D&D 5E So what exactly is Wizards working on?

[Sacrosanct]

LOL so it's either I agree with you or I didn't read it?

Nice strawman, but no. It's more like, "If you say something wasn't in the article that clearly was, I'm going to assume you didn't read it."

 

[Sacrosanct]

LOL!

I have already told you what this proves and it's not proven to be the majority of gamers. Pathfinder is more proof than this.

Wow....

Ok, just add me as the fourth person to follow Kamakazi's lead in the past 24 hours that has realized that you're being incredibly disingenuous and it's no longer worth the trouble to even try to talk with you.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

It confirms that a small number of people on the whole planet are bothered by too much choice.

Confirms nothing with regards to D&D.

I agree in that I don't think that choice paralysis is the actual reason releasing too much product is bad for the game.

(I do think that choice paralysis exists, and that it has a negative effect on a game with a vast catalog of material, but it's of secondary or tertiary importance.)

You and I have different definitions of what "too much product" is, but the only opinion that ultimately counts is what Wizards thinks will still sell well. Keeping that in mind I'd be interested to hear your take on this post.

 

[Manchu]

Is that not posting about Pathfinder?

Was it not posted as part of a larger point about 5E? To save time, yes it was.

 

[Manchu]

Nice strawman, but no. It's more like, "If you say something wasn't in the article that clearly was, I'm going to assume you didn't read it."

By all means, quote the article.

Also -- it is telling that you ignored the rest of my post to focus on rhetoric rather than substance ... just like posting a tangentially related link when I asked for substantive proof backing an objective claim.

 

[Matthan]

I'm going against my better judgment to add my two cents. I just got back into the game (completely missed 4E and a variety of things surrounding 5E's launch got me interested enough to recruit a group of folks who have never played before). I've just purchased the core books and I'm still working my through them. I'm not up to speed on the last eight or ten years of RPG developments (I vaguely remember Pathfinder and 4E being developed as I started checking out). All that is to say that I am not speaking from a position of authority. I'm just making an observation that has probably already been made before.

The release schedule so far has been tied to themes with that theme being emphasized with various ancillary partners. I wasn't around for the dragon emphasis so I can't speak with authority there, but elemental evil has been announced with minis and video game support. Both of those take time to develop and coordinate with other elements (especially any video game synergy). Both of those may have a different season of sales strength before needing the next thing (or to put another way, ancillary products may have a different sales cycle than the RPG books and Wizards may be trying to balancing its various income streams to maximize each stream's profit potential before introducing the next cycle) To me, it looks like Wizards is trying to coordinate the brand to launch products on theme to maximize the impact of advertising/mind share. That may be lurking behind a slower schedule. They aren't interested in launching generic support products at the moment (a spell compendium or such). They want to launch themed products that synergize across the entire brand.

So what are they working on? They're working on developing the next several themes and plotting out support for those themes. I don't know if this happened in 4E, but I know it wasn't like this in 3.X.

As an anecdote, I will add that this worked to get me back in. 5E came out to enough positive reviews from different outlets that it made me think about playing again. Now, that I'm back in, I am sorely tempted to take part in the theme just to be able to have that shared experience. I'm not sure it'll impact the home game that I've started, but I've spent the last few days looking at AL and figuring out if I can fit that into my life. It's also made me want to buy the adventures just so that I can read about the experience. It's also made me remember that I wanted to check out that Neverwinter MMO, but my internet isn't up to snuff for that.

 

[Manchu]

I don't know if this happened in 4E, but I know it wasn't like this in 3.X.

It happened a lot at the end of 4E, with the Year of the Drow and Neverwinter.

 

[Sacrosanct]

By all means, quote the article.

The article (and the TED talks from it) are talking about products in general, both multiple and single product lines. It doesn't have to specifically call out single product lines when the behavior is the same. What you're doing is essentially, "You said dogs do a certain behavior. Well, you clearly didn't specify beagles, so beagles don't do that behavior."

I am highly suspecting you didn't click on the "view as one page" link on that article, or you'd have seen all the other supporting information.

Also -- it is telling that you ignored the rest of my post to focus on rhetoric rather than substance ... just like posting a tangentially related link when I asked for substantive proof backing an objective claim.

Your substance was wrong. That's why I didn't include it.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Unfortunately for said players, Wizards doesn't appear to have much interest in the game supplement business anymore, so if 5E as it stands right now isn't enough to keep you onboard, you should go ahead and look at alternatives.

Really that is the heart of the matter I think.

 

[bmfrosty]

Wow....

Ok, just add me as the fourth person to follow Kamakazi's lead in the past 24 hours that has realized that you're being incredibly disingenuous and it's no longer worth the trouble to even try to talk with you.

Don't forget the entertainment value of everyone trying to reason with him.