Prediction: 3.5 DMs will *always* find players

[JoeGKushner]

I think there will always be a solid 3.5 market, and the publisher who positions themselves right will be able to take advantage of that.

I think the continuation of 3.5 as a viable game will rely less on the 4E mechanic, which I believe will be as solid as 3.5 (at a minimum) and more on the perception of the high cost of the new game, the relation between WotC and its customers, and the relation between the DDI and 4E. It's not "all about the game". The game and its mechanics are only a part of the story.

YMMV

As opposed to today where some publishers have to make deluxe products limited in print runs in order to sell out of them? Or that d20 as a viable marketing tool is basically dead and several companies have not only made their own d20 variants, but some have went to in-house systems?

NOt seeing it.

 

[thedungeondelver]

So a friend of mine and I were waxing philosophical today about the upcoming 4e. And here's one thing we agreed on: unlike AD&D 1e/2e, where it is extremely difficult to find people to play (not impossible, certainly, but difficult)

...

Am I right?

Nope; I've got nine people in my biweekly AD&D game and five people in my weekly!

All kidding aside, there will be folks to game with for whatever game you can come up with - the massive popularity of all forms of D&D mean that unless you just happen to live in a generally "gamer poor" area, you should be able to find folks up for whatever!

 

[Wombat]

Right now there is a lot of talk, both positive and negative, about 4e ... and this long before we have seen it.

There were those who said, "I'll never give up 2nd edition!" ... but did anyway.

There were those who jumped on the 3.5 bandwagon ... only to find themselves falling back towards 3e.

For the most part, however, 4e will eclipse 3.X in a relatively short period of time, mainly because "new" is automatically (in a psychological sense) better than "old" in the English-speaking world. And since there will not be "support" for the old system, people will drift, quickly or slowly, over to the new one.

Then there will be the backwash -- the people who drift back wanting that "3e experience", or the ones who want "something like the old system, but with some of the mechanics of the new", thus leading to C&C4e-version, or equivalent thereof. But these people will be in the minority.

I've watched this happen with multiple editions of multiple games now. I know the drill.

 

[the black knight]

With new editions comes new fans. These editions also alienate fans of previous editions, in this case creating a new subset of grognards faithful to 3e/3.5

How many editions need to come out before the older editions have claimed too much of Wotc's market share to profit by a new edition? Perhaps it doesn't matter, beacuse the older grognards will soon find themselves facing old age and death.

The dead make room for the living.

 

[Uder]

As all the kids playing D&D3.x get jobs, build families, etc. it will be harder to find groups. Just as it's getting easier to find AD&D groups now that those players are "settling down" and getting more leisure time, it will start to get easier to find 3.x groups in about 15-20 years.

Of course, if you keep your group happy and the game fun, you'll never be out of a game no matter what rpg you play or what your current life circumstances are.

 

[Uder]

Nope; I've got nine people in my biweekly AD&D game and five people in my weekly!

All kidding aside, there will be folks to game with for whatever game you can come up with - the massive popularity of all forms of D&D mean that unless you just happen to live in a generally "gamer poor" area, you should be able to find folks up for whatever!

I saw an amazing thing a couple of months back. A group of people were playing AD&D 3.5. That is, they had all of the current books, character sheets, D&D minis etc., but watching them actually play? They weren't really using skills, they were rolling d10's for group init., they were playing with gestalt classes (aka 1/2e multiclass) ... Nobody was counting squares, nobody was vulturing for attacks of opportunity. Somebody cast a spell, and actually asked the DM what the spell did! The DM told her (and was off a bit, it was a cure spell and the DM forgot the level bonus), and the game sailed on! Reminded me of playing AD&D and Basic hybrids from back when I was a teenager.

 

[rgard]

I saw an amazing thing a couple of months back. A group of people were playing AD&D 3.5. That is, they had all of the current books, character sheets, D&D minis etc., but watching them actually play? They weren't really using skills, they were rolling d10's for group init., they were playing with gestalt classes (aka 1/2e multiclass) ... Nobody was counting squares, nobody was vulturing for attacks of opportunity. Somebody cast a spell, and actually asked the DM what the spell did! The DM told her (and was off a bit, it was a cure spell and the DM forgot the level bonus), and the game sailed on! Reminded me of playing AD&D and Basic hybrids from back when I was a teenager.

And they were having fun I bet!

 

[Razz]

I saw an amazing thing a couple of months back. A group of people were playing AD&D 3.5. That is, they had all of the current books, character sheets, D&D minis etc., but watching them actually play? They weren't really using skills, they were rolling d10's for group init., they were playing with gestalt classes (aka 1/2e multiclass) ... Nobody was counting squares, nobody was vulturing for attacks of opportunity. Somebody cast a spell, and actually asked the DM what the spell did! The DM told her (and was off a bit, it was a cure spell and the DM forgot the level bonus), and the game sailed on! Reminded me of playing AD&D and Basic hybrids from back when I was a teenager.

How do they feel about WotC now abandoning their edition of the game for the "cash cow" of 4E?

 

[Razz]

Nah, won't happen.

Am I right?

Well, there're "4E Revolutions" springing up here in MO.

Two hobby shops in the St. Louis region have declared they will "not carry any 4th Edition books and will refuse to order them in" because of the anger from both the store owners and the customers about WotC creating a new edition too early just for the money and destroying so many sacred cows in 4E D&D.

More power to them. I plan on boycotting D&D books once 2008 begins.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm too damn old and have too little time to run around willy nilly learning new game mechanics. Let's leave that up to the young ones and the people who get paid to diss the current system.

All this is missing is you demanding those damned kids staying off your lawn.