What's wrong with 1e, 3e or 4e? ..

We all have the read the blogs, posts and commentaries about a version and its apparent flaws. Some of them are objective, some are cynical, some speak of loyalty, and others address Wizards blatant commercialism. So first let me state I understand loyalty to previous versions, 1e will always have a place on my bookshelf. And I too feel somewhat outraged that Wizards released 4e after flooding the market with 3.5e material and now it seems that a new 4e book is hitting the shelves every month. And yes there are elements of 4e that are difficult to deal with and at times unruly, but weren't they all at one time. I can remember there being a lot of changes and updates, official and unofficial to 1e. Hence the creation of Dragon Magazine.

So where am I going with this?

Make it Your Own
I believe each version has its own merits and weaknesses. Each version had something I didn't like; in 1e it was the class limitations for non human races and power gaming was so prevalent 3e. And now its the whole bookkeeping aspect during combat, that gets to me in 4e and yet I like the idea of powers. In other words, no version had been absolutely perfect for me.

So whatever version you use, you chose how it is ran. Every version speaks of house rules, campaign design and how to make the game your own. It is you and your gaming group that controls the game. In our group we have a lot of old school players (meaning we are old), so we have chosen to convert some of the elements from 1e and 3e to 4e.

You are the consumer, its your money
As far as the rampant flood of books from Wizards, well they are a business and must sell products to survive. Honestly I am happy they are so prolific, in the “1e days” it took along time for new stuff to be created. In all versions once you have the core books, you are good to go. It is up to you to decide which supplements you need. Although some in our group have later supplements, we have decided to stop at PHB2. When I am trying to decide if I needed the latest offering, I check out Wizard's excerpts from the latest release, or out various blogs like Neuroglyph and Dragon Avenue

So whether you play 1e, 2e, 3e, Pathfinder or 4e, its your game; play it and have fun.