An argument could be made that the D6 is more readily available, but this is probably irrelevant in the context of miniature gaming: miniatures themselves are NOT "readily available", and you can get the specialized dice from the same store you get your miniatures!
That being said, I fell deeply in love with the classic D&D polyhedra the moment I first saw them. Platonic solids are cool! They're delightfully arcane and geeky. They complement each other in a set. I wish the weird d8 and d12 throws came up more often.
Perhaps there's a lesson here for UX in general: sometimes there's a tradeoff between being _simple_ and being _interesting_, and (particularly in the world of games) it's a tradeoff worth taking seriously.
I prefer the d12 to the d6 for generic rolls, as it allows for the least number of sides with the most human-usable fractions (25/50/75%, 33/66%, and "a little less than 10%").
I share your love of D&D dice :)
Games you mention are still made, but they're a niche product in a niche market.
Needle moving growth for the tabletop industry comes from introducing new people to the hobby, not from selling another Space Marine model to an existing gamer. It's difficult to build a sustainable tabletop business without one or two big hits (ex: Days of Wonder's "Ticket to Ride"). It's even harder for companies that sacrifice usability for realistic simulations.