BryonD
Hero
There was a lot going on.Oh please. They didn't turn their backs on their fans... they produced an evolution of 3.5 that codified all the miniatures use that many groups were using into a rules system that emphasized and highlighted much of what players were already doing. It turned out not to be the evolution a good percentage wanted, but WotC didn't design and produce it to deliberately thumb their nose at 3.5 players. And if people took 4E as a personal affront, that's on them.
The whole "fired" debacle was blow out of proportion. But the fanbase didn't help matters with the constant "H4ter" and "we don't need you" posts.
And then WotC posts a cartoon with a dragon crapping on a troll complaining on the internet. It isn't hard to call picking a side in the debate "turning your back" on the other side.
Was that meant as an attack? Of course not, it was meant as a joke.
Was it smart at that point in time? No.
Did they do ANYTHING to try to show that they wanted the "h4ter" talk to back down and that they recognized their mistakes in keeping a big portion of their fanbase happy? No.
The theme of "we will create 10 new fans for every one we lose" was common.
Mearls said that if you like world building 4e might not be the game for you. This is not the statement of someone taking pains to keep you happy. This is "don't let the door hit you"