I think what we're seeing is that many fans of D&D feel either betrayed or dismayed by the rest of the D&D community.
I have a feeling that they think that all this turning of backs by the D&D community against WotC is pointless, because WotC gave up trying to change things, so why not let bygones be bygones? I think there's a further deep seated fear that if such a large portion of the fandom stops buying their products, then the following would happen:
- Less money for WotC to produce new content
- Less incentive for 3PP to create new product because D&D will be less of a market leader
- Less people to play with
For #1, I quite honestly don't care. They bit the hand that fed them, and the big wigs need to learn that actions have consequences. The trust has been broken, so they must atone for their behavior.
For #2, I feel for 3PP, but I think in the long run, this will benefit them too if OneD&D/5e/D&D/OGL is no longer the dominant platform in the TTRPG industry. As a post by Morrus indicated earlier, sales for non-D&D games by other companies have shot up substantially (good for them!!). I hope that trend continues. And I hope 3PP continue to make non-D&D games and supplements, or make them cross compatible with several systems (that's how it used to be in the good ole days).
For #3, I think in some ways, this is the biggest fear for those who are tired of the WotC bashers or at least want them to come "back to the fold". Me personally, I couldn't stomach playing in a group who only wanted to play D&D all the time. If that's your thing, more power to you...but I don't think they should bemoan losing some market (ie other players) to non-D&D. And personally, I'd recommend to those who have that fear to try some other games. I've analogized only playing D&D to always eating pizza before. Why not branch out and try some lasagna? Or Manicotti? Or heck, why not be really brave and eat some sushi, or Pad Thai (ie, something not fantasy or a D&D clone like Pathfinder, 13th Age, etc)?
I mean, I hate to tell people what they should or shouldn't like, but when I hear some people say "I love D&D, and that's all I will play thank you very much!", it really makes me wonder. Is there really a fear of trying something else? Is it because they feel like learning a new system is that much of a hassle? Do people
really love D&D that much (I truly find this hard to believe, afterall, are there really people who only watches
only sci-fi, or comedy, or drama, or cop shows, etc etc)?
While it hasn't gotten as bad yet as treating those who turn their backs on WotC as Apostates, I feel like if any of the 3 above do start happening, it's what it will become like.