I've been recently thinking about the claim about how "Video games are about the gameplay, not the story." But, the more I think about it, the more I realize that this claim is completely and utterly false. Outside of the stuff that already exists in real life, I cannot think of a single game that lacks a plot. And, before someone brings up the earliest of FPS games or platformers or arcade titles saying, "Look, no plot!", you should know that you're missing something very obvious.
To use one of the most overused example in FPS gaming, look at Doom (No, not nuDoom). The setup of the game is that you're a space marine fighting demons. There's your plot. Why are you fighting demons? Why are you a space marine? Are you playing this game because you feel awesome taking down targets while sliding across a floor, or are you playing this game to take down demons? If it's the former, would you still play the game if you were fighting, say, killer bears? If you're really playing Doom for the "gameplay, then why aren't you taking up skeet or 3 gun shooting, or even just play one of the mechanical duck shooting galleries one can find at an arcade?
Then, to move onto another overused example, there's Super Mario Bros.. Everything in that game is designed to have a seamless plot that you just…accept, and people are holding it up as an example of how games do not need a plot. That game is just a shiny obstacle course. If they replaced any one of the items for something more barebones and/or "realistic" (To put it one way), you wouldn't want to be playing it.
Pac-Man is just a mix of CTF and tag. RPGs are just the story one tells about their experiences in life. Survival Horror titles are just the flipside of those experiences and the dangers that some men have faced. Beat 'em Ups and Hack & Slash titles are just people getting into fisticuffs (Optionally, with a weapon).
So, to get to the initial point I'm trying to make, you guys are sending a woefully inaccurate message when you're saying "I don't want a story in my games." When you send that message across, you're (Ironically) saying "I want to live real life." and essentially removing yourself from being a player of video games, and these companies can (And, probably have, to manipulative stakes for some) interpreted that as saying that your no longer their target demographic.
Now, to answer the question, here is what can be done about it. We have to rephrase the entire argument about what it is that we want from our games. From what I've observed, people don't want a lack of plot, and they don't want the game to be about the plot either. If I may suggest, can we starting pushing a message, to companies, saying, "I want a game that explains what I am doing, what I am here to do, and that is it." You can reword that to however you want to best suite your needs, but we have to stop barking up the wrong tree about how we don't want a plot in vide games.
And, the problem is that if we don't. we will be losing this battle every single time.