Judging the game too harsh

Are We judging the game too harshly?

I don't know. Though I get what your saying, and it certainly seems to have merit, I think they could have held on to more. Having more open worlds, less servers at launch, a GUI that could be altered, GTN and LFG functioning and a BF2 type space combat deal instead of the space on rails thing they have could have gone a long way toward keeping some of those customers IMO.

Consumer habits, patterns, and tastes change over time. It's not about quality, it's about product taste and consumption. It was true with LP records, cassette tapes, in the pre-digital era and now even CDs in the digital era of the vast music industry, as it is true for virtually every consumable entertainment item in the world. It is no different with MMOs, other then MMOs being more closely aligned to the digital age in general which is heavily consumed and discarded in almost all categories of products.

You give far too much faith to that opinion of yours. Video games have not been replaced by something else, like LPs and cassette tapes were. Gaming is growing, not shrinking.

Opinion presented as fact, it's a dangerous old thing!

Everyone's a arm chair market analysis these days.

Accurate assessment in the context of the IP. The IP has a core fan base, and coupled with an MMO fan base it does have a sizable stable core representing the blend of the two. Adding in a dual access model will draw in more from the core fan base that otherwise is uninterested in MMOs, and it will bring back some of the MMO base that is uninterested in paying a subscription for an MMO (any MMO).

The heavy attrition of subscriptions after launch (which by way follows a very normal attrition curve for MMOs these days) represents the nomadic game hopping segment of the player base that only wants their particular perfect embodiment (in their mind) of what an MMO is. They can't find that perfect emobidment because it exists only inside their mind, so they continue in their never ending quest by hopping from MMO to MMO in search of the holy grail. People don't like to hear it and some will staunchly deny it, but it is supported by hard data from the MMO population tracking services on the internet.

EVE tells a different story. It is nowhere near the expected "AAA" numbers, but it does keep and grow its audience. Eve is around for a looooong time.

WOW tells the same story, only for the other end of the spectrum.

Anything else is a collection of various degrees of poor merchandise.

Yes it is, and Andryah is the first to point that out when he disagrees with someone, yet never hesitates to use it when it suits his needs. Opinions are not facts.

Not faith, and not opinion TUXs.

Actually, according to MMO data (which is among the most persistent and accurate tracker of MMO population activties for years now), the MMO player base is declining year over year. It is down about 10-15% now from it's peak in 2010. One of the reasons is that the more casual segments of the player base are moving on to game playing on their mobile smart phones. So, PC gaming (which includes MMOs) is becoming obsolete and being replaced by some consumers with mobile gaming options.