The misbegotten waif thread a/k/a The Fray V2

[renau1g]

For those not really following 4e, Wizards just cut their book offering this year in half.

From today's Ampersand (emphasis mine) :

D&D RPG Product Release Updates

Despite the best laid plans, sometimes we make changes to the D&D product release schedule. Usually this happens well before we’ve communicated our plans, but sometimes we must make changes to schedules that have already been announced. That happens to be the case we have here.

We have made the decision to depart from prepainted plastic miniatures sets. Lords of Madness stands as the final release under that model. We will continue to release special collector’s sets (such as the Beholder Collector’s Set we released last fall), as well as make use of plastic figures in other product offerings. Check out the Wrath of Ashardalon board game next month for the latest example of this. Moving forward, we will continue to explore more options for players to represent characters and monsters on the tabletop, including Monster Vault and other D&D products that feature monster and character tokens.

The Heroes of Shadow product, originally scheduled for March and presented in digest-sized, paperback format, is moving to April to accommodate a change to hardcover format. Additionally, three D&D RPG products have been removed from the 2011 release schedule—Class Compendium: Heroes of Sword and Spell, Mordenkainen’s Magnificent Emporium, and Hero Builder’s Handbook. While this means fewer books, we plan to deliver just as much great content for players this year through other formats, including board games, accessories, and digital offerings. I’ll keep you up-to-date on the latest releases each month as we go along.


So barring further announcements, the ONLY book releases this year are Heroes of Shadow (APR), Shadowfell (JUN), and the Monster Vault: TttNV (JUN).

I'll theorize, pulling all this information from my butt. I have no data to back any of it up, it's doubtlessly riddled with holes in logic, and it's worth exactly what you're paying for it - zilch! But it's fun to consider.

Given:

- Recent releases (Essentials, Red Box) are targeted to new gamers or disaffected older gamers.

- Pathfinder is selling roughly what 4e is according to one report (rumor?) I heard. If the size of the RPG "pie" is equal to what it is during 3e (almost certainly not the case; 4e has brought some people into the hobby for the first time, and some people have dropped out), then WotC D&D sales are about half of what they used to be.

- D&D is expensive, manpower-heavy and slow to produce. WotC pays good money to freelancers and has good salaries for employees; they work years ahead of schedule, making it hard to predict market trends. D&D employs a relatively large amount of people relative to its sales size compared to other brands at WotC and Hasbro.

- The DDI delays, cuts and errors match a pattern of not enough manpower to deliver expected results in the anticipated time. Changes in schedule have the net result of trying to free peoples' time by reducing work that does not directly produce income (such as no longer compiling the web articles.)

To me, that spells trouble. It indicates that the D&D line is under-performing and is trying to do more with less.

I'm not sure what to say about that, other than I don't believe that WotC would sell the D&D brand - not with DDO doing well and both a movie and another major computer game on the way. My guess is that in a worst case scenario they maintain the brand until they can revitalize it.

Huh. I just depressed myself. I play 4e and love it, but to me this is definitely the low rumbling of distant thunder.

So....yeah...

 

[Leif]

Sounds like Paizo and Steve Jackson Games may, indeed, be the wave of the future. This still depresses me, danggit!

 

[Scott DeWar]

*laughs maniacly and uncontrolably*

yahoo!
yipee!
yee haw!
WAHOOOO!!


*ahem

 

[Relique du Madde]

Wait, WoTC still exists?!?!? I thought they disappeared into nothingness after StarWars SAGA was discontinued.*





*Yes they have been dead to me for a while.

 

[Relique du Madde]

But you know... there is a silver lining to this story...

It forces ENWorld to become more OGL friendly thus it will bring back the community that the site lost as a result of 4e being held up to the site's gold standard.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Oh the comments I can make! Oh the joy I feel right now!! (I must refrain-just a little longer now .. .. .. ..)

 

[Walking Dad]

WotC was starting to loose me with the Character builder becoming online only and the 'stealth' revision with essentials.

Paizo is nice, but I cannot stand their boards. Any kind of negative critic (even logical and used by the designers to make the game better) causes 10 to 20 posts of fanboys who defend a typing error as the 'one truth'.

Green Ronin, I really love their superhero products, but why is the first pdf (mini) supplement and MM3 (which includes the errata) out before the DC errata? I'm still waiting for it.

Ok, this was my rant...

 

[Relique du Madde]

The only possible explination I could think of about the DC errata is if they hd to getthe DC approval before they could put out a second DC run. Problem is, that shouldnt effect the release of the erata itself.

 

[Walking Dad]

Or they maybe read the MM 3 in-official errata thread in the ATT and now want to include it in the DC errata file before releasing it...

but I want something now, at least an explanation.

 

[HolyMan]

I had a horrible thought reading that post.

I thought of a world without D&D

And I was sad.

HM