If the Paizo staff had total control of D&D instead of WotC, I think the game would be doing well now. We might have even gotten a few good rules changes to simplify things every now and then, who knows.
I remember when I kept hearing how the module market had dried up, adventures didnt sell well, yet the APs and Dungeon magazine seemed to do well enough to spawn 2 more APs.
The Shackled City Hardcover seemed to be a favorite of many polls on various forums etc. It seems the Paizo writers made 3E glow, despite all its faults.
The thing that bothers me the most is that WotC is pretty much destroying everything that I like about the game. There vision of what D&D should be is a little too "MTV" for me. I prefer a more traditional somewhat more "mortal" (for lack of a better word) fantasy world.
If I wanted a more super-hero looking game Id get Green Ronin's Mutants and Masterminds. Having horns, breathing fire, or walking around with a golem buddy (kinda like full metal alchemist) isnt my idea of what D&D should be. Maybe others feel differently, but thats my opinion.
Based on what im reading about 4E, I have (sorry to say this for some of the talented folks at WotC) ZERO faith in WotC building 4th edition. The crappy thing is that some of the talented people who brought us 3E are working on 4E. I know thats what they get paid to do and they need to pay their bills, im just not in that camp.
The Paizo staff on the other hand were able to turn around not just Dungeon magazine for alot of people, but Dragon magazine as well. They brought me back to Greyhawk with what they did in the APs, not bad for a setting I thought Id never return to. Admittedly, WotC had me getting slowly tired of the Forgotten realms with every RSE reworking the landscape. You could tell that things were getting more "visually cool" with WotC but lacking in the "imagination" department. Paizo on the other hand worked on everything with zeal and the end product reflected their love of the game IMHO.
I guess it boils down to the right people for the right job. I just dont see the current WotC designers as the right folks.
That said, Im going to alter my thinking a tad and pick up the first few paizo products for 4E even though Im not buying 4E. Im curious to see their take on it.
On the other hand if Paizo stays 3.5, consider me in for life.