Tameem never said Dante wasn't cool. He said that the original series based a lot of it's style and presentation on things in popular culture- in movies, anime, etc... That a lot of the things that were new and cool then aren't now. That's true. He made no direct reference to anything specific about the character himself, just the style and presentation of the game as a whole.
Fact is, he's right. When the Matrix came out, it was freaking cool, now, that crap is stale. Sure it's still o.k. in the original Matrix films, but if another one was made now, it'd need to be updated to today's standards. Same goes for music, Elvis as a throwback in the outfits he wore, fine, but if he were still alive do you think he'd be dressed like that in music videos of onstage?