The power is to 100% always with the customers and no other. That's a basic economic principle. The sole exceptions are markets that meet the condition of
both providing essentials, as well as having no competitors. Like for example patented medicine, which is both vitally important and can be limited to only one company offering it.
If only one or neither of these conditions are met, and I trust that people know that an entertainment console is not of vital importance, nor is Nintendo the sole of vendor of consoles, the power lies to 100% with the customers. Principal
Agent. Offer
Demand. Basic economic models that should be known to everyone.
Customers purchasing products is a prvilege, not a right. What we buy is up to the customers to decide. The power lies in the right to decide what to buy and what not to buy. If customers don't agree with consumer unfriendly systems, and there is in theory always a point where no customer will agree, a company will sit on their expenses but have zero revenue, therefore cannot continue taking the same path. It's an eat or die situation. Either they adjust, or they suffer losses to the point of bankruptcy.
Companies don't have power over us. They can't force us to buy anything. They can only convince us. Whether we can be convinced is up to us. The real issue isn't that companies have any power over us, because they don't. We can only give them power by letting them convince us. The true issue is that there is no such thing as parity when it comes to customers. They strongly vary in financial resources, desires, preferences, locations, age, you name it. Millions of people, millions of views, millions of decsions, each in control of its own actions. Companies allow themselves to use methods like paid online services because they know there is a certain group of customers who will follow them regardless. They do that because customers are giving them this power. If customers refused to follow something unanimously, which is only possible in theory of course, they could not do so. The favor and control is always on our side. We can only give companies this power.
And what better example is there with customers giving companies this kind of power than the well known, and I hate using this word, "fanboy". Supporting and excusing a company's every decision without even considering and thinking about whether actions are justified or not. Those are a stable customer group that make for safe sales almost regardless of how far a company goes. Although, again, there is a limit, because even when the customer's desire is never ending, there is always an end to what they are able to spend for a product.
Long story short. The power is to 100% the customer's. The companies have none, they can only be given power. But one customer has no power over the other customer.
