What's stopping WOTC from going back to 3.5?

[Desdichado]

I think gamers are more mature than the general public anyway.

I highly doubt that. Claims of gamer specialness of one kind or another have been common since the beginning of gaming, but I've never seen anything to suggest that it's other than wishful thinking.

 

[prosfilaes]

My group still plays 3.5, but I strongly believe--but cannot prove, of course--that we are a marginal niche exception. Most other D&D players are either playing 4e or Pathfinder, with a small group into retro-clones.

One poll on Enworld had D&D 3.5, D&D 4 and Pathfinder about neck to neck. I'd be surprised if D&D 3.5 was less than 20% of D&D-like games being run.

 

[Desdichado]

So I'll just disregard the rude comments about using imaginary numbers.

I wouldn't. They really aren't that rude, and that's really kinda the whole point. Your numbers are made up. I know, I know, 74% of all quoted statistics are made up on the spot (that one included) but it still doesn't help your case. You've had a lot of folks telling you that your evidence isn't compelling. I wouldn't ignore the reasons why not.

There's an obvious zeitgeist here against 4E, and it's curious how much two pools can vary.

I think the obviousness of that zeitgeist is very debatable. As in, I don't belive it at all.

 

[prosfilaes]

I highly doubt that. Claims of gamer specialness of one kind or another have been common since the beginning of gaming, but I've never seen anything to suggest that it's other than wishful thinking.

Gamers are slamers.

 

[Vascant]

Incidentally, I believe the dynamic is that Pathfinder fans either make up or extrapolate "data" - note sarcasm quotes - from unofficial sources, bend it to fit their narrative, and when 4e fans dismiss the "data" - note again sarcasm quotes - Pathfinder fans get upset that people aren't buying into their neverending claims that 4e's death is just months away guys, any day now WotC will throw in the towel and our game will prove the superior one!

You can't limit this to just Pathfinder fans, I am not even sure you can limit it to gamers in general. Just look at the current news cycles, a lot of what you read is based on "The sky is falling".

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I highly doubt that. Claims of gamer specialness of one kind or another have been common since the beginning of gaming, but I've never seen anything to suggest that it's other than wishful thinking.

The need to separate the 3E, Pathfinder and 4E communities here on ENWorld certainly suggests against any sort of special maturity.

 

[Henry]

The need to separate the 3E, Pathfinder and 4E communities here on ENWorld certainly suggests against any sort of special maturity.

Heck, just perusing threads in General Discussion by itself will reveal threads about people who can't honestly tell members of their gaming group when they're causing problems, gamers who attack immediately the second their favorite game/vendor/politician is slighted, stories about gamers who were engaged in secret crushes or even love triangles within their groups, and gamers who posted things just to get a rise out of other posters. (Note a number of the above are in closed or deleted/hidden threads, so harder time finding those without privy knowledge. ) I'm willing to be long-time posters remember examples of all the above in the past. I'm guilty of at least pointless Edition War-ish discussions occasionally, myself.

Gamers are people, same as other people, and do stupid stuff as well.

 

[jaerdaph]

What's stopping WOTC from going back to 3.5?

Mostly that Paizo has already taken 3.5's stuff - without even bothering to kill it first.

Pretty much this. Pathfinder's successful existence makes it not a viable option anymore for WotC.

 

[Hussar]

Just to go back to the OP for a second - why can't WOTC go back to 3.5, ask yourself this - Why didn't Paizo?

If 3.5 was still viable as a vehicle for profit, why would Paizo, a pretty savvy bunch of businesspeople, take the risk of developing a new system?

I have no idea how much Pathfinder cost to bring to market, but, it is my opinion that it can be summed up as the mathematically exacting term of <i>a lot</i>. Now, if 3.5 was still perfectly fine, as is being suggested in the OP, then why bother? Why spend all that money on something that very well might not work when there is a perfectly viable option right there to be used?

After all, 3.5 is OGL, and it's already been shown that you can repackage [ame=http://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Pocket-Players-Handbook/dp/1904577660] the Players Handbook[/ame] and sell it. Why wouldn't Paizo save themselves a WHOLE lot of hassle, reissue the Core 3 with new art and new flavour text and be done with it?

Unless, of course, 3.5 was largely played out and there truly did need to be something new in order to get people buying again.

So, in answer to the question, "What's stopping WOTC from going back to 3.5?", I'd simply point to Paizo and say, "Well, if it was a viable option, why didn't they do it?"

 

[gamerprinter]

I highly doubt that. Claims of gamer specialness of one kind or another have been common since the beginning of gaming, but I've never seen anything to suggest that it's other than wishful thinking.

Its not gamer specialness, rather (at least those I run into - not everyone) those that use other cultures as part of game play, have a greater appreciation for other cultures. So one sided views on many aspects of world concepts are less apt than those who do not expose themselves to outside cultures - at least IME. Plus gamers tend to be 'readers' more than others - it depends on what you read I guess.