Unless that dedication is highly remunerative, pissing them off can be the smart thing to do, if that means pleasing the other 90%. The problem comes when the developers are having their egos stroked by this dedication. Imagining that those players are somehow valuable for PR is part of the rationalization for serving them, but experienced lesser players will learn that a game that caters to that elite won't be fun for them, and will treat that catering as the negative sign it is.