Does it? I would think that people new to rpg's would be very hesitant to try a game with a rulebook that size. I know that's what keeps me from even looking at HERO with that phonebook sized rulebook it has.
Concur completely. It's just a game and a 300 page rulebook is a ridiculous waste of time to me. If I desired to devote that much time to reading and digesting rules for a game then somebody would have to pay me to do so, not the other way around. If, for example, I developed a training program for the military in order to promote the development of new skill sets in individual soldiers and I returned with a product which required 300-plus pages of instruction for each involved party then my employers would laugh in my face (and rightfully so). They would tell me my assignment was to develop a training program which made things easy to understand and implement, that my assignment was not to develop a university curriculum which will consume more time deciphering and mastering than practically implementing.
I sometimes wonder if modern age designers understand this very basic point about ease of utilization - if your product requires specialized training to use, then only the specially trained will be using it. If a television required an electricians degree to change channels would everyone own one, or even desire to? And games are just entertainment. Yes, they can have real and practical value, and should have such pragmatic and real world value in my opinion, but they are also games. You should be able to game both to advantage and for entertainment without making it into some kind of alternate and profitless life objective which is also almost fantastically (excuse the pun) time-consuming. And you should be able to figure out very simple things for yourself, like, how to lace up your boots without a rule set for it.
If you need three hundred pages of rules for a game then you don't really have a game, you have a useless time addiction that could be better spent at more productive pursuits. Much unnecessary complexity is a silly design proposition and a useless hypothesis upon which to base an attempt to expand your market.
Do the designers want players to play to gain the benefit(s) of play (whatever those personal or collective benefits might be) or do the designers want the players and DM(s) to earn a Doctorate in game-rule or rule-theory?
I've got no personal interest in earning a Doctorate in game rules and useless trivia.
Even something as simple minded as watching television would be a more productive and efficient use of my time.
I'm hoping this is a publication announcement error, because if not, then I suspect it won't be my error or intention to further complicate the matter.