Minigames that can be avoided - like Pazaak in KotOR or almost all small games in GTA - are a diesease....thank God I don't have to play them, but wasting effort on creating and programming them makes me angry....but if most of the players want them, fine, I'll yield to the masses.
But minigames - like Dice Poker in The Witcher 2 - which you HAVE to play as part of the storyline, are a pest! Kill it with fire!