There's an element to PS2's "simplification" that isn't about attracting casuals

[WorldOfForms]

I was thinking about the fewer vehicles and fewer continents, and having recently entered game development myself, it hit me: it's because the game is free to play.

Even aside from PS1's subscription, the game itself cost $50. What this meant was that the development cost of all those features at launch got immediately recouped with the initial purchase. Then there was the guaranteed revenue of subscriptions.

If PS2 tried to have ten continents and all those vehicles, the initial cost would be too risky for a game that generates zero revenue from the outset.

Also, because of the F2P model, the devs MUST provide lots of customization options, which takes dev time that could have been spent on those continents and vehicles we want so much. So it's also a shifting of dev resources.

Finally, they need more space to grow than PS1, content-wise. PS1 could sprinkle in new features just enough to keep people subbed, but PS2 will need to keep a steady stream of new stuff for people to buy. By starting with a small set of features, that gives the devs room to learn from the players: what are people buying, what classes/vehicle/continents do they play with the most? Then they can use that data to determine how to add new features.

Bottom line: PS2 may seem simple right now, but if the model works, it's possible the game will become much more complex than PS1, given some time.