Magic Item Availability in D&D

I was reading this post at the "Tales of the Rampant Coyote" and it got me to thinking. Like the author and some of the commenters I also favor the more "magic rare" style of campaign where magic is special and not a medieval substitute for technology. You hear that a lot and yet the norm is magic as a commodity (and that was the case long before MMORPGs). So is this just something you hear from the DM/GM types? My guess is yes.

Though in the defense of players, often you end up in a game with a mediocre DM such that you need something to make the game more interesting, since the setting and storyline doesn't hold much promise for you. From a CRPG standpoint, I tend to equate this a comparison between Diablo and Ultima. The Diablo games were cool but ultimately they were just Nethack with better graphics and sound and awesome cutscenes. Ultima drew you into the world in such a way that combat wasn't the norm, it was more the exception. And there was enough to hold your interest that you didn't need to be distracted by shiny new magic items. I'm not saying Diablo wasn't fun, because it was, but we're talking two types of gaming experiences.