If I had to pick things I'd say gutting the competitive side of the game hurt pretty bad.
The planning of the NGS was the cause of removal of some features and changes like towering and towering hats, but the old features were removed way too early given how long it's taking to fully implement this system.
The lack of any kind of incentive to do any competitive activities on the game outside of GST 4 times a year has impacted a lot of that part of the playerbase, and while it's understandable that the top staff of this game should care way more about the people doing nothing but buying hats and furniture, it's still a frustrating direction because it isn't hard to give the competitive side of the game at least something as a sign of good faith.