Bear in mind that Kirby Air Ride came out in 2003, on a console that's only meant to be hooked up to CRTs. How many users back then do you think would've had access to this feature in the first place? Or would still be playing this game if/when they upgrade later?

The problem people have with your argument is not the existence of 5.1 surround sound.

Nor is it that the vast majority of households can’t afford a properly tuned surround sound setup instead of haphazardly throwing speakers around which arguably creates a worse experience than stereo.

It’s that the Dolby implementation requires publishers to license it and pay for an unstoppable ad that plays before every session, while benefitting only the petit bourgeois.

Notice how you reverted so quickly to your capitalist brainwashing. May be a good inspiration to see what other ideologies have been implanted into you.

So many assumptions here.

Let me refute them through educated guesses.

• most people don't have anything other than stereo
• most people don't want anything other than stereo
• not everyone has the money to even get a decent TV, let alone 5.1 or God forbid 7.1
• Kirby does not focus an people with high end playback devices. It's traditionally a kids game.
• 2secs Everytime you open the game can add up and be really annoying. Especially for kids, which are the core audience.

Who games on a 5.1 surround setup?