I think you have a point, but the greater point is that both are false proxies. Survival is a proxy to majority opinion, which itself is another proxy to quality.

Quality itself is not equal to survival. Survival does not determine quality, nor does public opinion, each having far more variables and influences than just pure product quality.

However, quality can of course influence public opinion, and public opinion can greatly influence survival.

I think it is important to make this distinction—perhaps not to work by it at all times, but you must realize that you're not working only by requirements and measurements and proxies, but also by some intrinsic essence that your product has, some idea that it stands as a cohesive tool, not just a set of parts. Furthermore, sometimes people don't know what they want until they see it, and use it, and realize its potential; and you'd never get there by simply following a market. This is where the game-changing product creators of this century have surprised the world with a vision.

I'm not saying the OP didn't realize this, just that I think it's more important than many product teams realize to create more than just a set of features that meet a market in the middle. Quality is a thing in itself.