Talk:Boycott/@comment-5738001-20130801215010/@comment-60.241.16.230-20130802110545

No one is attributing anything to any other thing. It's just the mechanics of the situation. It's simply human nature.

Put it this way. If you found yourself to be bad at something, whatever it may be (a sport or a video game), you would lose interest quickly. However if you found yourself to be pretty good at that thing, you will tend to devote time and effort to that thing because of the pleasure you gain from the sense of achievement.

Free players is like the space that fills the void. With their presence, even the lowest spender can say "I'm stronger than 90% of all players" since most players are free. In their absence, he will be forced to say "I'm the bottom 5% of all players". The difference to that player's ego is huge. It will make or break that player's sense of achievement which is a major factor keeping him in the game.

Free players effectively give the lowest spenders the illusion they are good at this game. Free players + the lowest spenders effectively give the next lowest tier of spenders the illusion they are good at this game. And so on. When players lose the feeling that they are good at this game, they will quickly lose interest and most likely will stop playing.