D&D 5E Comment on the negative article by John Dodd

[Jester David]

Or we could just accept that comparing a product where you open the box and almost immediately start playing a 30 hour adventure arc is different from one where you open the box and create a starter campaign and/or buy an additional adventure is an apples vs oranges comparison? They are different beasts. One is designed around quick highly integrated play and the other is designed around creativity.

To answer your question directly adding the PH and MM to the starter set would almost certainly skew it in favor of 5e until we say, wait doesn't that cost a small fortune more? Cost is a great way to see if the comparison you are making is fair.

Actually, the Beginner Box has a 15 page adventure that should occupy the first session or two. And a lot of the how-to-play rules are baked into the adventure.
So the Beginner Box is something you can open up in front of your friends and start playing right away, while the Starter Set is something you need to sit down and read then start playing.