D&D 5E Mike Mearls on D&D (New Interview with James Introcaso)

[fjw70]

I really like the edition and don't mind the release schedule. The only additional material beyond the core 3 are adventures and monster books and that is what we are getting. What I really want is electronic versions of everything. That is the only thing this edition is missing IMO.

 

[darjr]

Yes. PDF of the books would be great!

 

[happyhermit]

It's a good strategy for marketing I think. It's focused on accessibility for new people and on using the old fanbase to make that possible through monetary purchases.

I don't think the older fans are going to get what they want from this edition going forward, and maybe not even the next one. Actively growing the playerbase without involving old DMs and building a new community entirely seems like where the effort is being spent.

I am an "older" fan by all accounts, not the oldest maybe, but old enough that Wotc editions are certainly not the norm IME. The vast majority of older D&D fans I know IRL are loving this edition and it's underlying strategies to death. Slow release schedule, no expectation of buying more books, ease or running, etc. etc. It is great for new players, sure, and as lots of us have kids and significant others, and just want to play with new people for a multitude of reasons, the fact that new-to-ttrpgs love it so much is a particular boon.

I don't know why you think older fans will not get what they want from this edition, or what you think that might be. This interview just seems to assure me that I will continue to be happy with their direction for the foreseeable future. But Mearls also points out something I certainly have experienced in the past, I really don't need anything else at this point to continue having a great time with 5e, the core books are more than I need. I keep giving them money because I like stuff like Volo's, SKT, and spellcards, but I don't need any of it really.

 

[Olive]

Thanks for the write up Merric.

I find attitudes like "I'm not buying anything unless we get a FRCG" or "I'm not buying Volo's because even though I know it's actually fairly generic I hate them making everything FR" extremely odd. I don't stop listening to a band's old albums because I don't like the latest one.

I buy everything I think sounds good and useful in my game and I don't buy things that don't look useful. I bought Volo's and have already used multiple monsters and other parts of the book and I haven't bought the Sword Coast book because I flicked through it and didn't think it was worth the price of admission. I wish they'd make an Al-Qadim style book with coll alternate classes and heaps of Arabian Nights themed monsters but I don't stop buying other books because they haven't done it.

I haven't bought any of the APs but they do seem popular at the FLGS and so I assume that they're proving a successful strategy - WotC don't need to cater to my specific whims, they need to survive and make D&D a successful game so we can keep playing with new books!

 

[Olive]

I don't know why you think older fans will not get what they want from this edition, or what you think that might be.

Yes, I'm an older fan too (40 years old, started with Red Box, played 1-3.5 and now 5th) and I'm super happy.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Seems like a self fulfilling prophecy to me: No one buys your books because they are limited to using one extra book.

You would think so, but speaking as someone who sells the books for a living, there are plenty of people buying the books.

I have been in business 23 years and 5th ed books have a very good average. The worst selling books move far more units than the worst of the previous editions. The PHB is selling nearly as well 2+ years in as it did in its first year. That had never happened before, not even close.

Sent from my LG-D852 using EN World mobile app

 

[Jester David]

It's a good strategy for marketing I think. It's focused on accessibility for new people and on using the old fanbase to make that possible through monetary purchases.

I don't think the older fans are going to get what they want from this edition going forward, and maybe not even the next one. Actively growing the playerbase without involving old DMs and building a new community entirely seems like where the effort is being spent.

How do you figure?
So much of this edition is aimed directly at older fans, having a very retro feel and tapping into OSR. New players don't care about that.

How is it focused on the accessibility of new fans over old? It's not like choosing to name a book something other than "PHB2" impacts old fans. We get a book either way.

Regardless, you need a mix of new and old. Old fans are great but they have all the books the need, and are unreliable as a source of buying new material. Plus, they have a tendency to get busy or die.
The hobby dies without regular new players. Unless you started playing with OD&D, every edition had concessions to new players. Heck, the Red Box was a product solely and explicitly aimed at new players.

Seems like a self fulfilling prophecy to me: No one buys your books because they are limited to using one extra book.

Huh?
When was it said that people weren't buying the books?

 

[Olive]

It's a good strategy for marketing I think. It's focused on accessibility for new people and on using the old fanbase to make that possible through monetary purchases.

I don't think the older fans are going to get what they want from this edition going forward, and maybe not even the next one. Actively growing the playerbase without involving old DMs and building a new community entirely seems like where the effort is being spent.

Just on this, I think the strategy is attempting to cover both - I suspect adventure paths are just as much about attracting older players with less time as with making the early experiences of the game accessible for newbies.

 

[Shasarak]

Huh?
When was it said that people weren't buying the books?

He was talking about when WotC was producing a book a month and how most players are actually just like him when he only used Core plus the Fighters Handbook.

 

[Jester David]

He was talking about when WotC was producing a book a month and how most players are actually just like him when he only used Core plus the Fighters Handbook.

Right.... but that was before the "one book" policy came about. That's a modern rule for Adventurer's League. He's talking about a practice people might have done twenty-five years prior.