RPGs: Good Observation by Mearls

From a forum discussion a little while back:

The staggering majority of d20 books aren't bad, or horribly written, they're just pointless. There are literally hundreds of titles out there that don't offer any real, compelling reason to buy them.
- Mike Mearls

Of course, if you want to bog down your game with more and more optional rules, I guess that would be a reason...

In any case, this reflects my views - and many others - on a lot of material that was produced for d20: What's the point? I mean, the combo of the DMG, PHB, and MM is really plenty to keep you going for years, assuming you have some imagination to help you along. Everything else, even books that have a point like Complete Arcane and Lords of Madness is just icing. Though I suppose you could throw a fourth book in if you need a setting, like the FRCS or Eberron book; the core books don't really give you a ready-made setting, despite the Greyhawk references.

On the other hand, that is a nice aspect of the PDF publishers. They can produce something that 90% of buyers would have no use for, but which is perfect for that other 10%. Very little overhead, which is appropriate for niche products. Of course, even then you have to determine if the potential audience is big enough.