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Community
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How many people do you know who haven't switched to 5e, and why haven't they?
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<blockquote data-quote="Bigkahuna" data-source="post: 6784883" data-attributes="member: 6808141"><p>New guy on the forum.. first post <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Interesting discussion reminiscent of a real life discussion I had recently about the same topic. I know a number of groups who switched from 3.5 to Pathfinder and haven't even looked at 4e or 5e and appear to have no interest in it at all. When I asked them why they basically told me that they had collected so many books and knew the system so intimately that switching at this point just seemed like far more of a hassle than it would be worth.</p><p></p><p>I think that this is perhaps the most convincing and understandable answer I had ever heard and I can honestly say that while I personally think 5e is the best version of D&D ever made, I can understand the appeal of pretty much every version of D&D ever made. They really all brought something to the table and ultimately I think as new versions were released many people simply committed to one or another version mentally and financially so switching from that point is less a matter of what is "better (objectively or subjectively) and really more of a "meh.. I have all these books I'm not switching" kind of a thing.</p><p></p><p>I think its far more common among role-players (gamers in general) to hold on tightly to the things they know and love, than it is to switch and try something new. Especially since switching and trying something new requires a new expenditure, time commitment (learning how to play etc..) with the caveat that you might end up after trying it (after spending money) not actually liking it as much as you did your old version.</p><p></p><p>Certainly if you got burned once that way, for example if you loved 3rd edition, bought 4th edition and didn't like it. You might not be so eager to try it again with 5th edition or Pathfinder.. or whatever.</p><p></p><p>In any case I think its actually kind of a historical problem with D&D because unlike most gaming systems that sort of evolve through an approach of improvement, D&D editions have always been about re-inventing and re-imagining the game. There was this constant push from the owners of the license to "re-create" D&D for a new generation when the reality was that new generations aren't created by supplying them with a new system or even a new product, new generations are created by the old generation of players that introduce them to the game. I have been role-playing since I was 11 (40 now) and in all of those years I have never once met a person who randomly decided to play D&D by buying books off the shelf, gathering a group and just start playing. There is always some history somewhere, some individual that introduces someone to the game and that and it catches on.</p><p></p><p>Sadly I think role-playing as a whole is suffering a great deal these days from the lack of understanding this unique element of the RPG market. You can't market an RPG game to new potential customers or new generation of gamers, the only route available is to create communities who bring in the next generation of gamers. Something that I think RPG publishers are really failing at right now because rather than expanding social media, digital communication and methods to bring people together they are actually shutting those things down. Its becoming more and more common to see RPG publishers without printed books, without forums, without digital tools for their games. They are sort of assuming these things are going to continue to be created by the general communities, and for a time they will but in the end I think these communities are going to be shrinking because they are becoming more and more fragmented. </p><p></p><p>In any case, back to the point, I think the reason why there is fewer and fewer people switching to newer systems is because communities aren't growing anymore and they are stagnating as older generation players have already found their favorite systems and so that's what they play. New generation gamers are more to seek out new game systems as they are fresh, inexperienced and more eager to try new things, but sadly there is fewer and fewer new players joining the ranks because communities are becoming so fragmented.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Bigkahuna, post: 6784883, member: 6808141"] New guy on the forum.. first post :) Interesting discussion reminiscent of a real life discussion I had recently about the same topic. I know a number of groups who switched from 3.5 to Pathfinder and haven't even looked at 4e or 5e and appear to have no interest in it at all. When I asked them why they basically told me that they had collected so many books and knew the system so intimately that switching at this point just seemed like far more of a hassle than it would be worth. I think that this is perhaps the most convincing and understandable answer I had ever heard and I can honestly say that while I personally think 5e is the best version of D&D ever made, I can understand the appeal of pretty much every version of D&D ever made. They really all brought something to the table and ultimately I think as new versions were released many people simply committed to one or another version mentally and financially so switching from that point is less a matter of what is "better (objectively or subjectively) and really more of a "meh.. I have all these books I'm not switching" kind of a thing. I think its far more common among role-players (gamers in general) to hold on tightly to the things they know and love, than it is to switch and try something new. Especially since switching and trying something new requires a new expenditure, time commitment (learning how to play etc..) with the caveat that you might end up after trying it (after spending money) not actually liking it as much as you did your old version. Certainly if you got burned once that way, for example if you loved 3rd edition, bought 4th edition and didn't like it. You might not be so eager to try it again with 5th edition or Pathfinder.. or whatever. In any case I think its actually kind of a historical problem with D&D because unlike most gaming systems that sort of evolve through an approach of improvement, D&D editions have always been about re-inventing and re-imagining the game. There was this constant push from the owners of the license to "re-create" D&D for a new generation when the reality was that new generations aren't created by supplying them with a new system or even a new product, new generations are created by the old generation of players that introduce them to the game. I have been role-playing since I was 11 (40 now) and in all of those years I have never once met a person who randomly decided to play D&D by buying books off the shelf, gathering a group and just start playing. There is always some history somewhere, some individual that introduces someone to the game and that and it catches on. Sadly I think role-playing as a whole is suffering a great deal these days from the lack of understanding this unique element of the RPG market. You can't market an RPG game to new potential customers or new generation of gamers, the only route available is to create communities who bring in the next generation of gamers. Something that I think RPG publishers are really failing at right now because rather than expanding social media, digital communication and methods to bring people together they are actually shutting those things down. Its becoming more and more common to see RPG publishers without printed books, without forums, without digital tools for their games. They are sort of assuming these things are going to continue to be created by the general communities, and for a time they will but in the end I think these communities are going to be shrinking because they are becoming more and more fragmented. In any case, back to the point, I think the reason why there is fewer and fewer people switching to newer systems is because communities aren't growing anymore and they are stagnating as older generation players have already found their favorite systems and so that's what they play. New generation gamers are more to seek out new game systems as they are fresh, inexperienced and more eager to try new things, but sadly there is fewer and fewer new players joining the ranks because communities are becoming so fragmented. [/QUOTE]
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How many people do you know who haven't switched to 5e, and why haven't they?
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