Very interesting points, only thing is that once you start in a niche, even if its a growing one, its very hard not only to keep that niche happy but also to grow it. Sometimes you can only grow within it, potentially limiting your ultimate franchise potential.

Apple had huge leverage when they did this (the ipad was the only tablet computer on the market) and a strong argument (battery life). Microsoft as neither and competing browsers with flash support are 1 click away. Not sure its smart.

Oh I do remember this: "Fifteen years ago, a LAN party needed everyone to bring a PC and set up miles of network cable in someone’s living room" it cost me a few girlfriends. More seriously, it still does fill quite niche even if equipment barriers are lower, it just either isn't a casual experience enough to be mass market or its so casual (wii) its a one time party trick. Still interesting field to explore.

The problem with game worlds that reset is that you risk loosing a very large portion of your players each time you reset. So although harder to design and maintain, persistent game worlds are usually more engaging and create more value both for the players and the game world developer.