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Behold a final, and perhaps definitive, graph of D&D vs. AD&D sales over time! From Ben Riggs.
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<blockquote data-quote="Snarf Zagyg" data-source="post: 8716098" data-attributes="member: 7023840"><p>I'm going to say this again- I don't think these numbers accurately reflect 80s reality.</p><p></p><p>First, a quibble. While the "Basic" from Dr. Holmes is called "Basic," it is <u>not the same</u> as the later Basic/Expert editions. It is better to think of that as OD&D than what we saw starting with Moldvay. So the '79 and '80 numbers are all Holmes, and the '80 numbers are partly Holmes.</p><p></p><p>Next, the book sales don't necessarily equate to actual play. If you look at the GenCon reports (for example) you will see that there is always a consistent 10:1 or more advantage of AD&D tables to the combined number of OD&D and B/X tables during that time. Same with 3PPs and Dragon Magazine. </p><p></p><p>A lot of players who played AD&D also had B/X material (either they got it and migrated to AD&D, they bought it by accident, or they received copies of it from friends and relatives who wanted to get them "something" that was D&D). </p><p></p><p>But I think that the inference that I am seeing- that B/X was as popular, or even more popular, than AD&D during the 80s is wildly incorrect and poorly supported.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snarf Zagyg, post: 8716098, member: 7023840"] I'm going to say this again- I don't think these numbers accurately reflect 80s reality. First, a quibble. While the "Basic" from Dr. Holmes is called "Basic," it is [U]not the same[/U] as the later Basic/Expert editions. It is better to think of that as OD&D than what we saw starting with Moldvay. So the '79 and '80 numbers are all Holmes, and the '80 numbers are partly Holmes. Next, the book sales don't necessarily equate to actual play. If you look at the GenCon reports (for example) you will see that there is always a consistent 10:1 or more advantage of AD&D tables to the combined number of OD&D and B/X tables during that time. Same with 3PPs and Dragon Magazine. A lot of players who played AD&D also had B/X material (either they got it and migrated to AD&D, they bought it by accident, or they received copies of it from friends and relatives who wanted to get them "something" that was D&D). But I think that the inference that I am seeing- that B/X was as popular, or even more popular, than AD&D during the 80s is wildly incorrect and poorly supported. [/QUOTE]
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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Behold a final, and perhaps definitive, graph of D&D vs. AD&D sales over time! From Ben Riggs.
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