"D&D is, for lack of a better term than I have used previously, a culture. Serving that culture is such an honor. Does such a culture survive, truly survive, lodged within a pair of digital, aggressively monetized parentheses?" (Penny Arcade)
D&D is the ony common RPG available these days is most of Australia - it certainly has the largest market share. As cultures go, RPG can easily rebuild itself from a fan-base. I personally liked 5th Ed core rules, yet I could be very happy to see D&D topple itself and reintroduce gamers to a new world of freshly minted RPGs.
As a long term Wizards player / purchaser, I think their product quality has been dropping over the last few years. In D&D, take the Planescape box set - it was a really empty world lacking in the imagination that the original second ed Planescape had. All the D&D content just seems like filler to me.
In MTG, they are releasing so many sets that it would cost a fortune to keep up, and the cards are all like 'meh'. They are doing Dr Who and Lord of the Rings - so of course they are easy sells, but the quality is really average.
I guess the equation is - people keep buying, we have market dominance, so who cares about the quality?
I think that the Paradox model IS DLC. They definateley comprimise user experience through their money-grabbing, and this cash above quality bleeds through to the way their games are published. They blur the line between developer and publisher.
When they are old enough, around four, get them on to Linux!