...you would buy a product of theirs just to "help" them break through? Even though you don't quite like that product, or the direction they're going, or you are not a fan of the genre, etc. I'm not talking only about fandom blind love, but also about "rational" behaviour of protecting your favorite game or series by helping the developer financially so they don't sink.

I find myself in this position more often lately, only this year I bought TESO collector's edition although I am not a fan of mmo, I just wanted to contribute so TESO wouldn't bomb. I did try the game and indeed it's not my cup of tea, but I'm not upset or anything, the lore book is nice to have and I think I'd have been even more frustrated if I didn't at least try to help Bethesda here, although it doesn't feel like it helped much.

Same with Ubisoft, every year they show us the Pc players disrespect and still I buy all their top series (AC, FC and now WD too) in collector's edition. I do enjoy the games, but I feel the console port is a lazy job that should be punished with my wallet, but on the other hand I don't want these series to die or become console exclusives.

From the near future I predict I will do the same with Bethesda's Fallout 4 even though I'm not quite into post-apocalyptic shooters/rpgs either. I just need to make sure these guys have the next TES well funded.

Are you, or were you in the same situation when you feel you're spending money to products that don't satisfy you fully, just because they come from your favorite developer?

I bought 2 Collectors Editions of GTA V and will buy 2 more for the next generation versions.

Why?

I don't have a whole lot of leisure money so I can't afford wasting my funds on things I know I won't enjoy. I stopped buying the CDs of one of my favorite artists because her current style is nothing more than westernised club songs with uninspired lyrics (two lines repeated throughout the whole song). Now it is not like she needs my funding to continue her career as she is one of Asia's biggest artists.

A better example would be Funcom, the company behind the newly released Dreamfall: Chapters. If they had been low on funding while working on that game (part of one of my favorite franchises) I still wouldn't buy their other games to help them. Age of Conan and The Secret World is not something I would enjoy so I would only see it as a waste of money.

Not me. If I'm not satisfied with a product I will not place my money on it.

I can see doing this for small time indie devs, but big mega advertising publishers like Ubi and Bethesda should stand on their own 2 feet like the mature (and I don't mean "mature" as in advlt, I mean as proven businesses) publisher/developers they are. Ubisoft will make good or bad porting decisions regardless of sales unless they get a needed change of management.

Yeah, I do that sometimes. The most recent example is Piranha Bytes, I bought Risen 3 at launch despite knowing it is crap. I think this was the last time though.

Atlus... still buy Persona 5 even though I hate social links

No. The most that can be expected from a person is to buy the game once, and only if it is a product that the customer wants. Even if I absolutely love a game company, if the market doesn't support them, then they go under. Besides, most of the time nothing short of an organized campaign of multiple purchases across an entire community won't save them. Company's still gonna go under for whatever the reason (buyouts, mismanagement, lack of profitability in the long run), and then I'm just left standing there with an extra copy of the game.