D&D 5E Anything new on release dates? (As of May 8)

[fjw70]

IIRC, the covers for the PHB and DMG (maybe just the PHB?) were shown at GAMA. So that would seem to be fairly solid confirmation of those books.

PH, DMG, and MM covers were all shown.

 

[Shiroiken]

Well it is simple common sense, isn't it? I mean, there has to be SOME time between announcement and actual release. Two months seems minimal, even less than minimal, as retailers will want time to build up hype and plan events around the release.



I'm not a marketer, nor have I studied product releases but I do think it rather unusual that there isn't at least a three month period between announcement and actual release date. See what I said above to Sword of Spirit - there are many reasons for people to know a few months in advance when the actual release date. Imagine if you are a game store owner - don't you want to know and plan an event accordingly? And if you're WotC, don't you want retailers to hype your product as much as possible?

well, WotC has no problem planning events and not telling anyone. During the playtest, they dropped a new packet for Vault of the Dracolich 1 day before the event, with the assumption that the new packet would be used. This caused a scramble at my FLGS, as the DMs read the new packet and notified players who pre-made characters that they are not useable. Not fun.

As for the Hype... I think the 2 year playtest has probably burned out the Hype for now. I suspect they probably only need to announce the launch for Gen-Con within a month or so to restart the buzz. It's also quite possible that there has been a delay and may not launch at Gen Con as everyone hoped.

 

[Mercurius]

well, WotC has no problem planning events and not telling anyone.

Yeah, and as you described, that's a real problem.

As for the Hype... I think the 2 year playtest has probably burned out the Hype for now. I suspect they probably only need to announce the launch for Gen-Con within a month or so to restart the buzz. It's also quite possible that there has been a delay and may not launch at Gen Con as everyone hoped.

This is what I'm worried about. No use over-speculating, but I wonder if there is a delay and it will be released for the holidays, and WotC is just putting off the announcement for as long as possible, knowing there's going to be nerdrage.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Yeah, and as you described, that's a real problem.

This makes me wonder. It might be a hassle for us, but are they losing any sales over it? How many DMs just gave up in disgust rather than cram Vault of the Dracolich, for instance?

This is what I'm worried about. No use over-speculating, but I wonder if there is a delay and it will be released for the holidays, and WotC is just putting off the announcement for as long as possible, knowing there's going to be nerdrage.

Could be. But they never said when the PHB+DMG+MM would be released, so it's quite possible they are putting off an announcement until they are completely sure so that they don't end up saying something and not fulfilling it.

But I wonder if, perhaps, they have learned there lesson from the past and are actually using good business strategy. That doesn't necessarily equate to "satisfying impatient fans."

We know that they've lost a lot of goodwill from the fanbase, and losing more of that is undesirable, and I'm sure they are well aware of that. On the other hand, sometimes you have to take a hit to gain a win. Maybe they've analyzed risks vs. benefits, and are making the choices that are objectively expected to get the best long-term results--which requires fan goodwill and quality.

From everything I've seen, that's really the impression I'm getting. I'm sure others will differ, but I'm betting they are actually making the best decisions they can from a business standpoint, and I doubt they are going to lose much in sales, or even goodwill, by not announcing what products they are putting out when a couple months sooner than they end up actually doing it. Most players and potential players aren't even worrying about 5e right now, and won't start thinking about it until the announcement. It's just us online followers who are waiting with baited breath for every piece of news.

 

[Stormonu]

This seems quite the opposite from previous version - I mean, look at World and Momsters for 4E, for example.

I sure hope they aren't trying to take notes from GW, who doesn't let you know about new realeases until something like 24 hours before it goes on sale.

 

[jodyjohnson]

We know also nothing about the new edition ... beyond the 16 distinct packets in the completely open playtest.

And the almost weekly L&L, Q&A, and semi-monthly Live Sessions.

 

[Ichneumon]

We know also nothing about the new edition ... beyond the 16 distinct packets in the completely open playtest.

And the almost weekly L&L, Q&A, and semi-monthly Live Sessions.

Despite the paucity of information, I can confidently predict that the chance of THAC0 is slim in this one.

 

[Shiroiken]

This makes me wonder. It might be a hassle for us, but are they losing any sales over it? How many DMs just gave up in disgust rather than cram Vault of the Dracolich, for instance.

I doubt it will affect sales. Most (I assume) are suckers like me that want a good product, even if it's from a terrible company like them.

Of course, I know it's not helping them win back any PF players. I've spoken with a few who've said that Next could be vastly superior to PF and they still may not switch back, just because of WotC's attitude and practices.

 

[DMZ2112]

IIRC, the covers for the PHB and DMG (maybe just the PHB?) were shown at GAMA. So that would seem to be fairly solid confirmation of those books.

I know, but I'm still trying to figure out why Mearls winced every time the DMG was mentioned at last month's Q&A. I don't feel like the existence of the DMG ought to be in any way controversial. It makes me think.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I know, but I'm still trying to figure out why Mearls winced every time the DMG was mentioned at last month's Q&A. I don't feel like the existence of the DMG ought to be in any way controversial. It makes me think.

Yeah. I'm thinking they probably just have a blanket "no naming products" policy right now, most likely from above Mearls' head, that means they can't talk about it.