If he had said something like "I have not found any Japanese games (recently) which appeals to me," it'd be a non-issue opposed to his "Japanese games are shit" statement. When given the opportunity to clear the air, he chose a path of non-tact which almost sounds like 'I don't hate [ethnic group], I just hate it when they do that thing, you know, breathing, it would be great if they'd stopped doing that' (I'm exaggerating and embellishing =P), but the point is he chose to push the issue further. He's free to his opinion, which I am free to disagree and can respect his perspective.
Phil Fish wins a second award from the same organization for the same category in different years (that's a fault of the IGF organization; I mean sure
Street Fighter 2 was probably the GotY multiple years in its day, but some would just disqualify SF2 to give notice to another title), in reaction to winning a 2nd IGF award Phil Fish told everyone to "suck [his] dick," you know that just exudes class. Instead of giving some modest thanks or humble pride, he continued to just be abrasive with English.
Fish deflects blame to Microsoft for forcing his hand to not further update his game due to their prices for patches, terms he agreed to when publishing on the Xbox format. That makes him hypocritical when he spewed venom on PC users, to later stating how publishing on the PC may have been a better option. If only he had said something like, I don't know, "I initially chose to publish on the Xbox format because I think it protects my interests with this game best," see, the power of English can ease the edge easily. Him saying "gamers are the worst

ing people," great way to endear oneself to the market purchasing the product.
I bring those examples up because I can imagine the amazement of a game named after a misdemeanor/felony could benefit in some way from controversy for pure marketing reasons. I mean, every time
Fez is brought up on this thread, there's always some typing, hell, I further it right now ^^. I see the game's creator as a great marketer, got the word out for others to know. Basically, I'm amused by Phil Fish's poor use of English, it's akin to that of a pro wrestler. When he says "I must be in Quahog, 'cause all I see are hicks," the proper response many take is to punch the nearest kid and go "you take that back Macho Man Randy Savage!"