My point only was that people were loud about all sorts of things and the number of other people that came in just to say, "they should be allowed to do whatever they want so shut up," is much less than the amount that come in to say such things for this topic across the many threads.
Also, I see Blizzard admitting their mistake having a lot to do with the community outcry and universal disapproval of it. If everyone just shut up and let them do whatever, I doubt they would come out so soon to say, "Sorry, that wasn't the best idea..."
So if you don't like something, be loud about it.
I think that to some people, there's a sort of fundamental difference in the way the game's 'systems' work as opposed to the art or character design.
Not to say that the latter isn't important (though it fluctuates on an individual basis, as do design system appreciation), but personally, I seem to see more people complaining about the way a game's systems fail to carry it rather than the characterization or the narrative as long as the underlying principles of the game can carry it through.
In other words, rarely have I stopped playing a game due to narrative design if the systems are fun, while the opposite is more often the case (save for something that I view as egregious, like Mass Effect 3's ending)
This perceived difference could certainly tie back to your point of people not being as 'loud' about the problems regarding characterization, especially that of females.
Though I do believe the level of awareness in such matters is increasing due to the large movements such as the Tropes series and #onereasonwhy in this regard, in addition to the increasing level of technology hopefully allowing for better communication of stories in this regard.
There is a difference between not liking an art style and bot liking stuff like DRM.
One is personal taste and one could be legit damaging to the game and industry.
Throughout like 20 threads, no one has explained how exactly a design can be harmful.
It comes down to taste.
To be fair, IMO, there's a difference in something like Dragon's Crown's Sorceress and say, a character such as Ivy from Soul Calibur, who's designed as a sword-whip fighter, yet is explicitly revealing without any sort of justification through the narrative (at least, that I know of).
If there's no justification/context for it, from a more 'inclusive' standpoint, is there really a good reason at that point to keep it that way? I mean, yes, businesses will look from a sales perspective, but as a consumer, your voice should still be heard if you want more options.
Of course, my example could still theoretically be perceived as personal taste, but at some point, it is worth fighting for your voice to be heard, especially with such a large consumer base that female gamers represent.
Criticism is good. Yes, "vote with your wallet," but also be loud about why you're not buying. So if people don't like Dragon's Crown art, they can be loud about it and let Vanillaware decide what they think about that criticism.
Exactly. I've seen the 'vote with your wallet' used as a shutting down point directed towards criticism of a feature, and that's such a limiting response (not saying it was explicitly used as such here). As a consumer, your ultimate response comes down to that, yes, but in voicing your issues with a product, you can let the developer know how, if they want your business, they can possibly take feedback into account.
Not saying that they have to listen to it, but the more feedback they get, the better product they can deliver to sell to more customers.