>>42052478That's a part of it, but there is more.
I hate to say this, because >muh sekrit club, but the truth is that two things happened in the last 10-12 years. One, that nerd "culture" became trendy (thank you, The Big Bang Theory), and two, a consequence of the previous one, that never "growing up" became acceptable. This last one isn't that big of a deal (I don't think interests and hobbies become invalid after a certain age), but it does add to it.
Nowadays, a big part of the general public is very into light science fiction (superhero movies, star wars, doctor who, etc), light anime (attack on titan), and videogames, including light rpgs such as pokemon (especially after pokemon Go). There's a The Witcher series on Netflix now, even.
Liking those things is now socially acceptable.
There's also that one happening which consequences still linger to this day: gamergate. Basically the event that defined gamers as nazis, racists, sexists, etc.
So there is a problem. The Big Bang Theory tells you videogames are ok, but gamers are terrible people!
Well, it isn't so much of a problem, really. You're not like *those* disgusting, hardcore gamers. You're a more chill person. A nicer person.
So naturally, when you see someone so invested in a franchise such as pokemon, to the point they relentlessly complain about how the games are going to shit... they must be one of those evil gamers! Oh no! You can't possibly listen to what they are saying, because that would be siding with terrible people.
In your black and white world, that's not an option. It doesn't matter if the games are flawed or if the complaints are reasonable. They come from the enemy. Yet, at the same time, you *want* to be part of the trend, because The Big Bang Theory told you it was cool.
So what do you do? You defend gamefreak and TPCi. You buy the games so you can be relieved you are on the "nice guy" side.
Now add that identity thing and you get the current situation.
