King, I think you should read this article (which is also linked to in the article you referenced)
http://tleaves.com/2006/07/04/the-design-of-everyday-games/
It basically says that successful games are the ones that provide more content, not necessarily the ones that use cutting edge technology. It uses diablo 2 as an example.
I agree with you that selling more games is the way to go, but rotating angles and topographical maps do not (in my opinion) present a better user experience even for non-hardcore strategy gamers. It is just a feature that serves as a distraction. And in the end, word of mouth and reviews about a good gameplay experience will sell more games than screenshots showing off rendering technology.
I don't want you to go back to the 2d maps of the old engine, but the DW map is certainly an improvement over HTTT.