I think the fact that we have like 5 of these threads on the front page at any given time (and that outside these forums, most of the discussion of this game is negative) speaks volumes about the shaky foundation FFXIV is sitting on.
Even if the people complaining ARE a minority (for the time being), they're typically the same people who paid for FFXI for nearly a decade. It's generally not a good idea to piss off your loyal customers who have proven to be a reliable source of income in favor of a fickle-minded mainstream crowd who generally jump from one flavor-of-the-month to the next.
What are SE going to be left with when those customers hop on the next shiny new MMO to come out (the same way they hop on the next shiny piece of gear and forget about the last one)? The older players who they've now lost the confidence of.
SE made the decision to try and grab 2 million subs for a year or two at best, instead of 3-500 thousand for a decade. Bad business move, but investors and stockholders are completely blind to long term sustainability and only want to see immediate gratification and returns, just like the customers they're pandering to.