That mirrors the development in tabletop RPGs. While nobody's trying checkpoints there, the attitude towards getting killed by sheer game master fiat or happenstance changed a lot. When the mechanical complexity was lower and players often didn't have elaborate back stories, starting from scratch, even with a new level 1 character, didn't seem that disturbing.

So today you see all kinds of mechanics helping player agency (like "fate" points that serve as extra lives), wanton PC murder like Gygax' Tomb of Horrors mostly sells to nostalgic players these days.