Acessibility is acessibility right
Somewhat related, i was recently going through the Pokémon games and that got me wondering why we never got a 8-leg spider mon until gen 9, does removing a set of legs really work for arachnophobia people? At least i think that's why they made them with fewer legs.
It might have been because it's easier to draw and animate. Like how cartoon humans sometimes have three fingers and a thumb.
Looks like they may have eight legs as a defense mechanism. Having less than eight can impair their web making skills. But they can lose a leg or two to a predator and still live a full and active spidey life: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/110603-spiders-spare-legs-webs-science-animals
The funny thing about this mode is that it runs counter to one of the treatments for arachnophobia: systematic desensitization. Most people with this phobia are unable to interact with live spiders without experiencing distress, so recent techniques involve using 3D models to slowly acclimate the person to the treatment before moving on to actual spiders.
Science paper on the subject.
Spiders are very misunderstood. Some are dangerous if they bite you. But for the most part they are our friends and get rid of other pests. If you end up with a lot of flies getting in during summer you may also notice an increase in spiders.