You did not understand. There was a reason why I did not mention racing games, but Diablo. In Diablo just like in Minecraft you have to do some work (I called it click, click) to destroy something (you dont do that in racing games). While you do that you explore the environment (you do that to some degree in a racing game too). And then you collect loot (you dont do that in racing games). Later you do some crafting (creating new weapons, tools, armor, maybe even buildings). You dont do that in racing games.
Besides that I mentioned open space games that allow to build buildings, factories and more. The game mechanics are very similar no matter what goal you finally have.

And I have read similar thoughts from game journalists as well. I think last time someone mentioned a similar comparison in the "Spieleveteranen Podcast" as well. So maybe this idea is not as dumb as you think.