film industry all the time....but this mostly happens because production people forget to include everyone that actually made the game unless they see them everyday.
If the CEO of EA is so concerned with Southern California being to expensive why is he not moving EA LA out of LA. They built a huge complex, and already spend way to much money on all their productions.
The reason they don't move out of LA is for one reason. Talent. Through film and video games a lot of talent is available to recruit.
Why all the hate on Activision? If you like the game buy it, play it, and enjoy it. Enlighten me on why making and planning a sequel is bad. The film industry does this all the time. Did everyone complain when Iron Man 2 was greenlit to go into production, after Iron Man was a success. No, everyone jumped for joy, and wanted more.