>I'm wondering if you've only Nintendo gamed and are just unaware.
That is unnecessarily patronizing. Just because someone does not agree with your opinions does not mean they are ignorant.
And just to take the example I'm most familiar with from your list, sure you occasionally run across a side-quest in Skyrim, but most of the time the world is just populated with the same small set of spawning NPCs who exist to add the 12 or so big quests to your journal.
That is unnecessarily patronizing. Just because someone does not agree with your opinions does not mean they are ignorant.
And just to take the example I'm most familiar with from your list, sure you occasionally run across a side-quest in Skyrim, but most of the time the world is just populated with the same small set of spawning NPCs who exist to add the 12 or so big quests to your journal.