What difference does that make? The lore doesn't matter if the mechanics are using"wizard but x" instead and wotc is not willing to build a class with mechanics matching that lore. Until WotC is willing to build sorcerer mechanically for that lore instead of building a wizard subclass into a base class there is no reason for sorcerer to be wasting page space in the next edition.
All the difference in the world.
We don't play D&D, or any RPG, solely for its mechanics. If we did, we would almost surely drop the
vast majority of TTRPGs in favor of multiplayer CRPGs (MMO or not), because they're
infinitely better-balanced and, in general, much more engaging as pure gameplay experiences.
As I have said many times, the thing that makes TTRPGs special is that they are gaming
as and by roleplay, and roleplaying
as and by game. We aren't playing description-free Statistics & Spreadsheets, we're playing
Dungeons (dank murder-holes full of nasty bizarre creatures and shiny treasure) and
Dragons (huge, flying, hyperintelligent lizards with scales like tenfold shields and breath hotter than a dwarven forge and ancient magic of awesome power).
The lore matters
immensely. No less than the mechanics--and possibly more, I can forgive merely mediocre mechanics if the lore is awesome. I cannot forgive humdrum lore if the mechanics are awesome.
Further, your core thesis is simply wrong. The Sorcerer cannot be meaningfully represented as a Wizard subclass. You would not be able to capture the bloodline concept.
At best, all you would get is the metamagic--because that alone MIGHT be small enough to squeeze into the Wizard chassis. Nothing else. No way that "literally JUST a Wizard with metamagic" would cover the breadth of the Sorcerer.
By comparison, the Wizard has exactly three non-subclass mechanics:
- Arcane Recovery
- Spell Mastery
- Signature Spells
It also
objectively fails to actually implement ANY part of its alleged lore. You do not do research as part of playing it--all research is shunted purely into downtime activities. You do not develop new spells; at best you pay others to be able to
plagiarize the spells they've plagiarized from someone else. You do not display academic learning or training any more than literally anyone else who has access to knowledge skills like Nature and Arcana.
Not one part of the Wizard, neither class nor subclass, has ANYTHING to do with the Wizard's thematics, and the vast majority of its mechanics are incredibly boring basic stuff ("cast more spells" "cast some spells at min level for free" "cast two stronger spells an extra time per day each").
This could
trivially be turned into a Sorcerer subclass, without losing one iota of what makes the Wizard a Wizard; call it the "Arcane Bloodline" Sorcerous Origin. You could then make easily 3/4 of all Wizard subclasses into a single "Spell School" feat, which (in 5.5e) can be taken at 1st level but requires the Arcane Bloodline Sorcerous Origin. The few that would be too strong for that (e.g. Bladesinger) could be split into two feats or could kick in at 4th level instead.
