WotC Hasbro CEO Chris Cox, "I would say that the underlying thesis of our D&D business is all about digital,”

[Parmandur]

Nothing grows forever, there's no reason to believe it won't simply plateau.

People turn 12 every day.

 

[Malmuria]

I read recently that SJ is the top selling adventure on Amazon right now, so it isn't just "initially."
Also, I'm not sure your point here? They are producing the most successful DnD product ever, and people are still saying that WotC sux and doesn't know what they are doing.

Was it a good product? Did it meet expectations, or was it about legacy and hype? Did you have a problem with the hadozee art?

 

[Parmandur]

Was it a good product? Did it meet expectations, or was it about legacy and hype? Did you have a problem with the hadozee art?

It was mostly good, bit too short and needed another editorial pass by a couple of senstivity consultants. The art and (even worse) description were not OK.

 

[darjr]

I actually think we aren’t close to the top as far as how many people who would play and enjoy RPGs and D&D.

There may be a change in trajectory but I dint think it’s a given.

I mean just in the last two days I’ve posted threads from the past with posts claiming we’d seen the peak (2017?) and posts from 2014 claiming the reported sales were either false or a flash in the pan.

So I dunno. Sure things could turn around fast but seeing the surge in sales of the PHB during last prime sales and the surge recently with the MM sale at $16 and I can’t help but think there is still high demand.

 

[Hussar]

When the bubble pops.

Is six years a "bubble"? Sure, I think that growth will slow. That's obviously going to be true eventually. You cannot have meteoric increases year on year forever. But, again, there's no indication that it won't plateau. The boom/bust cycle of D&D seems to be broken. That's the entire point of an "evergreen" edition. Even if I'm kinda disappointed about the tepid changes we're seeing in D&Done, I cannot deny that WotC's business plan isn't massively successful. Which is kinda the opposite of incompetent.

Think about spelljammer. Legacy product, highly anticipated, lots of buy in from people. Was it a good product? Did it sell (initially) because it met expectation, or was it more about the hype? That’s before we even get to the art controversy. So they seem to have certain built in advantages but there’s still a disconnect when it comes to delivery

Still one of the most popular products to date. It didn't just sell initially, it's continued to sell really, really well. And the art controversy was important for what, a week? That blew over and everyone moved on. And, again, WotC fixed the problem and responded to criticism. What's the controversy?

DM's Guild lists over 500 products for Spelljammer. Including a fantastic 20 level campaign that I'm DYING to run. My current Spelljammer campaign is doing quite well as well. So, again, what's the problem here?

People tend to think that these misteps and gaffes on the part of WotC actually matter far more than they do. I'm sorry, they really don't. Not in the longer run. The OGL debacle was barely a ripple. Hadozee or the issues with Candlekeep Mysteries (both of which I entirely agree with you about by the way)? News of the day and then entirely forgotten.

On Amazon right now, the only non-core book more popular than Spelljammer is Tasha's. I get the criticisms. I agree with most of them. I think the book should be about 20 more pages and it needs more material. But, apparently, no, it really doesn't. People don't seem to care very much. They are buying it in droves.

 

[Parmandur]

It's worth noting that we know Spelljammer outsold the 2E version, and it has likely outsold every 2E Setting (aside from the FR).

 

[darjr]

On Amazon right now, the only non-core book more popular than Spelljammer is Tasha's. I get the criticisms. I agree with most of them. I think the book should be about 20 more pages and it needs more material. But, apparently, no, it really doesn't. People don't seem to care very much. They are buying it in droves.

People care. It's just they may not care about the same things as many here. Or those particular things.

 

[darjr]

I think it was Teos who compared the 5e spelljammer to the original boxed set and it was actually rather comparable as far as amount of setting content. He went on to lament that he still thought there should be more, having had a few decades pass.

 

[mamba]

It's worth noting that we know Spelljammer outsold the 2E version, and it has likely outsold every 2E Setting (aside from the FR).

How much did it sell? Outselling 2e Spelljammer is not all that hard....

 

[Hussar]

It's worth noting that we know Spelljammer outsold the 2E version, and it has likely outsold every 2E Setting (aside from the FR).

See, it's things like this that make me just shake my head when people talk about how incompetent WotC is. This isn't an accident. This wasn't luck. They had been priming this pump for YEARS. They spent a buttload of money promoting Spelljammer. A very professional quality, free, module on D&D Beyond that was delivered over time.