pg said almost the same exact thing about arc's design philosophy:
"Good design is timeless, and if you want something timeless you can't pander to the limitations of some hypothetical 'average' user. It's too vague a target. It's also a moving target: the average user might not be as stupid as you think." http://www.paulgraham.com/design.html
http://us.wii.com/iwata_asks_vol3_index.jsp
Mahito Yokota originally wrote the soundtrack as an homage to Mario 64: goofy and kid-friendly. Kondo told him to scrap it: he said that if you aimed for kids, you'd get a worse product than if you aimed for something with a more timeless feel. So he changed the music to a full orchestra, and the result was the brilliant soundtrack to Galaxy, which is incidentally absolutely worth owning.
Spore dumbed down and lost. It's a shame.