D&D General Ray Winninger on 5e’s success, product cadence, the OGL, and more.

[Zardnaar]

to be fair, WotC would not exactly be shouting this from the rooftops if it were happening, and their quarterly / annual reports are a lot less transparent about D&D’s performance than they could be too. It would take a while / pretty strong decrease for it to become noticeable from things we have access to if we are not actively trying to figure this out

WotC don't lie as such but they spin the crap out of their statements.

 

[Hussar]

to be fair, WotC would not exactly be shouting this from the rooftops if it were happening, and their quarterly / annual reports are a lot less transparent about D&D’s performance than they could be too. It would take a while / pretty strong decrease for it to become noticeable from things we have access to if we are not actively trying to figure this out

But, that's the point. People have been telling me that WotC is failing, that D&D is doomed, that the game is ending for TEN YEARS now. I suppose, like the proverbial broken clock, you have be right eventually, but, sheesh, really? Zero evidence, zero actual facts, and we're STILL talking about how WotC is failing? How the hobby is slowing down? How things aren't just quite as good as they used to be?

FFS, at what point do we get to be shouting from the rooftops that this is the best D&D has ever been?

 

[mamba]

FFS, at what point do we get to be shouting from the rooftops that this is the best D&D has ever been?

pretty sure WotC has been doing that for the last 8 years or so

 

[Zardnaar]

pretty sure WotC has been doing that for the last 8 years or so

Longer than that but extra usless last few years. Ambiguous statements with cherry picked information to spin in best light possible.
.

 

[Hussar]

pretty sure WotC has been doing that for the last 8 years or so

But you just got finished saying that their reports aren't transparent, and they aren't really talking about how they are doing. How has WotC been shouting from the rooftops for the last 8 years or so?

By talking about how they've had nothing but double digit growth for nearly a decade? Is that something they shouldn't be saying?

Like I said, at what point do we kinda stop worrying that D&D is failing? That D&D is, more or less, pretty solidly established and we can stop endlessly proclaiming doom and gloom?

 

[Echohawk]

Like I said, at what point do we kinda stop worrying that D&D is failing?

I have never worried about D&D failing.

Option 1: D&D keeps doing well, and there continues to be a steady stream of D&D things for me to spend money on.
Option 2: D&D fails, and I suddenly have more money.

Pathologically optimistic me just isn't seeing a problem here. Both options are great!

 

[mamba]

But you just got finished saying that their reports aren't transparent, and they aren't really talking about how they are doing. How has WotC been shouting from the rooftops for the last 8 years or so?

They do not only release quarterly reports and otherwise say nothing at all… They have been telling us about the D&D growth, record number of players, etc. in marketing material / press releases (and sometimes explicitly in the reports, because their numbers in them are there to obfuscate). Have you not been paying attention? This should not be news to you

By talking about how they've had nothing but double digit growth for nearly a decade? Is that something they shouldn't be saying?

aha, so you know… Don’t think they said that the last couple of years though

Like I said, at what point do we kinda stop worrying that D&D is failing?

you can stop whenever you want to, doesn’t sound like you are anyway

Me, I am not worried, it’s more tracking its performance out of curiosity

 

[Zardnaar]

More intellectual curiosity for me I'm indifferent to D&Ds fate mostly due to WotC actions.

If D&D collapsed entire oh well I've got around 1000 products most I have barely used. If it goes the other way makes no real difference either.

Right now still indifferent and don't have any real data to indicate the true state of affairs beyond initial burst. Be 2 years before you can spot any trends.

 

[TiQuinn]

But, that's the point. People have been telling me that WotC is failing, that D&D is doomed, that the game is ending for TEN YEARS now. I suppose, like the proverbial broken clock, you have be right eventually, but, sheesh, really? Zero evidence, zero actual facts, and we're STILL talking about how WotC is failing? How the hobby is slowing down? How things aren't just quite as good as they used to be?

FFS, at what point do we get to be shouting from the rooftops that this is the best D&D has ever been?

When randos on the internet say it’s slowing down, yes, I take it with a huge grain of salt.

When you’ve got two former WotC employees and several independent creators talking about the company, it’s worth noting what they have to say.

 

[SlyFlourish]

I get what your saying. The idea that the revised books were to solve a "dndbeyond" problem wotc thought they had. But right around when they announced the books they bought dndbeyond.

It doesn't seem to line up. They'd been trying to buy DNDBeyond for a while, isn't that been stated already? The only thing that came "later" and mooted things was the end of the OGL scandal.

The two pronged stance (not a new edition but the books are being released as IF they were) was still going on.

I honestly don’t know. D&D Beyond’s acquisition being the catalyst is just a hypothesis.