No TLDs are not created equal ... not even remotely close ... And you can clearly see here, we all have quite the arguments/debates here at namepros.com regarding domain extensions and TLDs being more favored then GTLDs and we all know .com (TLD) is popular demand amongst consumers, however I personally believe the table is spinning and a new direction is aligning carefully and slowly ... today consumers are not as novice as we once thought ~ technology is growing at a rapid speed and in turn the knowledge of the internet is also slowly growing
Now I do believe given your question, and my answer, a great majority of extensions are dying off βcollapsingβ due to a number of things but one of those is demand for ~ however I also believe that a number of extensions, a handful maybe, will continue to profit and grow in the domain industry to a point where more consumers recognize TLDs versus GTLDs ...