mallorystarck I think this is definitely an issue, and it afflicts technology/coding as a whole. Developers have no real incentive to focus on efficiency and optimization when resources aren't seem as finite. Bloat is the rule, not the exception.
On that note (no pun intended) it reminds me of something I read once that apparently during Ocarina of Time's development the director enforced the rule that all the songs should be first composed as an 8 bit midi. The idea was that if the composers could make a good, memorable tune in that bare form, they knew that they had an earworm that would sound even better with all the vells and whistles. And that game's OST is indisputably one of the best in ever.
I think that applies to things other than music, too. Too many games nowadays rely on flashiness and high-budget gimmicks to carry their lack of substance.
Then there are cases like Silent Hill. The whole fog thing was put in place exclusively to mask the poor rendering distance of the PS1, but it went on to be one of the best features.
