It's not casuals that ruin things, it's developers developing for them. There's absolutely no need for it, and it's just harmful to the game.
This post from the other Smash topic sums it up
From: foolmor0n | Posted: 7/2/2012 11:21:08 PM | #124Cater to high-skill players:
High-skill players are happy
Low-skill players don't care because they are low-skill
Cater to low-skill players:
High-skill players aren't happy
Low-skill players don't care because they are low-skill
There's nothing wrong with being a casual player, it's just that developers shouldn't hinder high-level gameplay for them, because they simply don't care about the in-depth mechanics.
casual and low skill shouldn't be confused, you can be competitive minded and low skill, and THOSE people are the ones that got hurt the most I'd argue. just going to c/p a recent conversation I had that illustrates this
(6:53:46 PM) me: yeah, the melee scene in new england is about the same as the brawl now, recent tournaments for both games tend to draw like 10 entrants rofl
(6:54:26 PM) me: idk if that's typical but here at least, brawl basically just lost all of it's randoms, the power ranked and borderline players kept playing and basically everyone else quit
(6:55:22 PM) [name removed]: I feel like the metaknight thing was gonna hurt the scene either way
(6:55:40 PM) [name removed]: You either remove one of the most played characters in the game
(6:56:05 PM) [name removed]: Or keep him in and all the anti MK guys stay pissed off and uninterested
(6:56:22 PM) me: I think MK also subdued other elements of the game that can be equally annoying, brawl is just really flawed and removing one character can't fix it
(6:56:36 PM) [name removed]: For the record, he hasn't been released in project m yet
(6:56:51 PM) [name removed]: I agree with that
(6:57:03 PM) [name removed]: Game all around is just full of stupid ****
(6:57:39 PM) [name removed]: if not from a competitive standpoint, then from an entertainment standpoint
(6:58:41 PM) me: that's probably it's biggest problem, like I said, the high level players can keep plugging along and get something out of it, but for the randoms who get knocked out early and are then stuck watching? you're left watching something that typically isn't very...watchable, if you aren't good enough to go deep into tournaments, there's less and less of a point in even going
(6:59:52 PM) [name removed]: I remember the only brawl matches I used to enjoy after awhile were M2K vs Ally
(6:59:58 PM) me: there are a few exceptions at least, I LOVE watching nairo, but it's not a playstyle that works for many people
(7:00:02 PM) [name removed]: And then even that became boring as **** as time went on
now the real casuals that really don't get into the game at all? yeah, don't care at all, but the lack of thoughtful game design hurt the semi competitive players more than the really competitive players even, if you aren't really really amazing at the game you don't get much out of it