You know I never really thought about the streamer side of stuff like that as I don't watch any streamers myself, but its the truth if I ever heard it! As time goes on, more stuff like that matters even if it seems like a temporary thing in my opinion. Like in 20 years I don't really think streamers are going to be a thing, at least not how they are now. I mean just look at how stuff like VR and AI have changed how streamers do their thing. Just imagine how stuff like even the loading screen will be different because of something like that! I also kinda didn't think about how much space making a cool loading screen could take up in the storage of a game. I mean if the next Call of Duty had cool loading screens it would be another full terabyte bigger! And same with the unploish-ness of a newly released game, if it cant even run right normally then the loading screens wont be much fun either, if even work. Really it just kinda shows how our mindset have shifted overtime as well, as we just care about chasing the next trend instead of making the next cool new loading screen huh. And as for your lack of appreciation of the title screen, how dare you! Naw just kidding, both the loading screen and title screen sections make me realize that I care about the oddest of things sometimes! One of the biggest reasons I like them so much is that I personally do spend a lot of time on them. If I had a way of keeping track of the amount of time I spend on title screens, and very specifically the screen with the title on it, not the menus or anything. It would probably be in the years! As time gets in my way and I at least have the game loaded up that far for my next chance to actually play, that I probably thought was going to be 5 minutes ago! So I have the time to appreciate them as they are going on in the background of my life. If this was a movie site or whatever I'd have a section on this thread about DVD menus instead. Ill still probably make a section one day about video game ones instead though! Your mention of microtransactions makes me want to make a section on a gaming Thoughts thread one day, but that's like beating a dead horse isn't it? But now when I look at either of the two aforementioned screens I'll have some new thoughts to think about!

The loading screens are gone because of a variety of reasons. The first one relates to why they appeared originally: because there was enough space on the media storage. Nowadays, some games are way too big so as to include anything not really necessary for gameplay, we've exceeded the storage capacity and multiple-disc games weren't seen as a way around since the beginning. With digital only games, the space is limited by the console's own storage, which is itself limited because of games getting bigger with updates and whatnot as well as other apps or content it may have. So basically, there's no space for them anymore, not at least under normal circumstances.

The second one is the public. In the era of social media, bland loading screens allow streamers a breather to look at the chat, take a sip of their drink, reacommodate themselves on the chair or other minutiae, even if loading screens of old came back they'd still serve the same function (and a streamer would only enjoy them a few times before treating them like generic loading screens). Many games are designed entirely to fit the routine of streamers and forget about gamers playing to no public, and not just because of loading screens.

The third one is a bit darker and has to do with the industry. We've shifted into an industry with microtransactions, unfinished games at launch and so on, to the point that playing for fun seems like a thing of the past now instead of the main purpose of a game. Thus, since the focus of the game has shifted entirely and no longer care for small things like loading screens, no point in dedicating time to include such things in their next failed release.

I'd like to include some words for title screens, but I don't pay much attention to them since their only purpose is to allow us to enter the game and select a mode. True, some deserve mention and are remarkable, but I don't care for a screen I'll only stare at for a few seconds before entering any of the game's menus. I do admit they create a positive or negative first impression, however we're always told we must not judge a book by its cover and the cover no longer means (just) the game case.