SilverWook said:
I've seen "The Hobbit Defense" trotted out a couple times elsewhere to justify the SE changes George has made.
What was the early print run of The Hobbit in the 30's? More people likely saw Star Wars between 1977 and 1997 by a mile.
That seems likely. There is going to be less outrage if we never knew any better. That is the danger of the OT not being released - newer fans never knowing any better nor caring.
Additionally, reading is a far different experience from watching a movie. The latter fares far worse from additions, subtractions, and alterations. generalfrevious makes a good point. "Editions" are updated versions. Some try to maintain the original, others don't. Made me think of the 20th Anniversary edition (20th?! that can't be right...) of Zahn's Heir to the Empire. It's full of fun annotations. But the original text exists and can always be reprinted without losing its original form.