Wizards of the Coasts are overcharging us and "TSR"

[Virgil Sagecaster]

Have you notice the difference between the amount of content in 2nd Edition and 3rd (3.5) Edition products? For example, just take a look at the book "Faiths and Avatars" compared to the more recently produced "Faiths and Patheons". Notice any differences?!? I do; for starters look at the price of the two books: 2ndE F&A ($25.00) vs 3rdE F&P ($32.95). Even though the F&P book is hardback, my 2ndE F&A has seen a good 8 years of gaming, it was published in 1996 ( It still looks good for its age!). Another noticable difference between the two is the colorful illustrations (F&P is probably ten-times as better than F&A in the department of presentabilty and pictures). But the pictures cant really provide gamers with more gaming material. I did notice that F&P has more pages than F&A (223 pgs vs. 191 pgs), but the 2ndE book was printed in a much smaller font thatn the present version of it. So, the final question is: What gives more gaming content for your dollar, 2nd or 3rd edition? All replies to this post are appreciated, it is our oppinon after all. Thanks and please respond!

 

[arwink]

Shall I be the one to point out the annoyingly obvious: TSR's business plan put them out of business. There's pretty good odds that Wizards business plan is trying to avoid that.

It's going to come up sooner or later, just thought I'd get it out of the way early

 

[HellHound]

As a quick footnote - the Consumer Price Index between 1996 and 2003 is 1.173 - so in 2003 dollars, F&A cost $29.32 - only $3.63 less than F&P. And as Peter pointed out - TSR ran itself out of business...

(as a footnote - the original white box set of D&D in 1974 had a 2003 dollar value of $37.32... for three little booklets with horrendous art and few rules)

 

[Lhorgrim]

I definitely feel your pain, but I don't think the price increase over the years is confined to Wizards products.

I went out this weekend to replace a worn copy of a favorite Stephen King paperback book from the late 80's. When I found it on the shelf of my local bookstore I was astounded that it now cost $7.99. My original copy was $4.99 when I bought it around 1989 or so. I don't know if these increases have anything to do with increased costs within the printing industry, but most books seem to have increased in price quite a bit in the years since 2E.

Now I find myself being much more selective in what I plan to purchace.

Just my two coppers.

 

[Virgil Sagecaster]

Very good observation, but if that is true: WoTC is only interested in the their sales. While TSR was only concern was to provide gaming material fo us. And that's why TSR was bought out but WoTC (well, thats the story around the campfire anyway).

 

[francisca]

Take your tinfoil hat off for a bit, won't you?

There is no conspiracy here. D&D has to remain profitable for Wotc (hasbro) to keep it around. Pretty much end of story.

If you want to continue to grind an axe against Wotc and 3E, step up and be forthright about it. Don't try to wrap it in a flimsy conspiracy.

 

[Turjan]

Very good observation, but if that is true: WoTC is only interested in the their sales. While TSR was only concern was to provide gaming material fo us. And that's why TSR was bought out but WoTC (well, thats the story around the campfire anyway).

I hope that a company is interested in its sales. It would be a pity if they just sold the PHB and then closed their door for good .

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

If TSR's concern was to provide gaming material for us, and that plan ran them out of business, and WoTC's plan is to sell more books - and that allows for them to provide more gaming material for us - which is better for gamers?

The plan that involves a sustainable business.

 

[Virgil Sagecaster]

I noticed another drastic difference gaming products of 2nd and 3rd Editions, the "Magister" was only breifly described in Magic of Faerun. Back in 2nd edition the was a book called the Secrects of the Magister that describe a lot more how to roleplay, the duties, and specific spells relating to the office of the Magister.

 

[Kelleris]

Uhm, yes. The fantastic glut of books TSR produced is one of the reasons they nearly killed themselves. How is it bad that WotC doesn't produce such ridiculously over-specialized products?

EDIT: And, come to think of it, WotC has a much better way to handle those super-focused topics; the OGL. There's a (relatively cheap) pdf out there for almost everything nowadays.