Wizards aiming younger audience

[Thornir Alekeg]

Personally I think that WotC's marketing and new products won't amount to much unless they can find a way to de-stigmatize D&D. I mean I hate to be like this, but when targeting kids you definitely want to present something that is considered cool... and I just don't think D&D is there yet, in fact it may never get there. This is the one thing I don't see WotC doing anything about right now. I'm not even sure how they would go about doing it to be honest

I think wide acceptance of things like WoW have eased the stigma a little, but I just don't see D&D ever going "mainstream."

Where I see D&D alive and well with the kids is at places like Guard Up, where my son takes swordfighting classes. The kids there are very much the sterotypical "geeks," which I guess would be expected at a place like that. I have seen many of the kids carrying 4e books, so I think WotC has been successful in grabbing the expected audience from this next generation. Perhaps with a little targeted marketing, they can expand it a little more.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Personally I think that WotC's marketing and new products won't amount to much unless they can find a way to de-stigmatize D&D.

This is nonsense. The stigma to D&D attached when it was described in the popular press a "game for geniuses" in the wake of the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III.

When D&D was a "game for genuises" and got TONS of free press in the JDE III case, that was the time that the game never sold more copies and became a cultural phenomenon.

I imagine a significant number of players from the late 70s and early 80s first heard of D&D because of the covereage of the JDE III case in the mainstream media.

It's a fine line between "game for dorks" and "game for geniuses", but that's as good as it gets.

You are never going to de-stigmatize pretendng to be an elf by rolling odd looking dice is something that isn't nerdy. It simply IS nerdy. Accept it; embrace your inner geek.

The best you can do is to spin the nerdiness and pitch it as a "game for geniuses", where at the least, the player can take solace in his obvious superior intellect. Despite the early success of selling D&D as a "game for geniuses", the game's subsequent owners seem to have felt that the pitch might persuade people to think that the game "is not for them" because they aren't "smart enough for it" -- even though they are.

My guess is that this is retcon marketing spin from somebody who was never the intended audience for RPGs in the first place.

I always thought that D&D as a "game for geniuses" was a master-stroke, as it played upon all adolescent's desire to be somebody "special". They might not be geniuses - but that does not mean that they don't prefer to think of themselves in that way.

Don't turn down the nerdiness - turn it up!

 

[carmachu]

EXACTLY.

I've been reading and collecting comics since I was 6 years old (I'm 38 now) I decided to stop buying comics about 2 months ago when I bought 4 of my regular books and gave the d00d at the counter a $20 and he gave me back $2 and some change.

I looked at him and told him point blank "Yeah d00d, I think I'm done." He was like "Yeah, I've been hearing that alot lately. I totally understand..."

$3.99 an issue is my threshold. I've been a loyal reader and collector for a loooooong time. It's sad to leave that hobby behind but it needed to be done.

Your threashold is alot higher then mine. $18 is a trade paperback, its more durable and its all in one spot. I let my daughter(who's 7) read those). And your the same age as me.

$4 for a comic is totally to high for kids. You can buy other things for that much- couple match box cars, a small doll, 1/4 of the way to that Hanna montana CD she wants, sillybands. The list goes on.

They've priced themselves out of the market which was poclet money from kids-$1 to $2 to throw away on a comic....but creeping closer to $4 is too much.

DC is aiming at lowering the price point of comics, according to boss men Dan Didio and Jim Lee.

They better come down by $1 or more. Otherwise its not worth it.

 

[vetanda]

D&D Adventure for kids ages 6+

I designed a D&D adventure for kids ages 6+, based on what I learned running games for kids at local gaming stores. Check it out, and please let me know what you think!

-susan


From [URL="http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4dnd/monsterslayers"]www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4...[/URL]:

Are you a parent who wants to share the fun of Dungeons & Dragons with your kids, but you’re worried that the rules are too complicated or a standard adventure would tax their attention spans? Are you a teacher or librarian* who would like to introduce your students to the game, but you’re reluctant to take on the regular time commitment of a full-blown campaign?

