>>39134522It's the loss of religion in society. Humans are predisposed to having religion. Something about believing in something and making it a key part of your personality is something our brains like to do. Unfortunately, religion is basically gone from modern society so people replace it with substitutes. Extreme consumerism and becoming a fan of an IP are a common substitute. We've all seen the Star Wars fans for whom any criticism of the new movies is met with screams of pain to your confusion. It's because criticizing them is akin to criticizing someone's religion. Imagine walking up to a Christian and screaming "GOD ISN'T REAL WHEN YOU DIE YOU'LL ROT IN THE GROUND." That's what criticism is to these people. When you say the new Pokemon games are bad, and they're bad because of the cut content, you're not criticizing something they like, you're attacking them personally. At the same time, this person is ashamed because he sees all Pokemon fans as people like himself, people for whom Pokemon is a key part of their personality.
