D&D General D&D's Utter Dominance Is Good or Bad Because...

[Minigiant]

Some of the consumer base wants free updates. But I don't think it's nearly in the numbers you think it is.

I am not meaning big updates. I mean anything. From tweaks to minor alterations or additionsto major overhauls.

Some of the fandom wants little tweaks. Some of the fandom wants big sweeping changes. Some of of the fandom wants something in between. Most of the community would like some parts of 5e altered, even if it's small. The minority is 100.0% satisfied with their D&D.

The main uniting force of the people that want change is their uneasiness in spending money for change. WOTC has to run on hype, nostalgia, or shotgunning hooks into books to snag customers.

If electronic files were not a thing, most 3PPs would go broke as they would struggle to sell niche softcovers and hardcovers.

 

[Remathilis]

This is why I hate publically-traded companies, and feel D&D is a worse game than it would otherwise be because it's owned by one.

Would you advocate that Paizo or Kobold Press produce a niche product (such as, say, psionics for PF2 or TotV) even if the cost of design and publishing would NOT be recouped by sales?

 

[Corinnguard]

Would you advocate that Paizo or Kobold Press produce a niche product (such as, say, psionics for PF2 or TotV) even if the cost of design and publishing would NOT be recouped by sales?

PF2 already has psionics. However, it's been rebranded as another form of magic. Occult Magic.

 

[GrimCo]

This is why I hate publically-traded companies, and feel D&D is a worse game than it would otherwise be because it's owned by one.

It's no different if the company is privately owned. Goal is still the same, turning profit for owner. It's good old capitalism.

Priority for making the best game, or the most profit?

Choice isn't binary. It's sliding scale. But priority is always money first. Making best game possible is useless if it isn't profitable. But making best game possible that can make you most money possible generally goal of game companies.

You are looking at games from the perspective of player/ consumer. It's hobby for you (and me). But for people inside game industry, it's job. Publishing companies are in it to make money first and foremost. Maybe try looking at things from purely business side.

 

[Reynard]

Adventures and settings with some new player options and monsters. Stuff that appeals to broadest possible audience. They have new half edition core books that will no doubt be good sellers. Then it's back to above mentioned.

Emphasis mine.

That's the rub, though, isn't it? People on this board still haven't decided whether this is just errata and collection, a "half edition" or a whole new edition. If they do a half edition refresh every 10 years, there is only one cycle of compatibility and all they have really done is extend the edition lifecycle. That isn't the "ever green, 5E is the final edition" aspect that is being touted. Of course if you have new editions every once ina while, you can repeat your book cycle. That isn't what I was asking.

 

[Reynard]

Would you advocate that Paizo or Kobold Press produce a niche product (such as, say, psionics for PF2 or TotV) even if the cost of design and publishing would NOT be recouped by sales?

This is a little disingenuous, I think. No one is saying that WotC should set fire to their money. What they are saying is that if they weren't trying to please shareholders, they might be able to innovate and experiment a little and make books that are slightly less profitable than Yet Another Tasha's.

 

[MichaelSomething]

I don't mind the current "less is more" output WOTC is doing right now. After twenty-ish years of near monthly output, I think the people who protested bloat deserve to have it their way for a while.

 

[GrimCo]

Yeah, personally, i don't buy that BS about 5e being ever green final edition. They can taut that, but i'm willing to bet that few years down the line, there will be new edition. There is finite amount of tweaking 5E while maintaining full compatibility with everything published since 2014. Sooner or later, someone at Hasbro will just pull the plug and say- Ok people, time for something new.

 

[Oofta]

Is that what they've been doing? Cranking out product?

If you make more options and it starts not making you money, that's when you stop. Or you could assume that only products that absolutely everyone will buy are worth making. Maybe there's a middle ground?

Are you privy to their internal financial statements? Do you know what their profit margins are on the type of material you demand? Do you have detailed records on sales history for previous editions and how well the 20th supplement sold?

I have no idea what the middle ground is. Neither do you. I do know that there are significant drawbacks to publishing too many books. I'd rather have a healthy and growing game community than a flooded market that leads to a crash like virtually all previous editions. So I'm okay with a more conservative approach, I already have more options than I need in many areas.[/I]

 

[Reynard]

I don't mind the current "less is more" output WOTC is doing right now. After twenty-ish years of near monthly output, I think the people who protested bloat deserve to have it their way for a while.

The pace is fine. it would be nice if they would actually innovate, though, or at least bring some classic D&D elements to 5E. they could easily fit a Domain Management section in instead of, say, a bunch of random name tables.