Do you think game developers like Blizzard do enough to gather feedback from their subscribers?

MMORPG.com has posted a in-depth and thought-provoking editiorial as to how MMORPG developers (such as Blizzard) could truly ensure they are getting the best possible feedback on their games from the widest cross-section of their playerbase.

advertisement Forums are a good place to start when looking at a new game. They can give you a feel for the game, for the community and for how the two sync. You can find out about how long developers take to fix bugs in the game and how stable updates are. They really are invaluable to potential customers, but, just how invaluable are they to the people making the games.
Ok, they are a great source of feedback, but just how much of this feedback is constructive? Posts such as "This game sux, cya", which can be found on many forums, no matter how good the game, obviously don't help anyone as they usually don't say why the game ‘sux'. This kind of feedback is irrelevant and I am sure is ignored by most.

On the other hand some of this feedback can be useful to the developers such as when bugs and exploits are unearthed and discussed and when game mechanics that are not working as they are meant to are highlighted.

Read the rest by following the link. It certainly provides plenty of food for thought and is well worth a look!