The trouble is the kind of MMO model he is now emulating in full force. This is part of the rat race treadmill condition people are now very familiar with: a lot more familiar with than people were back in the early 2000s when MMOs were still rising in popularity. Basically the trick is to make some kind of content that can only be cleared through and seen by a small percentage of people. Those people effectively advertise the place by wearing the higher level gear and make others want to do it, followed by those other people trying the content. Eventually this pattern goes to the lowest common denominator and leaves the least capable and the late comers bashing their heads on content they can't clear because the ones who have cleared it are now just farming and want nothing to do with the other people trying to learn the content still.
The fact is they don't need to remove lock outs as much as just make an easier version of the content that players can go through first. Then everyone gets to see all the different bosses + cutscenes and can go and do the harder versions in whatever order they want.
