Burning out, loss of interest, too much work, just wanted to cash out, annoying users. There are a lot of possible reasons why a developer would abandon a project.
I only buy full games DRM-free.
Also, almost all Western VNs aren't exactly good. How can you ask for money, when your spelling and grammar is awful, your story is absolutely terrible etc?
It's a good cause. However, consumers could also just stop being stupid and stop buying into that stuff. I only buy DRM-free and everything I've ever bought can still be played.
Arcades weren't a thing here (in more ways than one) but personally, I like watching several fighting game series being played (Virtua Fighter, King of Fighters etc). Just this weekend was actually a large Street Fighter II tournament in Japan.