On GAF, I think it's mainly because the graphics, story, and character development look so good so people are willing to look the other way and make every excuse in the book as to why they should be in the game.
I don't think it is getting a pass on the show floor. The reliance on QTEs was a heavily asked question in the behind the scenes demo. At first, Insomniac didn't know how to respond and they didn't even know if there were fail states in the QTEs. They are still working it out.
However, because the question was asked so much, they became well rehearsed and began saying that it is not reflective of the whole game. They understand that people are "very concerned." They were on the defensive. See this discussion on
QTE discussion of Spiderman on the GI Show.
It's hard to take a vertical slice of your game and show people what to expect of the whole game. Most of the time for E3, you want to take the best part of your game and show it off. You wouldn't show off the worst part. Spiderman videogame fans wanted to see the open world, not a scene filled with over 20 scripted QTEs. Of course, maybe Insomniac decided to cut this video for casual gamers who are fans of the comic books and movies to show off the amazing visuals and cool camera angles. We can only hope this is the case.
In the end, I hope something will come out of this discussion and make the game the best Spiderman game, because if anybody can do it, it is Insomniac.