Grazzt
Demon Lord
Having to reference other sources - namely the PHB to look its spells up.
DMs have had to do this since at least the 1e days.
Having to reference other sources - namely the PHB to look its spells up.
I think the playtests were 5E's beta phase. The current lineup is what would be considered a "soft launch". Once all three core books are out, I expect the marketing to ramp up. This launch is for the fans, the hard launch come January will be for everyone else. That is when we are most likely to see a "Intro to D&D" product, not now.
So any outsider whose curiosity is peaked by the news that "this D&D thing is really super popular and now is a great time to get started" doesn't have an entry point.
Maybe I can write a follow up next week: Dear WotC: Why Do You Suck at Managing a Product Launch?
The problem isn't the marketing. It's the free mainstream exposure D&D is getting right now that it can't advantage of. Will New York Times be covering "D&D Launches Again: For Real This Time" in January? Will PHBs be flying out of Amazon warehouses just as fast in January? Or, with all the buzz going on right now and Christmas right around the corner, shouldn't there be something now?
See, you can frame WotC's plan however you want and dress it up with cute terms like "soft launch" and "beta," but that isn't how people are going to see it. Perception IS reality. And you have to sell games in the real world.
Maybe I can write a follow up next week: Dear WotC: Why Do You Suck at Managing a Product Launch?
The problem isn't the marketing. It's the free mainstream exposure D&D is getting right now that it can't advantage of. Will New York Times be covering "D&D Launches Again: For Real This Time" in January? Will PHBs be flying out of Amazon warehouses just as fast in January? Or, with all the buzz going on right now and Christmas right around the corner, shouldn't there be something now?
See, you can frame WotC's plan however you want and dress it up with cute terms like "soft launch" and "beta," but that isn't how people are going to see it. Perception IS reality. And you have to sell games in the real world.
But... it isn't a great time to get started. Not for a new player, unconnected to the network externalities.
That new player, right now, will have little support. Not even the Monster Manual. Not a DMG. Not a large catalog of adventures to draw from.
Honestly, I think that is the heart of the complaint. If those things were available right now, then WotC could be taking advantage of the current increase in awareness and leveraging it into new players and new DMs.
And if they were available we'd be complaining about shelling out $100 for the books.
And if they were available we'd have waited another six months and been complaining about the wait.
The problem is if they went after new folks right now (and, as Greg said, they can't yet), the new folks won't have all the stuff to get. They'll not have a Monster Manual, or a DMG, and very little in terms of adventures, accessories, screens, cards, etc. I actually think marketing to new people *right now* would be a mistake - early next year is the time to do it. I also assume they want some robust Adventurer's League support in place, too, first.
Then again, I freely admit I'm no marketing genius.