D&D General The Double-Edged Sword: Is The New D&D Edition a Cash Grab in Disguise?

[DEFCON 1]

Im still a little surprised folks think books are the be all end all.

A lot of folks don't like change. And switching from hard-bound books to online books is a difficult one for many people and they'd just as soon not.

Heck... there are people still playing AD&D out there. Not even the OSR versions, but actual AD&D! They're avoiding the changes in Dungeons & Dragons like it was the plague!

 

[TheSword]

Im still a little surprised folks think books are the be all end all.

Precisely. What’s interesting is that we know from Mike Maerl’s posts, that the people buying the books are only a small subset of the people playing the game.

When rules are released the wider player base benefits if they are improved and only a proportion have to pay. It isn’t like everybody playing the new rules is forking out $150 as the article seems to suggest.

 

[MGibster]

Yeah I know, but it still is meaningless. Compamies release low effort products all the time. This is not that. This is a lot of high quality new art and a new layout. Thats significant.

I agree that this isn't a cash grab. WotC put far to much effort into this for it to be a cynical cash grab. But I disagree vehemently that cash grab is meaningless. Most people understand what it means even if some people misapply the term.

 

[CapnZapp]

Is The New D&D Edition a Cash Grab in Disguise?

All new editions have as their primary purpose to convince customers to start forking up dough again. If the previous edition could keep the money flowing there would be no new edition.

So yes, you can say it is a "cash grab".

I would not say anything about it is disguised, though. Companies never admit it's about the money, but it obviously always is.

To me, that's not much of a disguise.

 

[velkymx]

I think most of you didn't read the article, just the title, lol.

From the article:

WotC is making it just different enough to render your old books obsolete, but not different enough to offer a truly revolutionary gameplay experience. This bears an uncanny resemblance to the music industry’s shift from cassettes to CDs, a move widely seen as a cash grab disguised as technological advancement. Existing players, comfortable with the familiar rules and lore, balk at learning entirely new systems. Newcomers, naturally gravitate towards the latest edition, leaving veterans struggling to find groups. This is especially true for niche play styles or smaller communities. This creates a content treadmill, where players are constantly chasing the latest must-have rulebook to stay relevant. It’s a lucrative cycle for Wizards of the Coast, but for players, it can feel exploitative. The constant churn of editions creates a barrier to entry, potentially stifling the growth of the hobby as a whole.

 

[Shardstone]

I think most of you didn't read the article, just the title, lol.

From the article:

Yeah it can feel exploitive, but in this case, it doesn't.

 

[payn]

I think most of you didn't read the article, just the title, lol.

From the article:

Nope, we got it.

 

[velkymx]

Yeah it can feel exploitive, but in this case, it doesn't.

Why do you feel like it isn't? Do you feel that rebuying the whole game is just "the way it is" and accept it?

 

[Oofta]

I think most of you didn't read the article, just the title, lol.

From the article:

A decade between updates is in no way a "constant churn of editions". That may have been true for 3 and 4, it isn't any more. Add in that the old rules, modules, monster manuals are still compatible and your argument just doesn't hold water any better than a sieve.

 

[Remathilis]

every new edition for any game is a cash grab.

Everything is a cash grab. Unless it's given out free and freely.