Which now brings us properly to the Elephant in the room.  Essentials.  What is it, and why should we care?

Gaming companies are a lot like paleontologists.  Publish or die is the maxim.  Yes, that's the reason why we get all-new dinosaurs every few months, each cooler than the last.  Now, I take WotC (and the Evil Corporate Overlords of Hasbro) to task for 3.5 and 4.0, but the truth is, a lot of work goes into making a book.

And once you stray from 'core' products, you need to work to sell fringe books.  Oh sure, the diehard gamers will want every book, but unfortunately, as someone who has picked up several books of my own over the past few weeks, WotC has kind of shot themselves in the foot.