Its also $150 on a game you may not like. After 4th ed not willing to buy D&D sight unseen like I was for 2nd,3./0 and 3.5. If you like D&DN $150 is not that bad. But if you don't like it you have flushed $150 down the toilet.
Its also $150 on a game you may not like. After 4th ed not willing to buy D&D sight unseen like I was for 2nd,3./0 and 3.5. If you like D&DN $150 is not that bad. But if you don't like it you have flushed $150 down the toilet.
I think most of the people complaining about the price tag would balk at spending that much money on other forms of entertainment, though.
I'm pretty sure the people who can afford to buy three $50 video games on a whim aren't the people complaining about D&D's price tag.
I'm pretty sure most of those people (including me) will read this thread and say "Yeah, those things you mention are expensive too. That's why I don't spend money on them either."
You want me to play, give me a $50 single book for hardcover+electronic format that I can start running a campaign with, and then add on from there IF I feel I need more material. That's what Pathfinder did, that's what 13th Age did, two modern RPGs very close to D&D in market segment.
No, in perspective $150 isn't really that much for adult entertainment (not that kind of adult entertainment -- get your mind out of the gutter).
But it sure seems pretty steep to me as a means of attracting new, young players to the game -- teens and college students, who probably don't have the disposable income. IMO the PHB should be priced at a lower price point to bring more players into the game. $90-120 for the set would seem to be a better target.
It's also worth noting the cost of a recent Warhammer Army book, Warriors of Chaos - US$49.50. It's a full-colour hardcover book. The kicker? It is only 96 pages!