AbdulAlhazred
Legend
I have a feeling that for those just coming into DDN, 5E or whatever they call it, it will have it's own direction and feel - you'll be able to pick up the DDN books and put together a D&D game and it will play a certain way. HOWEVER, those who come from prior versions will also be able to take DDN and throw in a module here or there (either included in the base game or sold as an "add-on") to make it emulate the game they know and like.
So a newbie could just play the game "out of the box" - it's complete enough and with its own style that it can be played as a stand-alone. A 3E'er could pick up a DDN adventure or supplement and with some rules module or tweaks, use the material in his 3E game. A 4E'er could do the same as could someone playing 1E/2E or even BECMI. A DDN'er could possibly grab older edition material and work it into their game - the less muss, the better.
Now, is that going to work? I'm not really sure. 3E and 4E really throw a wrench in compatibility sometimes. They did have something like this working back in 2E with the Player's Option and Complete books; you could be playing 1E, 2E, OD&D or BECMI and use books between all the systems, and I do remember using the B & X series of modules in my AD&D games.
Yeah, at least in principle, new players might as well pick up DDN and why would they care how it relates to any previous editions. Is there REALLY any such thing as a whole group that picks up D&D from scratch in this day and age though? There are no doubt some, groups where someone played many years ago, etc. I'd think it is the exception nowadays.
[MENTION=98938]DeF[/MENTION]CON1 sure, nobody cares, but there is still network effects. If there are already 1000's of people playing say PF then chances are more people will be well-advised to join them, all other things being roughly equal (and if you are new to RPGs or just agnostic then surely PF or whatever is as good as something else).
[MENTION=336]D'karr[/MENTION] I dunno. I wonder sometimes how clever they really are. They CAN write well, they are obviously capable of putting out content with good technical quality. I'm kind of skeptical about their ability to make compelling content. PERSONALLY I think compelling content is their problem, not game systems. They're solving the wrong problem by making DDN. It is a classic grand strategic blunder, WotC's march to Moscow.