I think its funny when he mentions how sports games are similar to RPGs. Ive stated this opinion before and got flamed back into my "Troll Cave".
Its at the end of one of the interviews, I think the 3rd one. He basically says he likes Sports games, and he has 30 characters that have stats, who progress etc. Then compares the two. I think he was talking about NCAA Football.
Okay, now I get what you mean, and you're right, there are rpg mechanics in games otherwise not known as rpgs. He also touched on the way you can progress in multiplayer CoD with xp, ranks, and perks, customization. Which is funny because most people use CoD as an example of a shallow shooter.