morgul97 said:I think WOTC should focus at least part of their marketing approach on attracting a wider audiene to RPG's in general. I realize it is going to be a very controversial statement, but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be in WOTC's and the hobby in general's best interst long term to take tabletop RPGing out of its niche market place and move it into the "mainstream." Clearly online / computer gaming (including RPGs) has been a huge growth industry and has gained wide acceptance in our larger culture. I don't see any reason why moving tabletop gaming forward in that same way wouldn't be a huge win for the industry. The most popular movies and books in the past 10 years have been fantasy settings (LOTR and Harry Potter). Why not capture some of this market and bring them in.
The immediacy of online gaming is the big difference. To get involved in WoW or another online fantasy RPG, all you have to go is buy or download the game, install it, and log in. To get involved in D&D, you have to either find or create a group of real live people. That isn't always easy.
WotC has been running ads pointing out the essential difference between MMOs and D&D for a couple of years now -- has it helped mainstream the game?
Finally, does it really matter if D&D has as big a playerbase as WoW? I don't think so.