New Directions for a Proven Leader

Here's an unusual TSR advertisement that started appearing during the summer of 1983.

I've long called science fiction an "also ran" genre in the hobby of roleplaying games, because, with the exception of Traveller in its heyday (and West End's Star Wars some time later), SF RPGs rarely captured a significant share of players. That's why it's interesting to see TSR trying to promote its various science fiction properties, like Star Frontiers and Gamma World , not to mention the recently acquired Ares magazine, as part of the company's "new directions." 
I can't help but wonder if ads like this suggest that TSR is simply doing so well that it feels confident enough of its position in the market to expand seriously into SF or rather that doing so had become a necessity as D&D's sales were slowing. I assume the former, but I have no special insights into the matter. Regardless, being a SF fan at heart, I appreciate seeing advertising like this (even if I wonder why TSR included the original 1978 version of Gamma World rather than the new one released the same year).