My hype for this game had nothing to do with TW3 since I didn't play it, and I'm neutral towards CDPR in general. I'm hyped because I like the setting and I had no opinions on what the game *should* be, and it looks pretty damn cool.
With Beth and Bio it's a different thing since in my opinion their games have been getting incrementally worse since Kotor and Morrowind respectively, and since I have a clear opinion on what I want those gamess to be I get more disappointed when that's not what they are.
Therefore I probably have a harder time accepting what's actually good in their games than I have in the case of CDPR.
I'm pretty sure this is what Dart was referring to (if you actually love CDPR the difference is probably even larger than for me), and I'm also pretty sure JDR can agree that for many on this forum this is the case.
And I don't think there's anything weird about it either.
I don't think there's just "one way" of thinking bad things about Bio and Beth (and others, but those would be the most prominently disliked around here - I think) - and while I certainly agree their games have changed since the old days, I just like to give games a chance to be whatever they want to be, without my personal preferences getting in the way.
That's not to say I don't HAVE personal preferences, because I certainly do. I just know with absolute certainty that there's no way games from Bioware or Bethesda will ever be everything I want them to be, because they have to cater to a very large audience - and I can't imagine the combination of selling many millions of copies and catering to my needs exactly could ever happen.
My tastes are a little too particular for that to be a realistic expectation, I'd say.
Maybe they're better or worse overall, it's hard to say - but I think almost all of the games have some great things that are potentially being overlooked due to preconditioned dislike. For me, Bioware peaked around KotOR (even though THAT was also streamlined and had things that I didn't like) - and I happen to think Bethsoft games have been getting better and better overall, even if I think Morrowind and Oblivion are sort of on par - for very different reasons. But even if they weren't so closely aligned with certain things that I love about games - I'd bet they still had things to appreciate about them.
CDPR is the same thing for me, though I tend to be more of a gameplay guy - where those games tend to focus more on the story. Well, at least so far.
But I hope it's evident that I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt with CP2077 - and I'd be more than happy if they've improved the gameplay aspect after Witcher 3.
But, yeah, what you're saying sounds reasonable - and is probably not a unique position.
With that said, I can't remember you saying particularly unreasonable things about either company. It's not like I catalogue all these things, I just take note of them when they're repeated often enough, by enough people.
For my part, I just think it's unfortunate if people are not experiencing good or even great games - because they expect them to be a certain thing, even if those expectations can be justified.¨
Personally, I'm very happy that I "pushed through" and completed both Witcher 1 and 3 - because I really liked the story in those games, even if I mostly disliked the gameplay - or simply didn't find them very entertaining as gameplay experiences.
So, ultimately, I think there should be room for all kinds of games and opinions - and I would always advocate a level head and a balanced point of view, even if it goes against an emotional position based on something way back in the past.