It's true that
4E has more
generic releases than 3.5, but it's not producing any more
total books. I'm not really sure that I see that much of a distinction; it's still a case of "I like this concept, so I'll get it, I don't like that one, so I won't."
As far as 1E, I certainly won't argue the point that
4E (or
3E) has a much higher rate of production on hardcovers. But I
would argue that they're not viable comparisons. The market--both generally and specifically--was a
very different beast back then. Also, while 1E didn't have that many hardcover rule books, its catalog of adventure modules was
enormous. (I don't have a specific count, but I would not be surprised to learn that the number of modules from 1E exceeds the entire print run of
every book for
3E/3.5.)
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