Though I agree that they aren't the most original, I think their point is that they're supposed to be in-jokes - if you don't play the game/know the reference, you're not going to get it. For example, I have a bag with the little forest spirit critters (the name escapes me at the moment) from Princess Mononoke on it. It's such a bonding moment when people recognize what it is and if they don't know, sometimes they get curious enough to ask me about it. I suspect they're trying to do the same thing here, create a little gamer solidarity and maybe get people curious (though that seems like an afterthought).