This really isn't the case. First, we all care. That can't be said enough. As far as the design choice goes, I know there are many of you unhappy with it. There's also a very large part of the community the does like it. This franchise is 30 years old at this point. We can't just release the same looking game every year. That's something we regularly see comments on. That it's copied and pasted, looks like NHL 15, etc. Which, doesn't make sense since the complaints actually stem from the changes that were made.
We're not trying to upset the long term buyers. I'm one of them. I've been playing this game since the 90s myself. My hockey video game playing goes back before that. I'm not a fan of the design choices as well, but they don't take away from the game for me. I don't mind that we have them because my focus is on the actual gameplay. That's what matters most. Presentation is at the bottom of my list. The reason I'm saying this is to help drive the point home that we have a very diverse playerbase. Many want a game that represents what they see on TV while many others like the current design. Every single game I play in WoC has people using the intro animations and over the top cellys. If they truly were despised by everyone, I don't think we'd be seeing them get so much use.
If we only made a game that satisfied the hardcore crowd, you wouldn't see the changes that we have year to year as we have to also try to meet the needs of the newer generation of players. Hockey is a niche sport. Limiting ourselves to only the hardcore sim community that demands the game look authentic to a TV broadcast would most likely mean less changes each year.
