D&D General Some Interesting Stats About D&D Players!

The full cover spread for Phandelver and Below, by Antonio José Manzanedo​

GeekWire has reported on the recent D&D press event (which I've covered elsewhere). Along with all the upcoming product information we've all been devouring over the last day or two, there were some interesting tidbits regarding D&D player demographics.

• 60% of D&D players are male, 39% are female, and 1% identify otherwise
• 60% are “hybrid” players, who switch between playing the game physically or online
• 58% play D&D on a weekly basis
• 48% identify as millennials, 19% from Generation X and 33% from Generation Z
• The majority of current D&D players started with 5th Edition

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

But there are still a freaking lot of them. More than Gen X.

Wait five years. We are at the start of a steep decline in Baby Boomer numbers.

Again. If Gen X is 19% but Boomers are less than 1%, then either the survey is faulty or the survey is only for WOTC style D&D aka 5e.

OK. So what?

Let's say you are 100% correct on everything. So what?

What would you like WotC to do differently because of it?

Create a disco-themed campaign set in Greyhawk? New iconic characters including a half-elf who drives a Trans Am? Drop more references to Ronald Reagan and Back to the Future into the Forgotten Realms?

 

[Parmandur]

Create a disco-themed campaign set in Greyhawk? New iconic characters including a half-elf who drives a Trans Am? Drop more references to Ronald Reagan and Back to the Future into the Forgotten Realms?

Actually, hold on, I have to save these ideas for the general comments field on the next big survey.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think the moat interesting admission from WotC has nothing to so with generations, but the admission that 2E AD&D remained the dominant "I started playing" version until well into 5E. That speaks volumes about the problems 3E, 3.5, and 4E experienced in actually growing the brand.

It certainly explains why people remain furious that WotC won't bring back lines that lost TSR a lot of money, like Birthright.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I do not understand that statement at all however, given that they sold around half as many 2e core books as 1e, and that sold slightly less than BX/BECMI for a while.

So I cannot get to that point at all

Those 1E and Basic players stopped playing, while the 2E folks did not.

TW: People got older, their interests changed, and some of them died. The 1E and Basic people are further along in that cycle than the 2E-era folks are.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I do have an issue, as I stated above, with the presentation that "all WotC customers" actually means "all D&D players". I'm sure the survey is pretty accurate under the first description, but they're using the second. Say what you mean!

They, like certain posters on ENWorld, view D&D as the current brand only and not in the more colloquial sense, which refers to D&D as D&D and all first-generation descendants, like previous editions, Pathfinder, retroclones and most OSR.

There is no reason for them to measure anyone outside the first group unless the brand is in big trouble, which it is not.

 

[Micah Sweet]

OK. So what?

Let's say you are 100% correct on everything. So what?

What would you like WotC to do differently because of it?

I would like them to say they are talking about the demographics of their customers, and stop pretending they are talking about all D&D players.

 

[Minigiant]

OK. So what?

Let's say you are 100% correct on everything. So what?

What would you like WotC to do differently because of it?

Create a disco-themed campaign set in Greyhawk? New iconic characters including a half-elf who drives a Trans Am? Drop more references to Ronald Reagan and Back to the Future into the Forgotten Realms?

Doesn't bother me.

My only thing is that if the numbers are true, it correlates to what I always believed:

WOTC heavily catered to older gamers in the orginal design of D&D Next but few of them bought it after the core books. So 5e has a ton of legacy design core decisions tailored a very small percentage of 5e gamers. So Millenenials might have to wait for 6e for a D&D edition that heavily caters to them within its core. And by then, we'll be the old people.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I would like them to say they are talking about the demographics of their customers, and stop pretending they are talking about all D&D players.

Why? What would that get you or them?

 

[Micah Sweet]

They, like certain posters on ENWorld, view D&D as the current brand only and not in the more colloquial sense, which refers to D&D as D&D and all first-generation descendants, like previous editions, Pathfinder, retroclones and most OSR.

There is no reason for them to measure anyone outside the first group unless the brand is in big trouble, which it is not.

No, there isn't. But D&D isn't just WotC's current customers, and if they were in presenting it as such, I will persist in requesting more honest information from them. It's really not hard, just say that this survey provides the following results from among our customer base. Say that and I'm done. I hate when companies say hazy, pithy things to the public.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why? What would that get you or them?

Intellectual honesty.