I'm looking for information on the different types of gaming experiences generated by different forms of "stats" including but not limited too:

 - Full stat lists and formulas used
 - Simplified stats that obviously have more complex calculations and formulas behind the scenes
 - Visual or non numeric forms of statistical feedback

The types of information a good answer would contain includes:

 - Personal experiences with different systems including what you liked and disliked about each as well how the system impacted how you played
 - References to / resources on how different game communities respond to different types of systems including if they are generally happy with or loudly outraged by the system in place for that particular game and specifics on common things that work well and things that don't work well as well as reasoning behind these opinions

The best answer would include personal experiences and references to games and game communities across the largest variety of systems and would point out trends that are observed based on the research that has been done.