The parallel you've drawn with the movie industry is super relevant, I hadn't thought about it that way. It actually makes more sense for them to milk whatever is popular to maximise profit.

It's a shame that these companies are becoming risk averse with regards to creativity in fear of not meeting shareholder targets though ...

As for the conspiracy part, I think I got it from Kojima in one of his Metal Gear Solid games (was either 2 or 4). The way it was presented was very compelling, I should play it again :)