D&D 5E Light release schedule: More harm than good?

[Shasarak]

Here's the hard truth: Wizards of the Coast doesn't expect you to buy everything. But they're also not making products just for you.

This is the catch. For the last two editions, all the D&D eggs have been in a single basket. All D&D products were really focused on a single audience: the RPG players. So the game lived or died based on how that one audience wanted to spend their money. And if that audience felt stretched thin, then sales would drop. If that one audience felt they had enough product, then sales would drop. If another game or product came out that prioritized that audience's funds, then sales would drop.

Now the D&D is being spread out. WotC is focusing on spreading out to to board gamers, video gamers, miniature war gamers, comic fans, and yes the RPG fans. So they can pull in the same revenue as monthly books but target different audiences, potentially increasing total profits.
And WotC can do so while licencing out products, keeping their own staffing and overhead costs low. Because WotC is all about maximizing profits.

This does mean fewer RPG products, but it should mean its significantly easier to afford said products as there's less cutting into the ol' wallet. And the rarer products are more exciting, since they're less common and everyday. Which might translate to higher and more sustained sales.

It's a little like going from a spoiled only child to having a couple siblings. Suddenly you have to share and not everything can be about you.

And, hopefully, with fewer books they won't need to reboot or relaunch the game after 2-4 years.

I remember seeing a lot of Board games during the 4e era but also a lot of cancelled miniature lines etc.

And then there is the other bugbear involving the DnD department not receiving the appropriate credit for products sold outside the book line. For example profits from a DnD movie, or lunchboxes or Legos need to be attributed to the DnD department.

 

[HobbitFan]

Here's the hard truth: Wizards of the Coast doesn't expect you to buy everything. But they're also not making products just for you.

This is the catch. For the last two editions, all the D&D eggs have been in a single basket. All D&D products were really focused on a single audience: the RPG players. So the game lived or died based on how that one audience wanted to spend their money. And if that audience felt stretched thin, then sales would drop. If that one audience felt they had enough product, then sales would drop. If another game or product came out that prioritized that audience's funds, then sales would drop.

Now the D&D is being spread out. WotC is focusing on spreading out to to board gamers, video gamers, miniature war gamers, comic fans, and yes the RPG fans. So they can pull in the same revenue as monthly books but target different audiences, potentially increasing total profits.
And WotC can do so while licencing out products, keeping their own staffing and overhead costs low. Because WotC is all about maximizing profits.

This does mean fewer RPG products, but it should mean its significantly easier to afford said products as there's less cutting into the ol' wallet. And the rarer products are more exciting, since they're less common and everyday. Which might translate to higher and more sustained sales.

It's a little like going from a spoiled only child to having a couple siblings. Suddenly you have to share and not everything can be about you.

And, hopefully, with fewer books they won't need to reboot or relaunch the game after 2-4 years.

Jester C: I think you're right on the money with what WOTC is trying to do. I'm just not sure it's going to work.

Problem #1: That larger audience including board gamers, video games and the like has a lot of overlap with the RPG crowd already. I'm not sure they are going to reach a ton more people.

Problem #2: They have to be careful in courting a larger audience that they don't alienate their core RPG one.

 

[Hussar]

That's the hypothesis that's being tested. I guess we'll see in a couple of years if it worked.

Oh, for sure. It's absolutely not a guaranteed thing. I totally agree. But, I am pretty sure that going the same path as previous editions will simply give the same results - a new edition in 3 years.

 

[Jester David]

That's the hypothesis that's being tested. I guess we'll see in a couple of years if it worked.

Well, yeah.
It's good that they're trying something different. That means that they're paying attention.

They tried regular splatbooks as optional. Then they tried regular splatbooks as core. Neither led to a long lived edition, so now they're trying something else. If that works, great. If that doesn't work, there's lots of room to change directions.

 

[HobbitFan]

I'm glad they are trying something new too.
I'm just not sure they are allocating enough resources to pull this off.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Here's the hard truth: Wizards of the Coast doesn't expect you to buy everything. But they're also not making products just for you.

This is the catch. For the last two editions, all the D&D eggs have been in a single basket. All D&D products were really focused on a single audience: the RPG players. So the game lived or died based on how that one audience wanted to spend their money. And if that audience felt stretched thin, then sales would drop. If that one audience felt they had enough product, then sales would drop. If another game or product came out that prioritized that audience's funds, then sales would drop.

