Another option is that they just don't produce it. They sit on it for a while.
Unlikely.
(Although an imperfect parallel, consider the Doctor Who show...)
A better analogy is Transformers. Transformers have been around for over a quarter of century and have been released in multiple forms. It has fans from the 80s, as well as more recent fans. It also has a
panicy fanbase. Every itteration from the originals to Prime has had it's fans and it's detractors. They've also had varying degrees of success.
There are things that Wizards have done well this year, but to quite some extent their marketing and planning seem to be in disarray.
What's happing is this: electronic media is the future of the hobby and Wizards simply doesn't know what to do about that. In the 90s, it was fine: just put up a website with a bunch of free content like and call it a day. In the 2000s you needed a message board. Wizards was also selling pdfs. Heck, they seemed to almost be keeping pace.
But now we've ran into a problem. The internet is the best way to distribute errata, periodical contact, and books. It's perfect for rpgs. It's also incredibly easy to copy and distribute unauthorized copies. Everything you put up on a web server is subject to unauthorized copying. As a result of that, their paralyzed with fear. Wizards keeps running around trying to figure out how to handle it, and rather than simply pick a method and live with it, they keep seesawing.
Consider this: if the Character Builder had been online from the beginning and stayed that way we'd probably 1) have a better CB, and 2) people'd be used to it. People who can't or don't want to use an online CB would have moved on by now. But instead, they decided to switch while the old CB still needed work.
Also consider this: if they had stuck with the old CB, we'd have a better CB right now. Yes, there'd be some unauthorized copying. But it was likely still turing a profit. And, if it was steadily improving (instead of being re-invented) people'd have a positive view of it, regardless of it's problems.
But instead, they decided to switch while things weren't so good and now we're back at square one.
Also, I think another problem is that their marketing is overanalyzed. When I go to buy Trivial Pursuit, I don't really sweat if it's the SuperBrain Edition, or the GreatThinkers Expert Cut. I just buy the one that looks like it has questions I can answer. But we're like "OMG! What's up with the SuperBrain! This is like Genus IV all over agin! It's going to be to hard for the new players! WTF!"
Like your own PR, no one should ever buy their own analysis of Wizards actions.