D&D General Is DnD being mothballed?

[Kurotowa]

The consistency of their product schedule, and the sales numbers, indicate that theybare servicing their market. Idlf they weren't, we would see a radical shift and shake-up as when 3E, 3.5 or 4E failed to do so.

Indeed. What I said about times when "the market leader destroys themselves in a pyre of self-sabotage"? That's what nearly happened with 4e. Pathfinder wouldn't have gotten a faction of the market share they still hold if 4e wasn't alienating so much of D&D's audience at the time.

You can feel that 5e threw out the baby with the bathwater when reversing course from 4e. You can be one of those people who genuinely preferred 4e and still resent its renunciation. But there's no denying that 4e left D&D vulnerable to a competitor in a way it never had been before, and that 5e rather dramatically changed the picture. The one sin you can't accuse 5e of is not being the most popular edition of D&D ever.

 

[mamba]

Idlf they weren't, we would see a radical shift and shake-up as when 3E, 3.5 or 4E failed to do so.

did we see a radical shift with 3e / 3.5? I thought that was mostly with 4e

 

[Vaalingrade]

Just like alllll the other editions.

 

[Parmandur]

did we see a radical shift with 3e / 3.5? I thought that was mostly with 4e

Rules wise, not too much, but they laid off a huge number of people and completely replaced the product line and release strategy. Then did that again in 2008. Then threw it out again. It it just thenrukes, it is all the products thst were being released that got overhauled. It was less the replacement of the Core books as the redesign and replacement of the splatbooks.

In contrast, in 9 years 5E has had no structural overhaul to the product release schedule. Adjustments in how many books, course corrections in hoe they approach the next book...but no real overhauls. Even after Mearls fall from grace and Winninger left, so that's stability across three leadership regimes so far.

 

[Cadence]

But there is a dual purpose: theybare going big enough so that nobody in the TTRPG space can possibly enter at the same level, just for money reasons. But they are also going big enough and cutting edge enough, that it is hard for big deep pockets coming from outside thr industry to see entering as being attractive.

It isnhigh risk/high reward, but that is worth it for them to maintain their position.

I am kind of wondering what we woudl get if some billionaire decided they did't want to buy part or all of a sports team, or a social media company, but instead jump into one of their hobbies (ttRPG? board games?) and really shake things up...

 

[Vaalingrade]

I am kind of wondering what we woudl get if some billionaire decided they did't want to buy part or all of a sports team, or a social media company, but instead jump into one of their hobbies (ttRPG? board games?) and really shake things up...

Orcs of Thar standalone set if past is prologue.

 

[The-Magic-Sword]

The consistency of their product schedule, and the sales numbers, indicate that theybare servicing their market. Idlf they weren't, we would see a radical shift and shake-up as when 3E, 3.5 or 4E failed to do so.

What do you think the impact of momentum is on the relationship between market service and sales numbers?

"I don't like 5e but my group refuses to try other games" is showing up quite a bit in some spaces and "I want to play X but there's only people posting 5e games" is showing up a lot in others.

 

[Parmandur]

I am kind of wondering what we woudl get if some billionaire decided they did't want to buy part or all of a sports team, or a social media company, but instead jump into one of their hobbies (ttRPG? board games?) and really shake things up...

Oh, Lord, you know it's just a matter of time. I...do not relish the thought.

 

[Cadence]

RE: VTT

I just had the start of a horrible thought of them trying to combine Arena and a D&D 3D VTT... and am now going back to do work because it is less scary.

 

[Parmandur]

What do you think the impact of momentum is on the relationship between market service and sales numbers?

"I don't like 5e but my group refuses to try other games" is showing up quite a bit in some spaces and "I want to play X but there's only people posting 5e games" is showing up a lot in others.

I mean, that would seem to prove that the TTRPG market is overall being served by WotC right now, by and large. That some cannot find a different game or get other people to join another game shows that most of the people they know are satisfied with the 5E offering.