I'm not exactly sure if this was directed at me, or the competitive players in general.
If it was directed me then I take offense.
It was directed at your post and the general attitude that I oppose, as well as an attempt to clarify that my argument was not what you debased it to.
You are the one coming to this forum which has been for years the center of competitive smash and pretty much insult us for the way we enjoy to play the game. You say what we do doesn't amount to much and that it isn't like a sport. Who cares? Why does baseball amount to much while what we enjoy doesn't?
I have no opposition to competitive players who want to play competitively. I have opposition to competitive players who take a stance of arrogance and entitlement without realizing they make up a very small part of the concerns of both the fandom and developers. Your concerns are valid, but they're your concerns and self contained.
Let's look at Smash vs. Baseball. Smash = one tiny part of an entire industry, that albeit makes a lot of money. Baseball? Is both a fandom and an INDUSTRY all itself. I'd say there's a a HUGE degree of separation.
Come on now. A lot of the "oppression" you are feeling is merely the direct result of people getting tired of constantly defending the way we play to a bunch of ignorant people who for some reason want to tell us the right way to play. You guys weren't around when this site was not ransacked by immature posters who were bent on removing glitches from competitive play.
The "oppression" I'm feeling comes from an attitude born out of being in fandoms for years that are too caught up in narrow viewpoints and lack of concern for a broader scope or appeal to a broader audience. I've been here for a month or so. I could honestly care less about glitches, or tier wars, or whatever the hell you're assuming I'm talking about. If anything, you seem to be the one who seems affected by those past events. This isn't about defending the honor of all competitive players, it's lumping all of us into one big group that's easier for you to attack. Meanwhile, I've actually separated the general group from what I'm fed up with.
However, just because Sakurai is the designer doesn't mean he dictates what is a good way or what is a bad way to play.
While the issue is, at its core, a very subjective thing, I'd consider him more qualified to make a statement like that than anyone on this forum.
Go ahead and call us elitist and say what we do doesn't matter. However, this forum has grown to be what it is because of our community. This may not be really be important, but then what really makes anything important? As long as we the individuals of the community care then it will matter to us. We could care less about what you or what anyone else thinks.
All competitive players aren't elitist. But there are a significant number of people who are. And when dealing with fandom, whose "important" is the group of people most affected by the released product. It is not the "true fans", it is the general buying public and the people who put their talent for art, design, and creativity into something. For the former, you have to look at the whole constituency, and Smash Bros. constituency is much bigger than this forum, OR competitive players.
I would expect him to make a game that newcomers and old fans would enjoy. The last I checked we were the ones buying his game, and his obligations would be to the fans and not just his vision.
I would expect any creator to bring his vision and concern for the wider fanbase HAND IN HAND. And he made a decision accordingly, and by jove, it seems to have paid off in the end. He balanced what he thought people should get out of a game along with what the largest number of people really wanted to see: Not advanced techs, not a healthy metagame, but rather, Nintendo characters beating the **** out of each other.
You're part of his fanbase, yes, but as stated before? You're less than 1%.
IT IS JUST THAT! We didn't go around causing trouble to casual players. Before Brawl was announced very few of you knew that the competitive melee scene EXISTED! We didn't have people coming to the boards telling us how to play the game! Oh noes! The only time this happened is when the new influx of members came to the site and started getting upset that we didn't uphold their personal morals with a video game!
So what, this is vengeance? It's not about morals, either. It's about making an environment that's open and friendly for all involved. This isn't going to be a great place to hang out as long as this goes on. This is about creating a sensible, respectful fandom with a sense of priorities and fairness.
Who the heck is saying they are more deserving? We are simply saying that Sakurai should have catered to everyone, and that he shouldn't have slapped the competitive players in the face.
You HAVEN'T been slapped in the face because you haven't been wronged. Wronging a fanbase is when they shill things and actually impede development for the sake of making quick dollars. Wronging a fanbase occurs when people legitimately DON'T CARE. Having a design philosophy isn't a slap in the face.
It can be unfair in your eyes, it can be a bad business decision, and you can disagree with it on a fundamental level. But in the end, it's not something that personal.