Iirc it wasn’t even Meier’s idea to put his name on the games. He was a well known figure in the simulation game genre so when his company was making Pirates! the other co-founder, Bill Stealey, had the idea of putting his name on the box because it was a big departure from their usual games. The idea worked and they just started using his name for every game.
Theyve been dumbing down systems since before Skyrim honestly, it’s been the consistent complaint ever since Morrowind came out.