D&D 5E What do you think Wizard's preferred customer is like and what are his/her buying habits?

[DEFCON 1]

That begs the question, then, of why WotC even needs to keep the TTRPG going, at all.

Maybe it doesn't? Or at the very least, it doesn't need D&D to be a money-making powerhouse. Which easily explains why they currently aren't rushing product after product out the door to try and cash in on 5E in the short-term.

People love D&D. Many people love 5E. Every day more and more people are introduced to the game. So there's no reason to shoot your load in the first 12 months of the game's existence when you don't need the money to survive. You can take your time... make the arrival of each new "expansion" book more of an event by there being six months between them... and keep the D&D name out there in the stratosphere. That way, if/when comics, board games, video games, tv, film, tee-shirts, toys, or whatever else gets produced, the D&D name on it still gives it meaning.

 

[Parmandur]

The target customer is diverse, hence multiple options such as the MMO, Sword Coast Legends, etc.

Nobody will buy everything, that's silly. But maximizing the possibilities, smart move.

 

[collin]

I also know it's not all about the TTRPG but what makes D&D any different in the mainstream than any other fantasy genre out there?

Only one thing: name recognition, which is perhaps the biggest thing WotC has going for it in D&D. Without that, we would not have seen a 5th edition and it would likely have simply been shelved or sold to some other company who might try to capitalize on said name recognition.

 

[aramis erak]

Heh. Probably, ‘casuals’ is a better term for ‘slackers’.

Probably NOT a better term... because it implies something else entirely.

Casual - not invested highly in the product-lines/trademarks. The guy who shows up and plays, maybe buys a couple minis. Doesn't talk much about D&D.

slacker - plays a lot, talks a lot, pirates the PHB/DMG or uses the free PBR/DMBR, uses cardboard minis. Gets by for as low as he can.

Opposite the casual player is the hard core fanboy - who is highly invested in the brand, actively consumes all the media.
Opposite the slacker is the collector - who may or may not play, but will mindlessly buy every new release in every medium.

Casual isn't growing the brand much unless they're involved in in-store games.

Slacker grows the brand, sometimes more than the casual... because people with consciences often play with them. They're the guys who often wind up dragging new blood to Encounters/Expeditions.

I'm neither casual nor quite slacker - nor rabid fanboy. Definitely not a hard core collector, either.

 

[aramis erak]

Only one thing: name recognition, which is perhaps the biggest thing WotC has going for it in D&D. Without that, we would not have seen a 5th edition and it would likely have simply been shelved or sold to some other company who might try to capitalize on said name recognition.

Hasbro doesn't sell off its IP. It has shuttered some of its IP for up to a decade plus - but it doesn't let go once it has got it.

If the brand falters, it will quite likely quietly fall into permanent oblivion.

 

[Lojak]

They have not created any products in house (not counting third party outsourced adventures) other than the big 3 books. I think the customers they are looking at is not consumers like me. After all, they have given me nothing to spend my money on. Rather, I think their customers are companies interested in licensing the IP.

 

[KasperK]

My guess for a preferred customer for the DnD brand is an upper-class american nuclear family. Where the parents and children have a campaigne together. Posting their weekly session over social media.

Mostly because I can't imagine a more relevant space, the value proposition for parents are staggering. A controlled, open-ended playful environment, where the child can develop their cognitive skills, while strengthening social ties to the rest of the family.

I would be so proud of the design team if the real reason for Bounded Accuracy, was to make combat math more accessible to children.

Not only would this customer group have access to the parent's disposable income, but also the income allocated to their children. As well as bringing the brand to the next generation.

The actual target group for the books; 30+ grognards