Respectfully, I completely disagree.
I don't see the big problem in the playset, but I haven't built it - only watched the video.
More for the money? Obviously that would be nice... but this has THE daddy of all Dragons, plain and simple. It's what the book was all about, really, and certainly represents some favorite scenes from the movies.
Was LotR about Helm's Deep? Nah, it was arguably the best battle scene in the trilogy, I will grant you.
Wow factor? I don't see any in HD. I built it, thought it was a bit better than my low expectations, and took it apart a week later.
Smaug, on the other hand... well, he inspires awe, plain and simple: http://community.brickpicker.com/topic/7149-10237-the-tower-of-orthanc/page-35#entry432828
I'm not trying to tear anyone's opinion down, but rather help folks understand that, from an investment standpoint, this set is looking like a BIG ONE at the moment. It has lots of magical ingredients. If you don't like it, no sweat. But if you need to find a place to put some money and see it grow, this is probably a far better bet than you may think.
There could be less of these made than ToO. There are surely MANY less out there than UG, probably HD, or possibly ANY LotR/Hobbit set. And it is arguably the most iconic of all.
Let's face it, we are paying huge for the dragon, a little more for the other minifigs, and the rest is gravy. Hobbit fans who get into Lego a year or more from now are going fork over whatever it takes to get this set.
If you missed out on Town Hall, don't get fooled again...