at the end of the day it's the player that decides whether or not a game is good. And it logically follows that if many people play a game, many people think that it's good, and that the critics saying that it's bad just have a differing opinion.
Okay, let's make another fun point. How many people does it take to play your game before you know that it's not just the community aspect, but the gameplay aspect that attracts people as well? 50? 100? 10 thousand? I suspect that number is a lot higher than you might think. Take SS13 for example. It's a clunky game with plenty of its own problems, but we're willing to overlook those issues because the community is engaging and fun.
Many fan games fall under the same umbrella, but here's the facts: No one who plays SS13 is trying to convince people that it's gameplay is the cutting edge. Everyone well understands that if it weren't for the community and culture it's created, it wouldn't exist. The difference is that so many game developers who happen to have more than 7 players online at one time think they're game is good. This is mixing the definitions of "good" and "popular". Using the SS13 example, a popular game does not necessarily have to be good or well designed. The fact of the matter is that many games don't poll why their players enjoy their game and get this inflated ego that somehow their gameplay is the shit.
No body here is debating the definition of a popular game, but the community will only take it so far. As much of an internet phenomenon that SS13 has become, it still only has ~400 players on the hub at any given time. For a popular game to explode into the realm of "good", it's going to require both a great community and gameplay design. If you're not willing to accept that, then good luck with your 20-count player base.
Games are an art form, and even if fedora-wearing chumps think that they can tell you what makes a game good, at the end of the day it's the player that decides whether or not a game is good. And it logically follows that if many people play a game, many people think that it's good, and that the critics saying that it's bad just have a differing opinion.
I think WoW is bad. But WoW is a titan in the RPG industry. So is WoW a bad game? To me, yes, to others, no. So what makes my judgement "the true judgement"? Hint: Nothing.