If a small developer manages to pull that off, the industry deserves higher expectations. But to answer your question, no. No Man's Sky is very unlikely to set a bigger trend.

From what we know, No Man's Sky has very little story, if at all (It has Lore I think but that's about it). So a narratively impressive game would still appeal more to many than just a free roaming exploration game that utilises a procedurally generated content.

Well that probably won't be the reason that it hurts the industry. This game has unwarranted hype simply because it's on PS4! The reviews are probably going to be extremely polarizing or just plain mediocre like The Order 1886 was...

No. Every game doesnt have to be the same.

The size of no mans sky is disproportionate. Most of its areas will go unseen and unused by players. What is the point of that in the grand scheme? None. So, theres no reason for other companies to do the same.

It's an interesting game, but it won't hold your interest forever. I'm sure it will fall short in some areas.

With that said... its probably the closest thing to my vision of the perfect game so far. But, in entertainment value it probably doesn't beat a 2D fighter for example.

NMS is a very niche game without lasting appeal. It will have its cult following but that's about it.

Big? Yes. But that kind of procedural generation doesn't lend itself well to most genres. It's fine for this game but only for a specific goal, like in this case having a lot of different planets. I can see them doing a lot more procedural generated games after this but I doubt any of them will become so major as to affect the industry at all.

Immersive? I strongly disagree. The kind of generation this game uses is basically the complete opposite of immersion since it does not offer world consistency. You fly to a planet, kill everything that moves and gather all resources. Then you fly out of the atmosphere and come back and everything is back to normal as if you were never there. The extreme closeness of planets and stars will also put off many scify fans.

It's a great game for people like me who like exploration. But for my taste it goes to far. Exploration in video games is great because there is a finite number of things to explore and you will be rewarded for it. It's nice to discover things that have been placed there for you to find it. It has a purpose and a reward. In NMS there is no feeling of reward because no one meant to reward you. It's just put there and doesn't care if you find it or not. Why would I want to discover something that has no purpose and is just one of a million very similar things.
Imagine a an Easter egg hunt on an egg farm with millions of eggs strewn on the floor in front of you. Kinda defeats the purpose of exploring and finding eggs.

So no, NMS will not set the gaming world on fire. But it will deliver a good amount of hours of fun to a certain type of gamer and even more to some dedicated folks.

I'm perfectly aware that some of the industry believes that. But going down that road is to put a rope around their necks. Fatigue will settle.

It actually already has in terms of open worlds. Its a very good thing that AC is taking a year off. Not only for AC but for the industry.

That's a big "if".

Wow. Yeah. EVERY DEVELOPER is suddenly going to have to make a game just as big. You're exaggerating a bit. We don't even know how successful the game will be...

No, of course, it wouldn't hurt the industry. If a game manages to set a new bar for other games, it should be honored for it. Some might like to downplay NMS or act like it will change everything. It's not out yet. No one knows what it will do. It could very well be well received but it might not bring any kind of change. People like to count their chickens before they hatch.

Minecraft still devours tons of hours every day and yet the industry is fine. I don't think any game will hurt the industry by being great or ambitious.