D&D (2024) What would change for you if Wizards started calling it 6E?

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

Is d&d 5e showing any signs that they are going to start loosing money any time soon?

yes, the fact that they are about to split the fan base with 2024 and 2014 rules

It is a completely different business model from the editions that you mentioned. And, you know what? It seems to be working.

is it though?

WotC is selling more books and making more money than they every did before.

didn't they sell more 4e books then 3e?

There is also no signs of slowing down. After nearly a decade sales continue to increase every year.

in and of itself the 'always going up' is a great argument for going to come down.

They are selling more books after a decade than any of the other editions did in there first year. I would not be surprised if 5e is selling more books in a year than some editions did in total.

 

[codo]

okay I'll bite, what do YOU think makes them put out new versions of the PHB DMG and MM? (and remember there have been more then 1 version so try to keep it to matching at least a few of them)

Because they want to? The game has been out for almost a decade and over that time they have found some rough edges they want to smooth out.

Is it really that surprising that after 10 years the developers have some new ideas for the game? Ideas that they think will make it even more fun and let them sell even more copies. Just like they said they would, "every decade or two", when they first announced evergreen 5e.

 

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

Because they want to? The game has been out for almost a decade and over that time they have found some rough edges they want to smooth out.

Is it really that surprising that after 10 years the developers have some new ideas for the game? Ideas that they think will make it even more fun and let them sell even more copies. Just like they said they would, "every decade or two", when they first announced evergreen 5e.

I think the surprising part is that people think that this is argueing is okay.

 

[mamba]

I see no reason that ANY edition would not have done the same.

well, that is you… to me 1e is too convoluted and archaic, 2e improves on that but not enough, 3e/3.5 maybe would have had a chance, but imo is too complex, 4e is too divisive and too complex

Maybe they could have overcome that, but as I said, I am not convinced they would. Could any of them have been more successful? yes. Could any of them have matched 5e’s success, I do not think so.

 

[codo]

yes, the fact that they are about to split the fan base with 2024 and 2014 rules

You keep insisting it will split the fan base, I don't think it will. I guess we will find out next year won't we?

is it though?

The phb was the 76th best sell book on Amazon last year, a decade after it came out. If that isn't working, every rpg publisher on Earth would kill for that sort of "failure".

didn't they sell more 4e books then 3e?

Originally on release, yes. 5e has sold more than both of them combined.

in and of itself the 'always going up' is a great argument for going to come down.

Eventually yes, if nothing else we will experience the heat death of the sun, and all life on Earth with be extinguished. People have been proclaiming for years that 5e sales are going to start plummeting. Yet the sales sure aren't showing any signs of slowing down yet.

 

[codo]

I think the surprising part is that people think that this is argueing is okay.

Why wouldn't it be?

 

[pogre]

I would be able to definitively say I never played 5th edition at all and could claim that the even editions are the good ones.

I'm just the opposite I only play odd editions. I would be forced to leave the game until 7th comes out!

While it is true I only really played O-D&D, 1st, 3rd, & 5th - a name change from D&D One to 6th would have no effect. As I recall, WOTC avoided calling the current edition 5th edition for a while - wasn't it D&D Next? WOTC can brand it however they want, but gamers are going to use shortcuts to describe their games - calling the new rules 5th may be too big of an umbrella for that term.

 

[codo]

I'm just the opposite I only play odd editions. I would be forced to leave the game until 7th comes out!

While it is true I only really played O-D&D, 1st, 3rd, & 5th - a name change from D&D One to 6th would have no effect. As I recall, WOTC avoided calling the current edition 5th edition for a while - wasn't it D&D Next? WOTC can brand it however they want, but gamers are going to use shortcuts to describe their games - calling the new rules 5th may be too big of an umbrella for that term.

WotC called the playtest D&D Next, just like they are calling the current playtest OneD&D. Neither were ever considered the name of the edition, just the playtest.

I know there is one of their YouTube videos where they discus why they used a codename for the play test, I think it might have been Crawford, but I am not sure. I do remember why they were using a codename though. Their big reason was to not pollute and confuse google search result. If they just called the playtest 5e, google would give playtest information when people would be searching for 5e. Avoiding future confusion seems like a pretty good reason to use a codename to me.

 

[billd91]

okay I'll bite, what do YOU think makes them put out new versions of the PHB DMG and MM? (and remember there have been more then 1 version so try to keep it to matching at least a few of them)

There are a number of reasons - a big one is timing. Do you really think the 50th anniversary of D&D isn't going to be met with some big hooplah? Moreover, do you think the fans are going to happy if there ISN'T some big hooplah to acknowledge 50 years? There was ALWAYS going to be something big coming for D&D's 50th birthday and a new set of the rulebooks with new art and a couple of bells and whistles were always a likely candidate.
As luck would have it, 5e was a bigger success than anyone anticipated and 10 years on isn't a bad time to update it. It's far enough out to not simply be the same kind of cynical cash injection that 3.5 is often seen as (despite the fact that it really does address some notable deficiencies in 3.0). And it gives the designers a chance to incorporate some of the ideas that have been bouncing around since 5e first hit the shelves while they have an unusually good opportunity to do so without the market being unusually grumbly (the usual suspects excepted).

 

[HammerMan]

You keep insisting it will split the fan base, I don't think it will. I guess we will find out next year won't we?

Oh okay I guess if you don’t see it there is no reason to talk about it any more