What is wrong with focusing on a core community? Why do we feel every game needs to be for everyone? Why can we not have games with very specific targets instead of games with no real focus?
From a game design perspective, focusing on a core community can lead to stagnation. Where you rehash everything the same way because "That's what the playerbase wants"
A prime example of this would be my feelings towards ARPG's. A genre that has forever stagnated but gets lauded by hardcore fans of the genre BECAUSE it refuses to evolve (So it's forever braindead 1 button mashing infinite lifesteal loot fiesta)
While I'd personally like to see the genre move towards things like twinstick controls (Allowing more mobility and also helping me not get RSI because LMB does literally everything from moving to looting to targeting to attacking...), with more focus on smaller amounts of enemies but that actually present a threat so you have engaging combat (Especially if builds and itemization didn't just pump up a single skill to being godlike so everything else is useless in comparison) throughout the game and no stupid lifesteal bullcrap where your defense is "Stand there facetanking everything because you pump out so much damage than 0.3% lifesteal from a skill/item lets you heal up 4000% of your total HP per 0.1s"
But instead, we just get copy/paste the same tired systems, because "Core community"
From a business perspective... Well this one is obvious. Game for everyone = Everyone gives money to play it. Game for niche community = Only niche community gives money to play it.
Eh, I'd say it's pretty inaccurate. Skyrim sure, Witcher 3 and Elden Ring, no so much.
They both have branching paths/choices and endings and frankly, more interesting than BG3's choices being good vs dumb bad. They also have more endings than BG3 had on release too.
And while not as mechannically complex, they both require as much, if not more, thought put into a build or fighting a boss.
I dunno about that... Sure, they have more endings than BG3 and W3 had more choices. But to be fair, ER had most of its endings being the same one just you have a different colour filter over the camera as you sit on the throne. It's only the Age of the Stars and Lord of Frenzied Flame endings that did something different.
As for thought into builds and fighting bosses? Ehh... Builds are pretty simple. Stack damage stats. (ER get some Vit and End to your comfort level). Boss fights... Hit boss. Dodge boss attacks. Rinse and repeat. Hardly more complex than BG3's boss beatdowns.
The only notable aspect about W3/ER combat was since it was real time, player reactions are put to the test while in BG3 it's simply a test of rolling a D20 (Or often in my case, a D1...)
In general, games don't really do much in terms of boss complexity. It's mostly just the same old variations of "Avoid bad stuff, hit bad guy" across all genres. From the top of my head, the only game with notable boss battles is Shadow of the Colossus. Since the entire game is literally about creative boss battles where you mix puzzle and platforming elements together to get to the giant monster weakspots and stab them.
