IMO, if you're only playing this game for the competitive aspects like towering and sparring then you're playing in the wrong game. Not saying that they totally sucks but, you can find much better similar competitions in other games.
I mean think about it, the employee (Uni) wants money which is the whole point of creating the game. Would players pay more money for the competitive aspects of the game or, for the other factors like buying hats in the updated hatshops, Halloween customs in the halloween event etc. That's why developers are told to focus on the factors of the game that brings benefits to the organization. It's not like they are totally ignoring the competitive aspects, its just that there is more work going towards the other factors of the game like the yearly events.
Plus I don't know what's the developers has to do with this, they are just staff members. When people complain about something, they usually and should complain to employee.