One more log for the fire: even if they DON'T sell well, it's not like it's a brick and mortar store where it will go to a clearance bin. These things can not only stay there at no loss (only possible gains), but they can keep trying until they find something that does work.

I truly have to believe that like us, some of the devs are having their arms twisted on this. As poorly a job some of them might actually do, there just can't be a way that the same people who have put out such tremendously great stuff for us and then "eff it up" so bad like this. I imagine a board meeting where several devs raise their voices loudly and complain boisterously when this direction was announced, some of them saying that what is happening here would happen (which it did) and that it is just a horrible idea. Meanwhile, Johnny and Suzy Suitwearer are standing in front of the group with "statistics and graphs from actual studies" because those make the world go round, giving those employees the evil eye, wink, smile that indicates "this decision has ALREADY been made chums, we are not asking you, we are TELLING you to implement this" right down to the press release handed to Sapience indicating his "excuse" is that the players asked for this. "What players?" he asks. Another look from corporate that indicates they don't care. It's almost as if the line is a nod to us to say "yep, screw corporate...this whole thing is BS so here's a BS answer".

I could be wrong and all of Turbine could be the devil, but I just have more faith in human beings (I know, give me a few more years and I'll learn that lesson).

This is so, so wrong. The reasons, the excuses, the idea, the future...and NOTHING can be done. We have to stick together, though. Maybe we're Sam and Frodo with a piece of jewelry heading to a volcano...or maybe we're Aragorn and company leading a group to the Black Gates knowing that this could be it. We have no choice but to play smarter, buy less, and wait it out until a new set of suits stabs the old ones in the back for their jobs.