Yes and that is nice, it'll allow future import map support, like in the browser, which is inline with Deno's goal of using browser APIs instead of proprietary

Yes and that is nice, it'll allow future import map support, like in the browser, which is inline with Deno's goal of using browser APIs instead of proprietary ones. But the package.json format part is a backwards compatibility feature. The preferred import maps will be the ideal solution (if you do need dependency management). None of that really goes against direct imports, which work well for single file scripts, workers, etc. Choose what fits.