I appreciate the reasoned response. Maybe by the end of the game the pay items don’t feel limited, but they did in the first 20 hours I played before returning it.
If I was disappointed solely at the sales compared to my dislike then you’re right to think its nonsense. What I’m disappointed in is a business I have loyally and regularly purchased from for over 30 years compromising their product and making it worse to try and fleece more money. I also worry deeply that the game selling well despite the flak means every major developer will find their own way to follow suit and refine the tactic until it becomes the norm.