It's common internet wisdom that obtuse secrets in games are a ploy to increase strategy guide sales. While this is certainly plausible, I'm curious to hear from anyone with firsthand knowledge of this. For example SE staff have always maintained that the secrets are there to encourage players to talk among themselves, compare experiences, etc. I remember being a kid back in the days of SMB1 when rumors about stuff like the Warp Zones etc. spread by word of mouth on the playground etc. and created a certain mystique about the game. Of course strategy guide sales may well be a motivation too, but at least in Japan the official SE Ultimania guides aren't released until 2-3 months after the games, in order to give players time to find things for themselves, so I'm not sure it's the primary motivation.
