DVS BSTrD said:
Yahtzee they don't lack limitation, they lack appreciation. Mainstream developers feel the need to broaden the appeal to the point where nothing is special about their games anymore.
This. We can all probably recite the arguments in our sleep by now:
1. It cost money to make a game.
2. The bigger the studio, the more money they are going to put into the game.
3. The more money the game costs, the more money the studio want to make back.
4. Studios will broaden the game until they feel that enough profit can be made from the game to justify the cost.
Therefore, big studios will make broad games that appeal to the common denominator, while indie developers will make game more focused on a specific vision, because they don't need to make as much money to recoup their expenses.