Yes the simplification matters. less = less not more .
we have move forward since morrowind not back . but in skyrim things have certainly regressed.
the only difference is now we have to deal with people who don not care and do not appreciate details.
i.e. the remarks about what difference does the clothing make ?? well at one time it did make a difference the games ai had a disposition towards you based on the clothes you wore .
also if the clothes you traded to the npc was better than what they were wearing the would change out of their old clothes and to the new set they just bough off you.
this was a cool feature . but it exists no more and skyrim is less because of it .
again we do not have crossbows . and other weapons . and again less = less not more.
what we are talking about is flavor variances and minor details is what makes a game memorable you generalize and simplify to much and run the risk of becoming generic.
as gamers we owe it to ourselves to be critical of the designers . yes skyrim deserves praise but also needs to criticized in the area where it is lacking.
once upon a time this was the norm . but now to many people want to lavish praise upon praise onto whatever is dished out in front of them . likes its from some sort of diety .
When in reality it is created by man and therefore is flawed . the only way will create better and better is to critical appreciate our creations.
lavish praise upon them when they are deserving, but do not hold back on the criticism as they are the true marks to aspire to when creating the next best thing .
because if everything is perfect what is their to aspire to?