D&D General Is DnD being mothballed?

[Alzrius]

Actually seems quite plausible to me

It's not. There's no comparison with regard to a small, private company versus a huge segment of a multinational corporation; for that matter, there's no comparison between the brand-recognition of D&D and any other tabletop game, let alone Pathfinder. Saying that Paizo/Pathfinder could be as big as WotC/D&D if they just cut slightly back on their product schedule - or any other minor change - isn't plausible in the least.

 

[Parmandur]

It's not. There's no comparison with regard to a small, private company versus a huge segment of a multinational corporation; for that matter, there's no comparison between the brand-recognition of D&D and any other tabletop game, let alone Pathfinder. Saying that Paizo/Pathfinder could be as big as WotC/D&D if they just cut slightly back on their product schedule - or any other minor change - isn't plausible in the least.

I didn't say they can. E as big as WotC...I said they could grow their fanbase better with a tighter slower release schedule. Which given the retirement history of the RPG industry seems fairly clear.

 

[Alzrius]

I didn't say they can. E as big as WotC...I said they could grow their fanbase better with a tighter slower release schedule. Which given the retirement history of the RPG industry seems fairly clear.

I don't know what you mean by "retirement history," but again I see little to support the idea that a slower release schedule would grow their fanbase (or their profits). They're already bigger than any of the indies, being by all accounts the #2 RPG company out there. There's no evidence to suggest that less product would translate to more profit, especially since it's putting out more products that's carried them this far.

 

[darjr]

Really? Because looking at their release page for 2008, after they went their own way, it doesn't look that slow to me.

Even if we snip out things like play-aids (i.e. map packs, etc.) and organized play adventures and stick purely to sourcebooks and modules, here's what they released that year:

Spoiler: count these!

1. Sins of the Saviors (Rise of the Runelords #5)
2. Hangman's Noose
3. Crucible of Chaos
4. Spires of Xin-Shalast (Rise of the Runelords #6)
5. River Into Darkness
6. Curse of the Crimson Throne Player's Guide
7. Edge of Anarchy (Curse of the Crimson Throne #1)
8. Guide to Korvosa
9. Classic Monsters Revisited
10. Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer
11. The Demon Within
12. Seven Days to the Grave (Curse of the Crimson Throne #2)
13. Flight of the Red Raven
14. Escape from Old Korvosa (Curse of the Crimson Throne #3)
15. Tower of the Last Baron
16. Revenge of the Kobold King
17. Guide to Darkmoon Vale
18. A History of Ashes (Curse of the Crimson Throne #4)
19. Skeletons of Scarwall (Curse of the Crimson Throne #5)
20. Pathfinder Campaign Setting
21. Crown of Fangs (Curse of the Crimson Throne #6)
22. Shadow in the Sky (Second Darkness #1)
23. Hungry are the Dead
24. Treasure of Chimera Cove
25. Elves of Golarion
26. Gods and Magic
27. Children of the Void (Second Darkness #2)
28. The Pact Stone Pyramid
29. Into the Darklands
30. The Armageddon Echo (Second Darkness #3)
31. Osirion, Land of Pharaohs
32. Guide to Absalom
33. Endless Night (Second Darkness #4)

https://www.enworld.org/threads/repeating-the-mistakes-of-the-past.350244/page-2

 

[Parmandur]

I don't know what you mean by "retirement history," but again I see little to support the idea that a slower release schedule would grow their fanbase (or their profits). They're already bigger than any of the indies, being by all accounts the #2 RPG company out there. There's no evidence to suggest that less product would translate to more profit, especially since it's putting out more products that's carried them this far.

So far.

 

[Alzrius]

https://www.enworld.org/threads/repeating-the-mistakes-of-the-past.350244/page-2

I don't think this thread is saying what you think it's saying. Consider the following posts from that page:

• "Umm, you realise that Paizo's release schedule is pretty close to TSR's of the 90's right? If you do a side by side comparison, I believe that Paizo is actually producing more gaming materials per month than TSR did."
• "Most of what Paizo publishes are adventures and setting material for Golarion. It's a much more focused set of product lines."
• "Paizo has been putting out MASSIVE amounts of material this past two years. It definitely surpasses anything WOTC did with 4e, in any particular year of 4e."

Etcetera. From what I can tell, a few people put forward the (frankly baffling) idea that Paizo's release schedule was slow, and most other people chimed in to say that was a bonkers idea...because it is.

 

[Alzrius]

So far.

After more than fifteen years, I think they're comfortable with their release schedule.

I want to be clear, I'm not suggesting that there aren't avenues of growth for Paizo, or conversely that they're insulated against future downturns. I'm just saying that after more than a decade and a half of success with (what I'd call) a consistently aggressive release schedule, the pace of their releases isn't any sort of stone around their neck, and that pokes a notable hole in the idea that releasing lots of product necessarily courts doom for an RPG company.

 

[Parmandur]

After more than fifteen years, I think they're comfortable with their release schedule.

I want to be clear, I'm not suggesting that there aren't avenues of growth for Paizo, or conversely that they're insulated against future downturns. I'm just saying that after more than a decade and a half of success with (what I'd call) a consistently aggressive release schedule, the pace of their releases isn't any sort of stone around their neck, and that pokes a notable hole in the idea that releasing lots of product necessarily courts doom for an RPG company.

And in that time, they have had to crash out a system and replace it a couple times already.

 

[Alzrius]

And in that time, they have had to crash out a system and replace it a couple times already.

Which didn't affect their release schedule at all.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

D&D 5e has slowly increased the number of books per year. Like here are all the official hardcovers by year.

2014: PHB, MM, DMG, Tyranny of Dragons part 1 and 2.
2015: Princes of the Apocalypse, Out of the Abyss, Sword Coast Adventure Guide.
2016: Volo’s Guide, Curse of Strahd, Storm King.
2017: Xanathar’s Guide, Tales from the Yawning Portal Tomb of Annihilation.
2018: Mordenkainen’s Tome, Ravnica, Waterdeep part 1 and 2.
2019: Ghosts of Saltmarsh, BG Descent, Eberron.
2020: Tasha’s Caldron, Wildemount, Theros, Icewind Dale.
2021: Fizban’s Treasury, Van Richten’s Guide, Strixhaven, Candlekeep, Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
2022: Monsters of the Multiverse, Neatherdeep, Radiant Citadel, Dragonlance, Spelljammer.
2023: Bigby’s, Planescape, Phandelver, Book of Many Things, Keys from the Golden Vault.