There are a great many reasons to share D&D with kids. Besides being just the kind of imaginative play that kids naturally engage in, Dungeons & Dragons develops an array of essential educational skills, including:

• Math skills
• Reading skills
• Writing skills
• Cooperation and leadership
• Problem-solving
• Creative thinking

We’ve heard from many of you out there that you’ve been wanting to unlock these benefits for your kids, but you feel that they’re not ready for the basic game or you just don’t have the time to run your own campaign. So we put together this variation, based on the new novel for young readers, Monster Slayers by Lukas Ritter. Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod captures the flavor, fun, and educational benefits of Dungeons & Dragons in a fast-paced, easy-to-learn experience for kids ages six years old and up.

Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod requires no previous knowledge of Dungeons & Dragons, and all you need to play is included in this adventure, aside from a few dice and pencils (and some friends to play it with). Play time can be as little as fifteen minutes or as long as an hour, depending on how many monsters you run.

Monster Slayers: The Heroes of Hesiod isn’t just for kids. It’s also a fun diversion for experienced players who need their D&D fix but don’t have the time for a full-length game. Or share it with your non-gamer family and friends who claim to be intimidated by the rules of the game. It won’t be long before they’re hooked on the game you love!

Give it a try here!

 

[mgbeach]

I've been wanting to get my 8yr old niece introduced to D&D and this looks perfect! Thanks a ton!

 

[Klaus]

Your threashold is alot higher then mine. $18 is a trade paperback, its more durable and its all in one spot. I let my daughter(who's 7) read those). And your the same age as me.

$4 for a comic is totally to high for kids. You can buy other things for that much- couple match box cars, a small doll, 1/4 of the way to that Hanna montana CD she wants, sillybands. The list goes on.

They've priced themselves out of the market which was poclet money from kids-$1 to $2 to throw away on a comic....but creeping closer to $4 is too much.




They better come down by $1 or more. Otherwise its not worth it.

DC is keeping its 22-page titles at 2.99 (and aim at lowering that, saying that comics are "pricing themselves to extinction"). If they up the price to 3.99, they add a second feature, making the book 30-pages long.

Marvel, otoh, has 22-page comics at 3.99.

 

[OchreJelly]

I started playing DND when I was eight years old a million years ago. Back then I barely understood half the rules and we made up much of it. Harumph harumph...

I think I would have actually understood all of this back then, so kudos to wizards.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

I am appalled at the lack of roleplaying opportunites contained within this adventure. Are we trying to teach our kids that D&D is just a hack-n-slash game?

Just kidding. This looks like it could be fun for my kids. Thanks for this. I will try and remember to post back here and on the feedback page on the Wizards site when I get a chance to run this.

 

[Mistwell]

How many kids read and collect comic books these days?

At several local comic stores, the owners mentioned most of their customers are people in their 30's or 40's who still collect comics. Less and less kids and teenagers, as the years went by. A general "graying" of the audience.

DC puts out good kids comics (specially Tiny Titans). Marvel puts out their "Marvel Adventures" line, which features better art (my one complain about DC comics based on cartoons is that they are beholden to the art style of the cartoons... wouldn't it be great to have, say, Arthur Adams do an issue of Ben 10?)

There are some great comics for kids. However, many of them are barely carried by comic book stores, or not carried at all. They are instead at book stores, and online, and that portion of the demographic seems to be bypassing the individual mom and pop stores.

For example, Gunnerkrig Court is doing mad business with kids. But it's rarely carried by comic book stores. Archaia Studios Press has a lot of titles for kids, for example.

 

[olshanski]

I am more disappointed than apalled, but unlike Thornir, I am not joking.

Sure the kids are learning some math, and taking turns, and following directions, and reading... but the whole exercise is simply "kill things", which is not what I want to be teaching my kids.

This is hardly "creative thinking" or "problem solving".

My kids are ages 4.5 and 6.5, so I am very soon going to be in the target audience.

This has about as much roleplaying as the board game Descent.