beta data collection/user testing ?

Quick background :

1) I work for a large technology company and occasionally get an opportunity to perform or sit in on user testing. For the areas I've worked in, the customers tend to be very large entities (corporations, banks, universities, governments, etc.). Consequently, the work roles are strictly defined and narrow due to both specialization and security reasons. As such, people tend to think of the product users in fairly narrow terms, but the testing consistently draws in a motley crowd. Naturally, a lot of them share common attributes or they wouldn't be in the position they're in, but they're not easily categorized. I was in a test recently with a user that approached the UI in a very different way than was expected. It wasn't anything profound, but it got me thinking.

2) I notice there are a number of posts in different forums here that start with "I'm probably not your target demographic, but..." I feel that way myself and to be honest, it keeps me from posting at times because the game is clearly targeted at well, not me. And that's fine. I enjoy it anyway and it would probably be a pretty boring game if you catered specifically to people like me.

So, after a little confluence between those two thoughts, I started wondering about POE. Is any data being collected on how people are playing? Is there any direct user testing or demography going on? Is this something gaming companies do at all?

Pre-flaming disclaimer : I'm not suggesting anybody divert their funding from development to hire UCD teams and reset the mission. I'm just curious.