Repeating a Premise

If you happen to be relatively new to my blog, I would like to restate a fundamental premise of my work and my thinking:

D&D founded on the d20 system is a fundamentally different game to previous editions. 

I have spent numerous entries on establishing this fact. There are of course, ways around it--arguments against it. And I have long ago given up the idea that only pre-d20 systems should be called D&D. D&D is an IP now, and that argument is just a horse with no legs left. But the game that was pre-2000 D&D, essentially the little brown books, Basic in all it's iterations, 1e and 2e are the games I'm referring to. And yes, I know much of what was later adopted into 3rd already existed in 2e. I would even accept these optional rules as a part of the game, because the game was not a d20 game under 2e. d20 games are d20 games, not pre-2000 D&D. 

I am also not saying that later clones, simulacra and tributes are not the same game. Some are. But some are decidedly not. The list of most candidates are rather short, but I won't go into that here.