Now the D&D is being spread out. WotC is focusing on spreading out to to board gamers, video gamers, miniature war gamers, comic fans, and yes the RPG fans. So they can pull in the same revenue as monthly books but target different audiences, potentially increasing total profits.
And WotC can do so while licencing out products, keeping their own staffing and overhead costs low. Because WotC is all about maximizing profits.

This does mean fewer RPG products, but it should mean its significantly easier to afford said products as there's less cutting into the ol' wallet. And the rarer products are more exciting, since they're less common and everyday. Which might translate to higher and more sustained sales.

It's a little like going from a spoiled only child to having a couple siblings. Suddenly you have to share and not everything can be about you.

And, hopefully, with fewer books they won't need to reboot or relaunch the game after 2-4 years.

But this is the edition that was made for healthy material. They have a real solid ruleset this time around and so their best strategy is to pull back? It wasn't bloat that killed 4th edition, it was the fact that a lot of people just didn't like the rules and it seems like WoTc just will not accept it. They have carried over this belief into the new edition and to be quite frank, it sucks.

WoTc just cannot seem to get it right as a whole and this time around seems no different. I'm not at all excited about the Princes of the Apoc because I'm not really a fan of career spanning AP's as a whole so there goes another product I won't be buying. So now what's left for me to buy? I'm not interested in their side products because I just don't have the time nor the interest really. I never thought D&D boardgames were a good idea because it brings division with in your own line.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Wait, what?

The Neverwinter Nights line was hugely successful. DDO has been around for darn near TEN YEARS now, no mean feat for any MMO, and, at least according to wikipedia, is pretty well regarded.

There was also that Facebook game although I have no idea how well that went over, but, there hasn't been a new D&D branded video game other than that for years. There wasn't one for 4e. The one that's coming out this year is the first D&D branded game in, what, six or seven years?

Hugely successful how? Sure it obviously makes enough money to keep the lights on but you know nothing beyond that. WoW is a game that is hugely successful. There are tons of MMO's out there who are still going but wouldn't be considered successful. Not to mention the fact that it's free to play.

 

[Sailor Moon]

You would think we would see at least a few Monster Manuals in the works because you can never have enough monsters. Am I right?

 

[aramis erak]

But this is the edition that was made for healthy material. They have a real solid ruleset this time around and so their best strategy is to pull back? It wasn't bloat that killed 4th edition, it was the fact that a lot of people just didn't like the rules and it seems like WoTc just will not accept it. They have carried over this belief into the new edition and to be quite frank, it sucks.

4E flopped with a lot of D&D fans; it succeeded with a smaller number, and had a lot of new fans - people who either hadn't been RPGers and/or hadn't been D&D players, but came to D&D with 4E.

4E was, fundamentally, successful at creating a fanbase.

What it wasn't good at was being a continuing income stream. They continued to lose more and more as they continued to add splat after splat. And as they added additional "core" rulebooks, the cash investment to get rolling with 4E continued to get higher.

Essentials was a partial reset — and not having looked at it, I'm going by hearsay — but not entirely compatible nor simply an errata-applied version. That also was a botch. And edition churn in the same way that AD&D 2E was... A promised consolidation turned into a rules revision. For that matter, that's also the issue with the OD&D to AD&D churn...

And one of the problems was the perception that new players needed all 3 PHBs... and then the various add-ons.... If I'd tried to get into 4E (I didn't - not my style of play) any time after PHB 2, I'd have had to ask which was essential... and the answer most people were giving at the time was "both"... So, instead of 1 $40 book, 2x $40 books... then 3x...

It was similar to how OE you really needed Supplement 1 to play the same game as most groups, or AD&D After 1986, you needed UA as well, or AD&D 2 after 1993 you needed the various "Complete ___ handbook" line...

After a certain pile accumulates, you need to flip to a new edition to make the game accessible to newbs.

Setting books don't tend to have the same chilling effect on newbs, nor the consolidate and restart impetus. Adventures don't, either. But splatbooks do. And that's what they really want to avoid.

Even the extra MM's don't really add much value, but add to the perceived size of the core. So... they make them part of the setting books or adventure books. It has worked really rather well for Palladium. And SJG, and Chaosium, and Hero Games, and ICE... It would have worked well enough for decipher if not for the embezzlement issue...

 

[Shasarak]

What it wasn't good at was being a continuing income stream. They continued to lose more and more as they continued to add splat after splat. And as they added additional "core" rulebooks, the cash investment to get rolling with 4E continued to get higher.

Actually with DDI it was pretty cheap to get into 4e.

All of the material for a low monthly fee.