I dunno. You could argue the same about the works of Shakespeare, Citizen Kane, The Big Lebowski, and on. Really, you could say that anything great is a time drain. (I'm about to start watching all of The Wire, which is a hundred-some hours long. But from what I've heard, it'll be worth it.)
I'd have preferred something great, and then decided not to play it if I wanted to spend my time more wisely. There's no excuse for what Spore became.
You absolutely can say those things about The Big Lebowski, The Watchmen, The Wire. It's not a slippery slope. If you're good at building stuff, you enjoy doing it, and it's sane to be scared of competing enjoyments --- especially when, like a game, they suck hours away at a time.
Yeah, but... I don't think it's good to say "It's a good thing it sucked, look at how much time we saved." That leads to people thinking it's good to suck.
I'm just saying, it's a silver lining. If someone comes out with some new totally hyped up MMORPG, I am going to be relieved if it sucks and terrified if it is the greatest thing since Trade Wars. I lost friends to EverQuest.