legendary_zell posted...
It's a holdover from old school exclusive "gaming as an identity and refuge" culture. Gaming as these gamers thought of it used to be a maligned but safe space where they could show their skill and devotion without interference from outsiders. But gaming got so popular that countless others joined and they feel they've been made a minority in their own land. That has bred resentment because the new people are being catered to despite not understanding "the rules", they don't exhibit the skillz, their interests and values are often different.
We see the same dynamic for anything that used to be a closed boys club for middle class, socially marginal nerds. PC Building, Anime, Tabletop Gaming, etc.
Hell, people are currently doing it with the MCU and Star Wars, franchises that have basically been "mainstream" since their inception.