I'm not scornful of Essentials, I even own the RC and HoFL. But yes, Essentials is a branding failure. The sheer number of times the "should I go with 4e or Essentials" question gets asked on the boards supports this. Yes some players are scornful, but that's not what's driving the confusion behind Essentials.
It's unfortunate. Essentials is brilliant, and could bring a lot of people into the hobby. But if you've never played the game and you walk into a Barnes & Noble with the goal of getting into the game, it's a confusing mess. Seems to me I'd buy the PHB at the very least, because hey, it's the Player's Handbook. Maybe Rules Compendium because I want to know the rules, but it's sure weird that they're different sizes. Boy am I gonna be surprised when I get home.
The D&D website is a mess and furthers the confusion. Even if I manage to find the "New to D&D" link buried under a mess of flashy images and rows and rows of text, I'm completely inundated with choices. So...Red Box I guess, but do I need all those other books too? I'm brand new to D&D and already I'm being presented with "Player Essentials" and "Dungeon Master" essentials and D&D encounters. If I were curious about D&D, they've just replaced that curiosity with mild confusion.
And here's what's sad: contrast with the Magic the Gathering website. Still kinda busy, but right there in front and center is a "What is MtG" button. It takes you to not only a video, but an interactive demo. And it's all right there, not buried somewhere. It's almost as if WotC wants you to, you know, buy Magic cards. I'd love to see that same kind of loving for Essentials, but it's just not there.
(and thanks!)
