apparently unpopular non-reactionary opinion time but I don't really take it as an insult, there's some pretty autisticly retarded motherfuckers who worship various media and having these guys on your team means you have a bunch of people who argue in a hot-blooded manner about what does or does not fit the setting or some shit, when real creative work is better done without fetters and worship like that. He wants fresh faces who don't worship the medium, who see it as a job to prevent workplace argument.
I can understand WHY he says this, it's practical and it allows the maker of the thing to have full creative control. Nintendo might have some bland games that appeal to casuals, but this is the sort of shit that invites people into the medium as a whole in the first place.
Also you need loads of shit to make games, you need artists, legit programmers, etc, and on a team level you need people who are passionate about these things and are skilled likewise in order to mesh it together into the final product.
Just don't reveal your powerlevel in an interview, people who don't are often people who can't really function in a team.
Shigiru's a senile motherfucker but I have a feeling that (((WEINBURGER))) aka the journo specifically worded some pretty neutral shit to specifically alienate you from a dude who's been in the biz for decades in a successful company that's been around for near 130 odd years. Hate the journolist, not who he interviews, because he's the one giving you the information. We live in an age where shooting the messenger is the most sane thing you can do. The media has become absurd, so take things with a grain of salt and a mote of skepticism.
Remember, these people seek to control everyone through the manipulation of information, everyone's gone over this. Don't be reactionary and think with intelligence.