D&D 5E 5E Lifetime Sales in North American Big Box Stores Revealed

[darjr]

I was looking at 1.5ush in the video and used tgat number.

Professors video was two weeks after the first ones he appeared in. IDK what metrics he used.

I dod cross reference multiple sources not just one thread.

I did too. I mean I even quoted Teos.

 

[darjr]

The 50 million players are all editions ever not 5E only And I thought it was 40 million?

I think your right, 40 million. And I do think we need another source for that number. Other than wotc that is.

I believe them but I don't know their methodology nor what conclusions they may have made about the details.

 

[darjr]

The 50 million players are all editions ever not 5E only And I thought it was 40 million?

Here it is. Other good info too.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/40-million-people-have-played-d-d-updated.666473/

 

[Zardnaar]

Here it is. Other good info too.

https://www.enworld.org/threads/40-million-people-have-played-d-d-updated.666473/

Yeah there's info in the 4E thread and another one which had some sales figures on it.

I'm guessing they're probably done surveys and guesstimate an attach rate of 4 or 5 players per phb sold over the years. Older D&D seemed to have bigger groups or at least expected bigger groups.

Biggest selling D&Ds in order.

5E
1E
Red box (some figures have this similar to 1E)
2E
3.0
4E
3.5
OD&D

So low side its outsold 1E and red box combined, plausible those two plus 2E at a stretch all of them if you count phb only and exclude the red box.

I think all the starter sets combined have outsold the red box but there's also B/X black box, Rules Compendium, blue box etc so not sure in that one and what's fair to count or not.

B/X probably outsold 1E if you count all the main boxed sets and books vs phb. One of the biggest selling editions of all time lol and it's hard to find the numbers or what to count.

 

[darjr]

Yeah there's info in the 4E thread and another one which had some sales figures on it.

I'm guessing they're probably done surveys and guesstimate an attach rate of 4 or 5 players per phb sold over the years. Older D&D seemed to have bugger groups or at least expected bigger groups.

Biggest selling D&Ds in order.

5E
1E
Red box (some figures have this similar to 1E)
2E
3.0
4E
3.5
OD&D

So low side its outsold 1E and red box combined, plausible those two plus 2E at a stretch all of them if you count phb only and exclude the red box.

I think all the starter sets combined have outsold the red box but there's also B/X black box, Rules Compendium, blue hox etc so not sure in that one and what's fair to count or not.

B/X probably outsold 1E if you count all the main boxed sets and books vs phb. One of the biggest selling editions of all time lol and it's hard to find the numbers or what to count.

this is a great post!

 

[Zardnaar]

this is a great post!

As I said I've kinda been following the size if the rpg market since 2013 or so.

It's hard in some ways as WotC has been better at monetizing D&D over TSR.

I was more or less satisfied 5E was the biggest selling D&D ever back i9n 2017/18 but people got excited and claimed it was peak D&D. It wasn't TSR 1983 adjusted for inflation was bigger than the entire rpg market still.

Golden age most of those numbers came from 1E and B/X on sale at the same time so they split the market.

5E passed both them combined somewhere around 2020 give or take hard to know exactly. The rpg market is something like 12 or 13 times bigger than 2013 adjusted for inflation maybe 10 times bigger in real terms (ball park figures).

There's a big potential self destruct button I'm those numbers though. Not sure if anyone's noticed it.

 

[darjr]

As I said I've kinda been following the size if the rpg market since 2013 or so.

It's hard in sime ways as WotC has been better at monetizing D&D over TSR.

I was more or less satisfied 5E was the biggest selling D&D ever back i9n 2017/18 but people got excited and claimed it was peak D&D. It wasn't TSR 1983 adjusted for inflation was bigger than the entire rpg market still.

Golden age most of those numbers came from 1E and B/X on sale at the same time so they split the market.

5E passed both them combined somewhere around 2020 give or take hard to know exactly. The rpg market is something like 12 or 13 times bigger than 2013 adjusted for inflation maybe 10 times bigger in real terms (ball park figures).

There's a big potential self destruct button I'm those numbers though. Not sure if anyone's noticed it.

What do you mean about a destruct button?

 

[darjr]

Teos took the numbers from wotc about the starter set sales and compared them to the historic sales from BookScan and it also came up about a quarter of the sales, maybe more.

Note it's a patreon only link, I've asked if I can share it.

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[Zardnaar]

What do you mean about a destruct button?

Basically the new stuff isn't selling that well mostly vintage 2014-15 deluxe rerelease versions and Xanathars and Tashas.

They've apparently walked nbck some proposed changes in the playtest so they may have trained a new generation of neo grognards.

Edition changes are always a crapshoot.

 

[Parmandur]

Even if it's 6 millions which is the higher number mentionned, that would mean the 50 millions D&D players are sharing a PHB for a 8 to 9 players. My own experience was more around or a little below one (a few players don't have it, a few of them (GMs...) several over the 5e lifetime). But we're committed players.

A lot of the people playing are teenagers, and...might be using less than appropriate means to acquire material to play in practice.