See, that's the problem. Accessibility and mainstream appeal are business considerations. Let's say that all PC games suddenly become easy to get into, don't require the latest hardware, drivers, etc, and so forth. The PC gaming industry suddenly booms and we start seeing a lot more games coming out. This would be a pyrrhic victory. What's the point of having a booming PC games industry if all the games are dumbed-down, shallow and generic? Publishers might rejoice but the enthusiast, dedicated PC gaming community (the ones who truly have a passion for gaming) gets screwed.

Nobody taught me about DOS syntax or the difference between a 286 and a 386 (mainly the inability to play Doom). I had to teach myself. Part of the fun of gaming is learning how to play. When I first played Tribes, I got completely molested. But that was okay. I dedicated myself to learning how to ski, how to lead my aim to compensate for lag, target velocity, my own speed and trajectory. After countless hours of hard (but fun) work, I was finally able to enjoy the game to its fullest extent, gliding over mountains and hills with grace while shooting enemies out of the air with a well-placed disc.

Fast-forward to Tribes: Vengeance, the game that had the potential to surpass the first and turn the series into a long-running franchise. Vivendi and Irrational decide to take away the whole learning experience by oversimplifying the game. Health kits turned into powerups, skiing was taken literally, invisible walls were put into place so that newbs wouldn't get lost... this was the final nail in the coffin. In order to appeal to a broader audience and make the game more accessible, Vivendi and Irrational completely abandoned the original Tribes community.

So yeah, you'll have to forgive me if I take issue with mainstream appeal.