D&D General The Double-Edged Sword: Is The New D&D Edition a Cash Grab in Disguise?

[Sulicius]

The problem is that this is not what is happening. There are large parts of the game being "reimagined" or "rebalanced".

I think at this point you’ve seen enough people disagree that the answer to your title is “no”?

 

[Thomas Shey]

You can't win with new edition-like things; if you do actual work to tune things up, people wring their hands about it being "too soon" (whatever number they have their) and about their current books being made superfluous; if you just deal with some typoes and maybe format, people accuse you of trying to fool people.

 

[Remathilis]

I don't consider solely visual updates worth paying for.

That's your prerogative. That doesn't make it wrong for them to sell an updated book with new art and layout. You're not forced to buy it.

 

[Willie the Duck]

sigh and you just accept it like a good little consumer.

Y'all deserved to be taken for every penny.

I think the word you are looking for is "sheeple."
Believe me, barring someone truly new to the internet, we've all seen this routine before.

 

[CleverNickName]

sigh and you just accept it like a good little consumer.

I'm fascinated to hear what the alternative might be.

 

[Remathilis]

Agreed. This is where there is value added.

I disagree with @Remathilis on their comment. While I wouldn't consider this a whole new edition, it does seem to be more than just a refresh like a car getting a mid-generation face lift. It appears they are genuinely trying to update, improve, and consolidate with these new books, which is what makes it's content worth getting excited for. At the same time they're leaving in the core structure of 5E and working to keep it compatible with past content which keeps it from being considered a wholly new edition.

Heh, I was tangenting on the notion that selling the same book with new art is a cash grab, circa the 95 Black Cover PHB. If it was, every novel with a new cover and pagination is a cash grab.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

I'm fascinated to hear what the alternative might be.

Torches and pitchforks?

 

[Deset Gled]

The original post was positioned more as a question rather than a statement: Is it a cash grab? is that a good thing or bad? is it a positive or a negative for the industry?

I'm sorry, but, no. It absolutely was not a question. You may have managed to put a question mark in there, but it is 100% clear from the extremely one sided blog post and all of your responses here that you have a very, very clear bias. You may be phrasing it as a question, but you are clearly promoting a position.

You are, of course, entitled to your opinion. But let's not pretend anything here has been presented from a neutral standpoint.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm fascinated to hear what the alternative might be.

...not buying it? It's been suggested (to me in fact).

 

[Jer]

That one definitely seemed like a cash grab. There are reasons to believe the current 5.5 push isn't.

Eh - if it was an attempt at a cash grab it certainly didn't feel like it would have been a successful one. The look and design on the second printing of the 2e books didn't really sell them as must haves and there wasn't really a reason to get them beyond that.

I guess if you think that anything targeting folks with collector mentality is a cash grab then it could be a cash grab. Is that the definition of a cash grab? Trying to get people who gotta catch 'em all to pony up money by exploiting their need to collect? I have to think about that.