That's the thing happening with these companies, changing things to be more consumer-unfriendly while riding on nostalgia or branding. Pointing it out doesn't make it an insult to those still enjoying the game.
It does feel like an insult. And it also feels like an insult to say those players are ignorant. I'm fully aware of what I'm buying every year, but it meets my expectations of such game.
> A majority of them do not overlap with gaming and tech communities online. [...] It's a large silent community that we don't often interact with.
Considering you, woutr_be, are indeed overlapping with this online tech community, aren't silent at all, and we're interacting with you right now,
why are you taking offense with a category of people you aren't part of?