Is this hobby just not for me if I'm not that into minis?

I've started thinking about getting into the game, maybe see if there are games in my area and build an army. But while lurking I've seen people share and agree with sentiments like "rules change, minis are forever", "just paint your minis and and don't worry over the rules, they change all the time", etc.

So, is getting in this hobby primarily for the "gameplay" so to say a bad idea? If I'm not already interested in collecting miniatures or such and am only interested in the models as pieces for a game board, am I not going to have a good time?