Quote Originally Posted by Ibi View Post
That would fall squarely into the category of anecdotal comments that I mentioned, rather than actual evidence.

Besides which I've been a part of that group at various times, both in XIV and other games, and I think that at best it's an unproven premise that you absolutely need to have ridiculously difficult content that only the upper echelon of players will even see in order for an MMO to be successful.
You shouldn't take what I say as a fact. It is my opinion on how I believe proper structure works in MMO's. It ultimately lies on the developers to create quality in terms of all three branches of players. I am not going to throw documents and statistics around, or make you believe what I say is absolute. I will argue however based on personal experience being on all three levels of players in the many years I have played MMO's. When one branch suffers in quality/quantity, the other will be affected also.

As for my common sense quote you like to throw around. Yes, I do believe adding challenge to video games (the thing it sets itself upon on since it's conception), is a common sense practice in the industry.