The customers are right sometimes, Just look at the news. You think a company can live with that reality "just live with it" if it's bleeding customers? If people aren't happy you don't see a profitable future no matter how much you invest. The customers playing on FFXI right now are mostly hard core and will stick it out till the end no matter what development choices are made.
Overall, if you have a low satisfaction rate for your business model it doesn't expand. Just look at world of Warcraft I don't even own an account but when I called them up over emails I was getting the support staff treated me like gold. It's things like this that make people think about services. I think I explained why a lot of PS2 users where forced to move to PC/360 or quit. There are many factors. In my case it was because the client failed to function or get fixed in the first place.
There is a defined pattern since the pre-launch of FFI (The one on NES). If you know your
history you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. The name itself means more then most people realize. I could go on about details. It's just good history when you learn something new.
It always takes a major decline to cause restructure in some business models bringing out the best creativity. Obviously, the markets are hurting everywhere but that's no reason to just tell people give up. After all sometimes It's best just to avoid commenting about something that doesn't affect you if you really don't care or understand it.
With the callous attitude "Just deal with it" and you'll always encounter devastating repeats of the past. It's not like all customers can be thrown away without repercussions. People lose jobs if companies make mistakes. If you upset your loyal customers or stockholders they eventually invest their money elsewhere. You might not be fully aware so I'll point you to check the financial news come this 31st.
If you still feel froggy you can sing that frog song after the big announcement. Until then be leery of people who say "JUST DEAL WITH IT". After all you might find yourself falling on your rear beside them out in the cold harsh reality. If it's not obvious all things have a cause and effect that may have created a chain reaction further down the road. When those bad things happen
something caused them.
The PS2 being dropped US is to save money. I can understand why the PS2 community didn't grow but the PS3 never got a chance to replace the PS2 version. As a result this game as a whole lost the chance at gaining some new players.
Want some details about why customers matter? While other rivals continue to grow in popularity the egregious reaction towards the Final Fantasy brand grows equally. What does this mean? You figure it out. I don't think I need to explain things. "Not trying to sound like a douche that's just how it is."