I think what they're trying to get at is to remove all the rubbish that doesn't need to be in the game, and to a certain extent I agree.
A lot of my favourite games have been made fairly recently and are short but sweet, the two that stick out in my head being Braid and Portal.
Sure they're not 'simple' challenge wise, but they keep the aim of the game simple and to the point; not only that but they actually force you to change the way you think. I adore watching people play Braid and Portal just because you can see how they struggle until something finally clicks and they start thinking outside of the box.