D&D 1E My clever theory: why 1e AD&D is being reprinted

[enrious]

I think it gets the attention of the old school crowd.

WotC alread has the attention of the 3.x/4e folks.

 

[Number48]

Isn't this a limited release, though? How many are being printed?

 

[The Human Target]

I doubt that WotC expects an average consumer (even and average gamer) to buy the 1st Edition reprints and then probably a year-ish later purchase a bunch of new 5e stuff.

I think its partially a way to ingratiate themselves with the old school movement.

And primarily them being nice and honoring Gygax, which is something a lot of people can't seem to fathom because they think WotC destroyed their childhoods.

 

[Glade Riven]

Or it could be that they have realised that with any long-running franchise and/or popular, collector's edition stuff sells well and makes booku bucks from the premium price.

 

[William Ronald]

Or it could be that they have realised that with any long-running franchise and/or popular, collector's edition stuff sells well and makes booku bucks from the premium price.

I think that this is possible. Also, I think that releasing the books may help draw in some old gamers to WotC. I am not as sure as Piratecat that the new edition will adhere as closely to a 1E-2E-3E feel, but I think that he may have a point. Either way, releasing the old books is a win for WotC and helps establish some trust. Now if they can release a lot of the old content that got pulled, I think that it would go a long way to heal some old wounds with a lot of people here and elsewhere. (Trust once lost is hard to regain.)

 

[darjr]

I also think they could use a little diversity in product during the period between the 'next' announcement and it's release. It's has to be a little scary for them.

Also could it be that they are confident that it wouldn't cannibalize sales of 'next'? Sure it's a small run so that should help but maybe it's more than that. Maybe in D&D 'next' lots of the content of those 1e AD&D books are compatible/usable? A guy can dream can't he?

 

[SlyDoubt]

I doubt this is their specific intention.

A nice little side effect and tie in? sure.

On a related note. I am EXCITED to get these books finally. Having played D&D for around 12 years and never touched AD&D or really anything but 3.X and some 4E.

 

[KidSnide]

Let's posit for a minute that the core of D&DNext cleaves more closely to 1e-2e-3e feel than 4e. Heck, lets even say closer to 1e with a bunch of modern innovations mixed in, like the best of the OSR games. I can see a problem with this. There are a ton of new gamers who have entered the hobby since 3e, and they'll have absolutely no idea what D&DNext is shooting for. Some of the decisions that cater to nostalgia may seem odd to them.

Thus, the re-release of the 1e books. They give newer gamers a chance to see what's come before, and (hopefully) they provide a positive basis for comparison with the new rules set. It's sort of brilliant, actually, because this is a case where everyone wins.

I think you're right that D&DNext probably draws at least as much inspiration from BECMI/1e/2e as it does from 3e and 4e. But I don't think the purpose of re-releasing the 1e books needs to be that directed.

We know that Mike and company have been playing a lot of the older editions. I think it's really easy to imagine them getting out the old books, getting hit by a wave of nostalgia, and re-learning how much fun the old system is. Since the OSR has demonstrated that there is a market for the old stuff, that (and the desire to do something to commemorate EGG) seems like enough reason to re-release the old books. I'm sure they're aware of the positive marketing aspect of the re-release and they hope to regain some goodwill from the OSR/PF part of the greater D&D community. (The goodwill aspect is likely a major objective.)

That said, I'm not sure "exposing young-ins to 1e" is a primary objective. Sure, they'd probably agree that it's a positive side effect, but it seems unlikely that a (relatively) expensive collector's edition would have been the right way to expose newer players to the older rules. If that had been the objective, I'd think a PDF release and some cheap/free 1e modules would be a better way of exposing "new eyes" to 1e.

-KS

 

[trancejeremy]

If they really wanted to be practical, they could have combined the PHB with UA, and the MM2 with MM1 and charge $40 a book (since the books still wouldn't exactly be huge).

I'd be all over that, since while the trio are fairly easy to come by cheap, UAs tended to fall apart and the MM2 can be somewhat pricey used.

 

[Sylrae]

Or it could be that they have realised that with any long-running franchise and/or popular, collector's edition stuff sells well and makes booku bucks from the premium price.

Or it could be that someone else wrote to them and gave them a decent business plan, which I don't think they would have ever thought of on their own.