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Getting on the cover of PC Gamer is added publicity, which translates into added revenue for the project. To get there though, you have to spend more money. There's no formula to make profits in the games industry, including getting media coverage. 80% of games lose money, including many games that get a lot of press attention.
And it's not that these guys don't make quality games. Warren Spector has made some extremely quality games (System Shock, Thief, etc). There's a reason games like GTA or Halo sell really really well: They are built by some of the most talented developers in the industry and built with a great attention to detail. They aren't innovative (well, GTA isn't anymore. It was once.), but innovation and quality have little to do with each other most of the time. Warren is, flat-out, one of the best developers in the history of computer games.
Well, I'll just say again that I think you're confusing quality and innovation. If I eat a really great steak, I'm enjoying a quality experience, regardless of the fact that a steak is about as far away from innovative as you can get. Similarly, I could cook up an innovative dish composed of peanut butter, tuna, Tabasco, white truffles, and durian fruit, but it would be a horrible thing to eat and a total offence to taste.
--matt
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