As an indie developer you really shouldn't try to make that the focus of your game, the game should foremost be fun to play, just compare eskil's LOVE to minecraft, both similar, but look at which one is the seller.
I agree to some extent. One thing I thought about game art is that maybe it has evolved to be more "readable", and this conflicts with it's aesthetic qualities. I actually think the art in Minecraft is a lot better than in LOVE though.