D&D 5E What if the D&D Core outsells the revised D&D Core?

[Zardnaar]

There STILL is phenomenal growth.

Those are not the same people buying their 100th PHB. It’s selling well because it’s selling to new people.

Unsupported by evidence.

And if true could still blow up in their face when they release new books.

 

[darjr]

Unsupported by evidence.

And if true could still blow up in their face when they release new books.

Sorry, there is evidence. The quality is debatable, but there is evidence.

 

[Stormonu]

There STILL is phenomenal growth.

Those are not the same people buying their 100th PHB. It’s selling well because it’s selling to new people.

Well, if you consider the binding on my 5E PHB, …maybe they’re buying another copy .

 

[darjr]

Well, if you consider the binding on my 5E PHB, …maybe they’re buying another copy .

No, those you can get for free, and keep your existing copy.

 

[Zardnaar]

Sorry, there is evidence. The quality is debatable, but there is evidence.

WotC have released sales figures for the last 3 years or so?

 

[Clint_L]

Strong book sales (the consistent sales of the PHB are undeniable) do not necessarily mean strong growth of the game. For example, if more people were quitting than joining, you could see book sales even as the overall numbers of players declined. I actually think that might be happening right now, and expect the game to contract a little bit. D&D has always been cyclical.

But if you think D&D has seen a boom over the past decade, just wait 30 years or so until all of 5e's new players hit middle age and many come back to D&D or start buying it for their kids. Of course, they will be playing it virtually from within their underwater domes, but still. Gonna be huge!

 

[Velderan]

Strong book sales (the consistent sales of the PHB are undeniable) do not necessarily mean strong growth of the game. For example, if more people were quitting than joining, you could see book sales even as the overall numbers of players declined. I actually think that might be happening right now, and expect the game to contract a little bit. D&D has always been cyclical.

That's the part I wonder about. In a game like World of Warcraft, it's easy to measure player engagement by tracking subscription numbers since people who quit tend to unsubscribe. Blizzard can track how often a player logs in and what they spend their time doing to help determine what kind of content players like, so it's not that hard for them to gather useful metrics. It's nowhere near that simple for D&D. Just because someone bought a PHB to give the game a try doesn't mean they stuck around. Maybe they couldn't find a group, the groups they could find didn't play in a way they'd find fun, or life just got busy again and they don't have time. Just because WotC has sold x million copies of the PHB doesn't mean there are x million players currently playing on a regular basis.

There ARE other ways to help such as tracking accounts in Roll20 or other VTT or actual log-ins to DDB, but that only helps figure out the online portion of the audience and would rely on multiple companies sharing their numbers which isn't going to happen. But how many people play in person? There's no way to know.

 

[Stormonu]

No, those you can get for free, and keep your existing copy.

Well, I wish I’d known about that, before I bought a replacement.

 

[ECMO3]

It’s not free money, as the stuff I paid for on Beyond was a one-time payment and they still have to pay the costs of storage and bandwidth.

I learned my lesson about digital back with 3E tools. I’m still willing to use it, but support doesn’t last forever, and the value of keeping it - and software/hardware support to keep it running - degrades quickly.

It is free money, the advertisements and sales on DNDB will more than pay for the storage, even if you are one of the many players who never purchase anything. Sure they may close your account or shift to a different platform and you and other "owners" may need to buy again but it will be available IMO.

I think you can still buy a digital copy of any 3E rulebook you want.

 

[TerraDave]

I have to double check the source, and I haven't read through the whole thread...

1e books were kept in print for a while after 2e launched. they were just too lucrative to stop.

Its the even edition curse, and yes its starting to happen. 1/6/5.5 won't exactly tank, but boy could it underperform. Eventually heads would roll, changes would be made, the IP could be sold.

WotC does have time for a course correction. But if things go this way through 2024, it will be interesting.