I don't think you should blame the fans for everything. It's one thing to add a minor character, Alice, at the request of fans and give her a minor role in the plot, but it's another thing to completely change the plot and rules by taking the easy way out. I understand that there are people for whom this game is just porn with SAO characters and they don't care about corruption and what happens to the plot there. But there are players who like this game for its design, slow corruption, and character and plot development with lots of intriguing elements.
What value does slow corruption have if you could just change the memory? Nothing... What value does character development have if you can now change any character with a flick of your finger? Again, nothing... What value does a developing plot have if any detail of the plot can now be reversed by changing any character's memory? Well, you get it....
I don't think fans have such an overwhelming influence on the deeper aspects of this game, so personally, I'm sure it was Fujino's decision to finish the game with the least effort (in thinking through the characters and plot).
Again, I'm not sure if Fujino will use this technique in the future. Maybe Asuna was the only character who was so easily changed.(This is most disappointing.) But the fact is that Asuna is the main character and her corruption and development were of great importance, and if Fujino changed her so easily, then what can the rest of the characters mean to him? A dangerous use case...
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