>>279664932you have a very strange concept of happy ending = satisfying sad ending = unsatisfying. are you sure you are old enough to post here? lol
what matters in determining how satisfying the ending to a story is, is how well executed it is, and how well it follows the story it is supposed to end. naturally, a happy ending is fine for a light hearted action or mystery show, and if you can find ultimately light hearted action to be thrilling, then that's good for you, but for a lot of people, higher stakes are needed, and with a darker world in which the characters face life or death situations, and in which mistakes have a very high cost, comes a certain situation.
either the characters can make no mistakes, making them unrealistic, for it is human to err. or the characters can get miraculously saved by the plot, which is fine every once in a while, but becomes rather irritating when it happens repeatedly. or, the more virtuous option, the author can make the characters face the consequences of their own actions, even if it results in their deaths.
this shouldn't change at the conclusion of a story, if the characters actions haven't been conductive to a happy ending, then there shouldn't be one. also, if within the rules of the fictional world, there isn't the possibility of a happy ending, a bittersweet ending will feel far more satisfying for the reader, rather than having the author twist the rules of the world just to give the story a happy ending (which unfortunately often happens)
as to why people would want to read such a story? because its interesting, why else?
ultimately, your critique of stories having anything other than happy endings, feels much a like guy who perfectly enjoys his food without any spices, wondering why people put spices on theirs.
if you can be happy with light hearted wordlbuilding, or find satisfactory for an author to twist the rules of his own world, then that's good for you, but do not presume its the same for the rest of us.