WotC WotC can, and probably should support multiple editions of D&D.

[mamba]

When I typed "it was a factor" it should not have been construed to mean that I was arguing it didn't matter. As far as I understand it, in the aggregate, TSR was still making a profit overall on their RPG sales even if one or more product lines didn't make them any money. One of the biggest problems TSR had was with their practice of factoring and the use of Random House as an informal bank. Without factoring or using Random House as an informal bank, TSR probably would have chugged along for a few more years.

I think they would have collapsed a few years before in that case… they used RH as a loan to stay afloat, but never could afford to pay it back. Once RH was no longer willing to keep pushing the date where they would be paid back towards infinity, the house came crashing down

 

[Older Beholder]

This feels like hair-splitting.

The fact of the matter is that video game companies have no fear of flooding the market with content or about competing with themselves.

EA is not saying "whoa, we can't release Madden '25 -- it'll cannibalize sales of Madden '24!" A large part of their business model is built around the fact that fans will reliably drop $70 on the new version year after year.

But they're not putting out updates and DLC for Madden 04
That's what the original poster is asking for.

Most video games eventually shut down old servers and stop supporting previous releases when new games come out.

 

[see]

1E is the only version that was more popular than 5E is (at least in print sales)

Actually, it almost certainly isn't.

Someone collected the reported numbers for various TSR book sales into a single spreadsheet, and the total reached for the AD&D 1st edition PHB is 1,557,371 copies sold through 1990.

Per the numbers reported here, the 5e PHB sold 1,563,586 copies, through US retailers that are part of BookScan, as of mid-July 2023.

Now, I grant we're mixing data sources on the AD&D 1e PHB numbers. And there also have been print sales of the AD&D PHB since 1990 (the premium reprint, the current POD availability).

But, well. That stuff would have to total to a truly huge undercount to overcome the unknown number of 5th edition PHB sales through all channels that aren't US BookScan prior to mid-July 2023 (which includes all hobby channel sales, all non-US sales, and all sales of every type in the last 10 months).

 

[Dire Bare]

I know the TTRPG space is probably too small potatoes to merit it, but it feels like there's a good case study in the rise and fall of the World of Darkness. It's not gone, but boy, those lofty heights of the 1990s seem almost unimaginable now.

Meanwhile, Call of Cthulhu, which has always been a quiet and steady performer, just keeps chugging along, decade after decade.

I kinda like where the World of Darkness is right now, just a handful of books for Vampire, Hunter, and Werewolf. Although, Renegade Games needs to get cracking on a new edition of Mage!!!

 

[Dire Bare]

I never bought Jakandor.

You should pick up a used copy or a digital copy. It's pretty cool!

One half of an isolated island inhabited by necromancers, the other half by magic-fearing barbarians, each convinced the other society is EVIL. Good times.

 

[Dire Bare]

I don't actually run any kind of company, but whenever we want to start some new at work we have to make a business case for it. i.e. How is this going to help the company? What's the cost of creating and publishing a different edition of D&D versus the expected return on investment? I suspect the ROI wouldn't be very high. WotC kind of wants us to experience D&D in their walled garden. How does a different edition of D&D help with that?

This phrase . . . "walled garden" . . . has come up a few times recently in reference to D&D Beyond, and the actual game itself too.

D&D, the tabletop game, is not a "walled garden". It's a game with an open license for other companies and fans to produce content compatible with the game! Sure, WotC tried to squish that last year, but they didn't manage too.

D&D Beyond is not really a "walled garden" either . . . books you purchase on DDB can only be used on DDB, but they are available from a number of other online retailers and online suites like Fantasy Grounds also.

 

[MerricB]

Meanwhile, Call of Cthulhu, which has always been a quiet and steady performer, just keeps chugging along, decade after decade.

Except Chaosium almost went bankrupt and had to be saved by a large injection of cash from Stafford and Peterson.

They're doing a LOT better now, but Chaosium almost disappeared under mismanagement.

 

[Chaltab]

@Dire Bare They kind of tore down any walls that were left when they put the SRD into creative commons, other than particular setting IP.

 

[Dire Bare]

@Dire Bare They kind of tore down any walls that were left when they put the SRD into creative commons, other than particular setting IP.

There weren't really any "walls" to tear down. Putting the SRD into CC just made sure that WotC wouldn't later try to put some walls up.

 

[Zardnaar]

If WotC were to do a second side-along edition (which I've been saying they should for ages) I'd like to see it be a hybrid of BX and 1e, arrived at by stripping out the bits of 1e that very few tables ever used and simplifying some other bits a little, while keeping the idea of discrete subsystems rather than unified mechanics.

I think OSE had advanced version adding AD&D stuff.