I believe there is nothing wrong with 4E being made to appeal to people with, according to quoted parts of interview,
less refined palate [1].
The hobby needs introductory systems and adventures - elitism breeds ghetto (or niche) mentality and leads to stagnation.
4E, however, does seem to go a bit overboard with that approach (
WotC adventures, certain underlying system design principles [2])... I have picked a few adventures (the free ones), read a few reviews of various supplements (always willing to cherry pick material) and found to my disappointment that they failed to offer value beyond straight and very system-specific stuff.
This interview presents my impressions as deliberate choices by designers. It's fine, really. It's just that each time I check latest releases for something which would make me add it to my collection, I get turned off.
To put it into perspective - DMG2, new Forgotten Realms. The former supposedly contained refreshing insights into art of bringing the adventuring to life, the latter was to produce less straitjacketing Realms [3].
And so I browsed DMG2, thought kindly about Stewart Wieck, and put it back on the shelf. And the Realms... These are not the Realms you're looking for - the old ones, for all their flaws, did not feel so generic.
I hope to keep on trying new books from time to time. The new adventure thread may yet herald new era for Wizard publishing... for now 4E books would not add any value to the collection I own [4].
Regards,
Ruemere
[1] Less refined palate = Less experienced, or possibly, preferring simpler forms of entertainment.
~ I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and trust that this isn't a deliberate slight to people who have different preferences to you, but don't do it again. Thanks: Admin ~
[2] I have read 4E books at the time I was considering switching to new edition and I have found it incompatible with my campaign style. Bias: nothing against system (I like it a bit, even - it's one of the neatest system on the market), strong dislike of subscription model (for DDI and books) and whole GSL angle (I happen to love 3rd party publishers).
[3] It's not like my time with Realms (as a player) was wasted, but meeting celebrities was too common for my taste. I do not mind chatting powerful folks up, I do mind when suddenly every goes haywire and these guys yet again, in the worst possible comic tradition, fail in order to let the spotlight show low-level characters. Oh, and Mystra(l) died way too many times.
[4] Obligatory Paizo mentions: China Mieville. Piratecat. Great Beyond (Shemeska).