companies have had the upper hand and have been able to do whatever they want without listening to their players

Interesting to see you say that... I'm not a big gamer, but one of the things that soured me some was the sensation that everything was just a giant marketing platform thinly disguised as "gaming."

Not sure if it's really the same thing you're hinting at here, but it would be nice to reach a state where the players at the top aren't just the ones who could afford the shiniest power-ups and tools, but also who earned them.

=^..^=