D&D 4E A thought on WotC's imperative to continue to digitally support 4e.

[Aberzanzorax]

They darn well better do it.


I'm a (bit of a) player of 4e (though I prefer 3e, 3.5, and pathfinder).

I'm not terribly invested in 4e as a system, though I don't want it to "die", and I DO want 4e players to continue to be able to enjoy the game (and for my own 4e group, I also have those selfish motives).


But, primarily, I don't actually care *that much* about the 4e system. If it were wiped from the Earth, I'd be ok with it, personally, in that I wouldn't miss it. (I'd have my Pathfinder and other 3e games to enjoy).


But, here's the BIG thing...the whole point of this post....If WotC abandons 4e, I'll never buy any 5e stuff from them.

If I know that I can come to rely upon a digital subscription, and it is one that disappears, then I'll not ever buy in to that subscription. I don't have a personal investment in 4e, but I'll be watching very closely with what they do with it, and how they treat its fans. If they want me back for 5e, they damn well better not squash 4e (or I know what's coming next after 5e turns to 6e and expect them to squash 5e).


So, from a person who really isn't that big a fan of 4e, WotC, please continue to support it digitally (whether that's a bundle single purchase of all products instead of continuing montly support, I don't care).

I just don't want to, when 5e is released, hear how WotC tried to destroy 4e so everyone would play 5e....because that is EXACTLY what would prevent me from playing 5e (and, again, I don't even really care about 4e).



EDIT TO ADD: I hope it's clear that this post isn't to rag on 4e, but to point out that continued 4e support is important to someone who isn't emotionally invested in that edition. I'd imagine for the folks who are invested, and indeed it's their favorite edition, that it's even more important.

 

[Mark CMG]

If WotC is going to make an edition that supports all editions, they should digitally support all editions going forward.

 

[Umbran]

Supporting past stuff is nice.

But it is just that. Nice. I don't feel it is imperative they do so. A company is not morally or ethically obligated to support a product forever. We are not entitled to more support than we pay for. If I buy a book, I get the book. If I pay for a subscription, I get content from it only so long as the subscription lasts, as agreed when I took on the subscription. Anything more is gravy.

 

[howandwhy99]

I think ensuring 4e can be played and used in conjunction with material from 5e, and vice versa, really needs to be a core priority at Wizards. No one wants to leave their current customer base out in the cold.

 

[Sirot]

My D&D group is currently spread all throughout Ontario and the online portion of 4E is a major reason we still play DnD right now (yay virtual table). The tools are amazingly helpful in general actually.

 

[Cadfan]

Supporting past stuff is nice.

But it is just that. Nice. I don't feel it is imperative they do so. A company is not morally or ethically obligated to support a product forever. We are not entitled to more support than we pay for. If I buy a book, I get the book. If I pay for a subscription, I get content from it only so long as the subscription lasts, as agreed when I took on the subscription. Anything more is gravy.

We constantly make purchasing decisions based on our (hopefully) reasonable expectations of the future behavior of the seller- particularly including matters like continued support for the product. If something happens to change that expectation, it is completely reasonable to downgrade, even significantly or massively downgrade, the value we place on the seller's products.

 

[mudbunny]

I have read (from a WotC staffer) a statement that WotC "plans" (and plans is the operative word) on continuing to support DDI. Now, how long that plan exists after the next edition is released is another question.

 

[Wormwood]

My game has three DDI accounts going. We should hit 30 before 5e.

It's up to Wizards to keep our money after that.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I agree it would be a strike against my view of DDI if they ever cancelled the 4E stuff they have now.

And I do not DDI. It just shows respect for earlier systems, and costs them little work.,

As for earlier than 4E, well that is a lot of work and I do not expect them to do it, though some kind of reading books online would be very nice.

 

[blalien]

I think ensuring 4e can be played and used in conjunction with material from 5e, and vice versa, really needs to be a core priority at Wizards. No one wants to leave their current customer base out in the cold.

There is absolutely no way that the mechanics of 4e material will be compatible with 5e. In the next year we'll likely see a shift to material that focuses on fluff that can be easily adapted to a 5e campaign. New classes, powers, and such will not translate over. I'd bet that the resources that are already available for 4e will remain available. The character builder, compendium, and magazines will be up for a while, just like you can still access their 3rd edition resources. I do not expect them to continue providing support for 4e after 5e is released, however. It just doesn't make sense for the team to split up and support two editions.