I didn't mean to sound negative towards brand loyalty. I dunno how you can go through life and not acquire any of that - I mean look at all the movie sequels (for all ages) for just one miniscule example.
If a company comes out with something I like and then later they come out with something else and tell me I'm gonna like it I will probably try the thing they are pushing if it looks interesting to me because they already made me happy once and I want to especially support people that make me/the world happy. If you hug me and I like it and then tell me I will like a kiss even more, I'll probly try that too. All brand loyalty.
I saw the racist police earlier, where are the ageist police! You don't have to be old to have common sense : p ... : D A certain amount of brand loyalty seems natural.
I totally understand how people can become a part of a gaming community to the point that that is as or even more important than the game itself. That's a whole other thing. These days I personally game more for the game itself, to have something to unwind/escape with, and when I meet nice people, that's definitely a bonus. This attitude may very well change again over the years (should I not DIE OFF too soon... *ahem*) hehe. I personally think it's all in what you're looking for at the time.
And yeah, there has never been a good time to be a gamer with poor Internet access and this period does have it's uniqueness. I'll be glad to have real Internet again someday and I hope they fix this mega ping bs in CO soooon. Hopefully before I .. you know.. DIE OFF and all.. hehe