Nobody seems to anticipate the level of stress their games might actually produce hmm. Are all game developers just all way too humble? On way too tight a budget? Or way too financially aware regarding server costs? Or do servers these days just suck...?
Good rant, though all the server-related stuff is never a problem with single player. Solo gaming FTW. And regarding all those other trends with newer games, and patches, and early-releases: old gaming FTW. Back in the day there just wasn't such a thing as a patch. Any bugs you stumbled upon... well that was just how it was meant to be. You used them to your advantage whenever possible. Assume they actually tested things a bit more thoroughly too. Good times...
-cd-