I should probably preface this by saying that I have played since 2e, and seen a number of edition changes.
Will you be happy if the game is popular, even if it's not one you'd want to play?
I think so. I realize that the RPG industry is stronger if D&D is strong.
Will you be willing to give it a try to support the D&D brand that has brought so many people years of fun, even if the rules aren't perfect? (And really, have you ever thought any version of D&D had perfect rules?)
I will definitely give it a try. However, I am at the point now that I don't feel like I have to stick with the latest edition.
Do you trust that the game designers are people who love gaming, who want to help others have fun, and who are trying to make a game that best encapsulates what they think the audience wants D&D to be?
I think they want what's best for D&D and D&D fans. I also think they are a business and must act in a financially responsible way.
Do you think that the benefits of having Hasbro's infrastructure to help market, distribute, and sell the game outweigh whatever limitations might be passed down from a corporate level?
I think having Hasbro help with that is great. Thing is, I don't fully know what limitations they might place.
Will you not begrudge your fellow gamers if they have different tastes than you?
I don't care what edition fellow gamers play. Just play! And support your fellow gamer's right to play what they want.
I know 5e isn't going to satisfy me wholly from a game mechanic perspective. But what would make me happy, what would excite me and bring joy that no system has in a decade, would be if my fellow gamers across the internet would realize that we share a hobby, and while our differences might mean we won't share a game with a given person, that shared love of RPGs should unify us.
Well said.
For me, I am tired of edition changes. I will give 5e a chance, as it reminds me some of C&C and seems to be the blend of editions I have been wanting. However, I do not feel beholden to it.
I kind of want an edition of D&D where everything can come together from all of the editions I have played. In some ways, Pathfinder is a good option, being a system I can easily convert to from AD&D and as it easily ties into 3e, including all my 3e Dragonlance materials. Pathfinder has a few 4e-isms I like too.
That being said, I have also considered going with a heavily house-ruled Castles & Crusades. I love the basics of the system, and that it can be built upon. I just wonder if it might be a little too simplistic at times.