D&D 5E So Why is 5E So Popular?

[Blue]

Branding and marketing,

Look, I love 5e, I'm not dissing it. But you have some games out there that mechanically are in the same neighborhood of greatness (or better for some), even in the "fantasy heartbreaker" niche, but that don't have 1% of the players.

5e is big, people play 5e, so it's easy to find 5e games, so more people join 5e, so more games - it's got that critical mass.

It's a great game and I really enjoy it, but if it the exact game had been put out under a different name by a different publisher it wouldn't be this nearly this big. That's less marketing budget, less nostalgia, less playing off the brand appeal including to those who never played before, less existing income stream so can afford to do a long public beta, less budget for art, less high levels of stock by brick-and-mortar stores.

 

[Jester David]

It's a great game and I really enjoy it, but if it the exact game had been put out under a different name by a different publisher it wouldn't be this nearly this big. That's less marketing budget, less nostalgia, less playing off the brand appeal including to those who never played before, less existing income stream so can afford to do a long public beta, less budget for art, less high levels of stock by brick-and-mortar stores.

But... 3e and 4e had the same marketing budget, the same attempts at nostalgia, the same brand appeal, the same art budget, and same ability to be stocked in physical stores.
And while the long public beta was nice, the impact of that is likely only felt for a year or so.

So why is 5e so much bigger than 3e and 4e. Or even 3e & 4e combined.

 

[Satyrn]

So why is 5e so much bigger than 3e and 4e. Or even 3e & 4e combined.

Because Futurama only recently did their D&D movie, leading to people to think "okay, this is something I can like." (Kinda like how Rush went briefly mainstream when the Trailer Park Boys made them cool)


It was recently, right? Don't tell me time is flying by!

 

[bedir than]

Because the nerds inherited the Earth. So many of the people who run the arts, media, etc played as kids. Now they have a game that they can play again.

 

[pogre]

So why is 5e so much bigger than 3e and 4e. Or even 3e & 4e combined.

Part of it, a lot of it even, is Critical Role and other streamed games. I don't claim to get it, but I acknowledge its importance.

As 5e ages they have managed to keep the bar for new player entry low. By this point, for a new player to get involved in a 3e or 4e game was pretty intimidating.

 

[Gardens & Goblins]

Rather than due to any high quality in design, I'd say its current popularity is due to a combination of cheap, accessible online networking tools, hefty online promotion and a lack of other 'modern' D&D* alternatives.

*...I consider 4E a tabletop skirmish game first and foremost.

 

[Blue]

But... 3e and 4e had the same marketing budget, the same attempts at nostalgia, the same brand appeal, the same art budget, and same ability to be stocked in physical stores.
And while the long public beta was nice, the impact of that is likely only felt for a year or so.

So why is 5e so much bigger than 3e and 4e. Or even 3e & 4e combined.

The hobby itself is becoming more mainstream, there's a lot more social media involvement, a much better digital tools to allow remote play. Plus 5e IS a sweet game.

Any easy comparison is to go to any 3.5 or 4e RPG with the exception of Pathfinder and show me that it's within 10% of the players of either actual D&D version.

Pathfinder was basically D&D 3.5's heir, by Piazo who already was involved with D&D due to Dungeon and Dragon mags, at a time when a sizable player base was alienated because 4e was too large of a jump from 3.5 and further alienated because WotC was no longer supporting the version they wanted to play. It in some ways it had the force of being D&D behind it.

 

[RobertBrus]

Hasbro's deep financial pockets. Some very clever marketing (not the least of it was the extensive playtesting and calling it "Next"). A product that largely lives up to all the hype. Social media. Building on the history/nostalgia. Easy access into the game, especially for beginners. In short, a lot of things have come together; some by planning, some by happenstance.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

Also do not downplay the impact for recruiting new players that the change from the more generic 4E weekly Encounters store play into the more specific and connected 5E Adventurer's League has had.

 

[gyor]

At first it was the distillation of the best mechanical traits of previous editions, including Pathfinder, into a refined end product, with a handful of new innovations like advantage, bounded accuracy.

Its created an easy to pick up game that retains meaningful and flavourful choices.

More rescently social media and to a lesser extent traditional media (Big Bang Theory) has encouraged an explosion of interest. Plus general nerd culture becoming more prevasive in general facilitates this.