dtgreene: Games like Pong, Tetris, Columns (original), and many other have no stories, and I haven't seen anyone complain about such things.
Those are outliers/exceptions....most people like certain genres to have stories as it makes one get more invested and immersed in a game.
Many play such types of games to escape reality and explore a new world and learn about it as they go, not to just go through the motions of beat up/kill/move on/repeat & button presses.
dtgreene: I happen to like the gameplay mechanics of RPGs (which is why I often like to play them), so I find it annoying why, unlike so many other genres, people insist that RPGs need story to be interesting; they don't, as the turn-based combat is interesting enough on its own.
You are also a gamer/gaming outlier/exception(
and I don't mean that in a bad way), though, as evidenced by your various posts on things you like/dislike in such games.
Many(as said above) like stories more than having no stories(or at the very least some lore of some sort in game) as they like getting immersed in a new world, not just fighting enemies and leveling up and moving on. As such, companies make games designed to make the most players enjoy them that they possibly can, to make money/more games/etc.
dtgreene: Anyway, this is getting a little off-topic here.
Fair enough....maybe later someone can make a thread about this, if there isn't one already, if there's enough interest.