You're trying to put a spin on it that isn't there. TES uses a genre standard. TES still uses a bulk "XP pool" but it simply puts it in two separate stages instead of the normal single stage that is found everywhere else.

Single stage is the following: Perform an action/actions to gain exp; when X amount of exp is gained, level up.

TES does it this way: Perform an action to gain exp; when X amount of exp is gained, skill that action is linked to levels up, when X amount of said level is gained, level up.

It's the exact same system, TES simply adds a middleman between action exp and leveling up.

Simply put, TES still does "do enough of X to level up."

Maybe. I guess it depends on how far back you go in your abstraction. Yes, in both cases you're still technically gaining experience to level up.

I still think there is a difference since they both play very differently. In the segmented skill based system, people will be doing different things to level up based upon your class or how you want to level up. In the centralized pool system, everyone will be doing the same things to level up.

That's not true either, take Dungeons & Dragons for instance.

In D&D players are rewarded for the actions they perform, whether it's disarming a trap, reading a encrypted tome or defeating a dragon. There is just no middleman like there is in TES.

At the moment it seems The Secret World is going to be the next major push on innovating gameplay, I don't think GW2 is enough of a push.

Guild Wars 2has 10X more hype then The Secret World.

TSW is a niche game, and has some several terrible sounding gameplay elements

At what point was I talking about hype? Of course GW2 has a huge amount of hype (so does almost every single MMO within the last 5 years).
Nor does it been what you call a 'niche game' change anything when it comes too trying new things.

As for the mechanics, well maybe in your opinion you don't think they sound very good, but I personally think they sound fantastic and more innovating than GW2s.

The problem is, doing new things is meaingless when most people dont know you did them.

The Secret World doesn't have the momentum to change anything, and given its terrible pay to play + microtransaction model, its gonna drive away most people.

Its gonna be a small game, thats going to fail, and change nothing.

We don't that yet (though fair guesses can be made), but if it does fail horribly then that tells other developers not to go along that path.
But we won't know how successful it will be until it comes out, I wouldn't write it off as a bomb just yet.