I think it's always been this way. GNU is mostly known for its userspace base system. They have a few higher level applications like MediaGoblin, Health and Oct

I think it's always been this way. GNU is mostly known for its userspace base system. They have a few higher level applications like MediaGoblin, Health and Octave, but those are outliers. Then GNOME is practically a separate project these days, despite ostensibly being part of GNU. It's the FSF that reaches the wider audiences through their guerrilla tactics.