The topic is bloatware, not games. Very different. When it comes to gaming, the hardware costs are a given (for the sake of innovation, as you put it); but when it comes to something fundamental to your computer—think of the window manager or even the operating system itself—bloat is like poison in the hardware’s veins. It is not innovation. It is simply a waste of precious resources.
I suppose ray-tracing is rather suggestive of games, you’re right. Well, I’ll take it as an accident by the author and rest easy. Thanks for the correction!