D&D 5E Don't Throw 5e Away Because of Hasbro

[TwoSix]

I would accept that trade, and anyway I very much believe the former is true.

Ideally for me, we would live in a TTRPG world more like video games or board games, where everyone tries lots of different kinds, and nobody assumes you'll just play one game forever.

 

[Retreater]

Theres not sufficient evidence for that conclusion even when accepting the premise that many content creators switched back to making 5e content.

"5E is so big that my channel doesn't get recommended to those who are streaming TTRPG content, so I am going to stop talking about Pathfinder 2E, Call of Cthulhu, etc., and return to talking about the best subclasses you can take for your 5E game."
That's it. That's proof. That's evidence. Even if that is one content creator out of 1000, that is diminishing in the content that is available in the gaming sphere outside of D&D. And it's because the other games "aren't as big as D&D."

 

[Distracted DM]

You don’t need to buy books to play D&D. This is why WotC are struggling to monetise the brand, despite its popularity, and why they lurch from one hair-brained scheme to the next.

Is that why? I thought it was because books weren't profitable enough- thus the push for digital, the appeal of microtransactions on their 3d VTT, monthly subscriptions, etc.
And generally speaking, you don't need the books to play but someone at the table does (Yes, I'm sure there are some folks out there that just play with the free SRD, 3d-print their own dice, and have never spent a cent on the hobby).

Trying to get a piece of every players' wallet is the goal, because GMs are typically the ones that buy most of the books. Monetizing the brand is usually beyond that- that's merch, movies, etc.

 

[Faolyn]

Right now, you really don't. You can play a pretty complete game from what's in CC, or if you really want the books, you can easily find secondhand copies of the core books. (This is referring to 2014 D&D 5E, of course, but the 2024 version hadn't come out yet when the thread started more than a year ago.) You don't need anything beyond the core books to play D&D.

Right. And I already have them. Which means I don't need to buy anything from WotC ever again.

 

[darjr]

Anybody have any facts about the size of non D&D now compared to back then?

 

[mamba]

Supporting earlier editions than the current one is a risk.

they are not doing that

AI is a huge risk more riskier than all the others.

I'd have put the VTT first

WotC is the gorilla in the room but it is also the one with the most to lose. What’s the phrase, “the bigger they are”?

the more they trample everyone else?

In complaining about being asked temporarily to blur their product pages were forgetting that they actually allow their products to be shown before release and give youtubers preview copies which gives them views and content.

Sorry, that is just marketing, and everyone does it.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Is that why? I thought it was because books weren't profitable enough- thus the push for digital, the appeal of microtransactions on their 3d VTT, monthly subscriptions, etc.
And generally speaking, you don't need the books to play but someone at the table does (Yes, I'm sure there are some folks out there that just play with the free SRD, 3d-print their own dice, and have never spent a cent on the hobby).

Trying to get a piece of every players' wallet is the goal, because GMs are typically the ones that buy most of the books. Monetizing the brand is usually beyond that- that's merch, movies, etc.

One set of books and you can play for 50 years. Definitely not enough money - to pay for the office coffee machine. D&D has been a marginal product pretty much since it was first invented. It wasn’t solely incompetence that sunk TSR, it was the nature of the business.

And yes, it would be much more profitable if everyone payed a little every time they played, rather than being completely dependent on whales who buy everything.

 

[AlViking]

One set of books and you can play for 50 years. Definitely not enough money - to pay for the office coffee machine. D&D has been a marginal product pretty much since it was first invented. It wasn’t solely incompetence that sunk TSR, it was the nature of the business.

And yes, it would be much more profitable if everyone payed a little every time they played, rather than being completely dependent on whales who buy everything.

They also likely look at the money the Transformers movies made for hasbro for a time and wonder why DnD couldn't do the same or have another Baldur's Gate. If we get fun entertainment out of it I don't see what the issue is.

 

[mamba]

D&D 5e is really extremely varied and an incredibly broad church. It’s not really a monoculture. There are tens of millions of people playing 5e in slightly different ways.

who cares, it still is a monoculture when you want to hear about non-WotC products, or 'even worse' non-5e TTRPGs. The nuances between various Curse of Strahd tables do not help you one bit with that

 

[mamba]

I often wish that everybody was happy with a small slice of the pie.

no one is, the others just did not get a bigger one (yet)