D&D 4E 4E announcement, good for business?

[the Lorax]

No, I think "one year warning" was necessary. Imagine the outcry, if they would have announced at GenCon that 4.0 is coming out in October. This certainly hurts their sales for the next year, but in the same time they now have one year to build up the hype.

Plus I guess (hope) there will be large scale playtesting in the next few months. How were there supposed to keep that secret?

"One year warning" was, as I recall, the promise. Having been promised 1 year and been given 9 months, and been told that major D&D announcements would be made at whatever they call Winter Fantasy now all leaves me a bit irritated, even if I have had a number of irritations with the 3.x edition rules.

Clearly the catalog for the next year being light looking (and I remember a number of people commenting on the available products comming out) and the nature of the scheduled releases (all fluff, no crunch) really pointed to 4e be something that was comming soon.

Honestly, 18 months would've worked a lot better for me. I have a considerable amount of material that I haven't really had a chance to explore.

I really want to like 4e, but it's a pretty bitter pill to swallow right after the whole Dungeon/Dragon mess.

 

[Vigilance]

This time around, we only have 9 months.

Um... isn't the 4e PHB coming out at GenCon next year?

I think we got a year's notice.

 

[WhatGravitas]

Um... isn't the 4e PHB coming out at GenCon next year?

I think we got a year's notice.

It comes out in May 08, followed by the MM in June 08, and the DMG in July 08. We basically get a completed 4E for GenCon. But yeah, it's about a year, until we get a fully playable 4E.

 

[CharlesRyan]

WotC can't give less than 5 to 8 months notice for 4E (or any D&D product, really) because that's the notice that the book trade requires. Once you've announced it to the book trade, it's public.

The 4E PHB comes out in May, so no, it's not quite a year.

The "one year's notice" statement came from me. When I was running the brand, that was the plan. But in business, as in all aspects of life, things change and plans change. I don't recommend getting bent out of shape every time a business (or anyone else) says something, then, three years later, deviates slightly from what they said.

 

[Morrus]

I don't recommend getting bent out of shape every time a business (or anyone else) says something, then, three years later, deviates slightly from what they said.

But... but... that's what messageboards are for!

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Frankly, I think they should have provided about 18 months notice. I'm not sure they left enough time for public playtesting before they have to lock the books and go to print.

 

[Nebulous]

Frankly, I think they should have provided about 18 months notice. I'm not sure they left enough time for public playtesting before they have to lock the books and go to print.

If if i had to wait 18 MONTHS for a product that sounds exciting and i am itching to play, i would probably tear my hair out. That's just too long. I'm pleased with the time frame as it is, and the large amount of information that is being slowly disseminated.

 

[Scribble]

But... but... that's what messageboards are for!

That, and calling people Nazis...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

That, and calling people Nazis...

I would, but you're not German. And probably not old enough. You can't be a real Nazi. But since you're from San Francisco, I'll call you a Surf Nazi and hope you're hunted down by a cigar-smoking mama on a bike with a shotgun!

 

[Ranger REG]

The "one year's notice" statement came from me. When I was running the brand, that was the plan. But in business, as in all aspects of life, things change and plans change. I don't recommend getting bent out of shape every time a business (or anyone else) says something, then, three years later, deviates slightly from what they said.

Learned my lesson when 3.5e came out just THREE years after 3.0e.

I'm going to wait 3-4 years after 4.0e release, just in case. I recommend everyone to do the same. At least this should encourage WotC to get it right (errata-wise) on the First Printing run.