I can't help but feel very annoyed when people say they the game is bad and they won't play it because the main character is not their preferred gender

This is more of a rant about a large amount of comments from gamers under witcher 4 game announcement where some seem to be very upset with Ciri being the main character.

I'm gonna be frank- i don't get it. Me and people around me always treated games as a story and it always felt fair to treat the game based on how well the story is told. The entire "oh i am not gonna play this game because the MC is a male/female" argument to me sounds as bizarre as when someone says " oh I am not playing this game and it is a bad game because the protagonist is a POC/LGBTQ". It just infuriates me that a story is not given a chance to be told because of gender/race/orientation or religion. I don't think i have met a person having an issue with lord of the rings books/films or tv shows like Charmed or Sabrina which we watched and loved by everyone regardless of the gender. Why games suddenly became the issue?

I agree that we still need more fem leads and more representation in games and there should be a gender option if the game allows you to make your own character, but that doesn't mean the stories told by Arthur Morgan, Aloy, Ciri, Geralt, Joel, Ellie, Phoenix Wright or Lady Love Dies are bad or any less deserving of being listened to. And missing them or hating them simply because the main character does not represent you feels like missing a good chunk of fun and emotions, not to mention the work the studio put in it.

(Note: saying all of this - if the developer have said or did something you don't support or that harms you, or the game has some problematic content in it you don't agree with - it is a different story)