Given that WACTHMEN was basically an "Elseworlds" story of the Charlton characters, I still fail to see what the big deal is.
These are my reasons:
1) It's too late. Watchmen 2 in the 90s would have been a good time to put this out. That was the time that the grim n gritty era peaked, and some of the concepts from Watchmen would still seem fresh.
2)It's really just another mega event. 34 issues, weekly is too much.
3)I see it more as an act of desperation by DC, like their rushed DCnU line.