Blizzard out of touch

I can assure you, no one is "just phoning it in." There's a saying, "familiarity breeds contempt" and all that means is you can become so used to something that you no longer feel the same about it you once did. It's only natural to lose a bit of that "first love" feeling but hopefully, (going with the relationship theme) it becomes something more, and comfortable, and dependable for you instead.

If not, that's OK too. No one is saying you must feel the same forever and ever. Perhaps it's not that we have changed but you and your expectations have changed. Does that mean that we would give up on winning you over? Of course not, but we can't force you to change your mind. We can only keep doing our best.

Now that I've said that much (and sans coffee no less), I'd like to employ a bit of guidance on how people should carry out this conversation.

First off, we're fine if you want to discuss the work and how you feel about it. Just please refrain from making it "personal". Meaning, comments as to whether employees are "lazy" or "B team" are insulting and not constructive to these types of threads. Also please refrain from tinfoil hat theories. Again, these just aren't productive and constructive.

Second off, please refrain from harassing/defamatory language towards others sharing their thoughts also. Again, talk about the game. What you like, what could be better, how you feel about it even. But please don't go into the dark corners of conversation.

Lastly, we don't mind constructive feedback. Even if it is something that others may deem "negative" we don't as a matter of course simply delete these just because we don't like that someone may not like something. We like hearing what people have to say. It's how we get better. We like hearing the good and the "bad" both. Just please remember to keep it constructive whichever way you lean.

I think your answer, and Blizzard's typical, shows just how out of touch you are. Basically what you're saying is that the players are the problem. "You've changed, not us, we're still the super awesome amazing company we've always been. Its you who sucks".

Sometimes Blizzard reminds me of News Corp when it comes to arrogance.

No, that's not what I'm saying. But it's true that perceptions change. We might be doing something that is consistent with ongoing design that someone begins to think of as not enough for them anymore. So, they have a choice at that point, walk away (sad face) or tell us what it is in a constructive way and we can take a look at it and figure out if it's one person, two people, fifty etc. Then we can work to see if we can change it, make it better etc. It's not arrogance. People do change. My own gaming expectations have changed over my *cough* years of gaming. What used to be "enough" for me isn't anymore. I've changed. Not those games or game companies. Now, the trick is, deciding on if the change is on a personal level or if it's a cultural shift that needs to be met with. This isn't an easy thing for any game company or design team.

I'd like to hope that the industry will continue to grow and adjust based on the needs of gamers, but that task gets more complicated as we gain more and more "gamers" of all ages, desires, needs, and wants.