I don't think MsgPlus! is going in the wrong direction.
I do know of a wide audience that might never know of MsgPlus! because of certain factors.
One of them is that MsgPlus!, for a lot of new computer users, seems hard to set up (as incredible as it sounds). And most features MsgPlus! has are not used by these new computer users.
With this new one: Custom Emotion Sounds, MsgPlus! might be able to reach some of these users, and they might start using MsgPlus! as a whole.
All this sounds like I'm saying "facts", but I'm just giving an opinion. Can't express myself correctly.