Big publishers are in trouble and they know it, yet few are able to adjust. There are some typical problems when corporations become so large that they resist change and demonstrate a lack of flexibility.
Big publishing companies are riddled with institutional impediments to innovation. There are too many interest groups vying for features, too many bean-counters asking for things that benefit them but not the user, too many committees making compromise decisions, and too many people fearful of promising things without being completely certain that they can deliver. Development teams exaggerate the difficulty of implementing anything that is suggested. Newly hired employees reinforce current company strengths instead of addressing weaknesses. The culture becomes one of safety; speculative development is effectively discouraged. And, in this horrible economic climate, underlings are afraid to make too many waves lest they end up on the next layoff list.
It takes smaller, self-administered publishers to react and innovate, people still trying to make a legitimate name for themselves, still competing for product quality and evolving consumer demands rather than trying to buy up competitors for control to maintain the status quo. Eventually the status quo will fail and innovation will lead into the next round, and the cycle, no doubt will repeat as successful entrepreneurs sell out at a healthy profit and the big guys seek to rule again by the rule of quantity.