D&D (2024) 2024 Player’s Handbook is ‘Fastest Selling D&D Book Ever’

It’s only officially been out for a week, but according to Wizards of the Coast, the new Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook has already surpassed Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything to become the fastest selling D&D book ever—in the entire 50-year history of the game. It has sold three times as many copies as the 2014 version of the books did at launch.

Not only that, the 2024 Player’s Handbook was the biggest print run in D&D’s history.

In a press release today, WotC claims more than 85 million D&D fans worldwide, and says that D&D Beyond, the game’s official online platform, has over 18 million users.

 

[dragoner]

A great candidate to be replaced AI and probably the least likely to be replaced.

Sure, if we are looking for more gibberish. Though it seems like even all the articles, and you tube stuff (which I generally don't read or watch) are also of the same vein.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

People complain about microtransactions but games are underpriced.

Microtransactions can be very consumer-friendly. Take what will be something like (what we can assume that) the 3D VTT Model will look like: It's free to download, and free to use some very basic functionality. If you're smart (and perhaps stubborn) you can limit your spending to very little and (perhaps) get quite a bit out of it.

OTOH, if you're "a whale", you can go all-in and get a whole bunch of stuff. It's pretty win-win. The only drawback, from a consumer standpoint, is people who can't control themselves and spend more than they ought to, just because it's so easy to. This lack of control is exploited by the seller, which is why that model is so popular from above, but it's not really their "fault" if they make product that people want.

Here someone was complaining about the price if game and asked about how much they used to cost. They were shocked to learn the games weren't only cheaper adjusted for inflation but cheaper in absolute terms.

Yeah, although I still think that the price-hike of D&D books a few years ago was a mistake, not because it's not ultimately necessary, but because they did it: 1) At a time when I could see that a lot of customers were pretty strapped for cash & 2) They did it on some products that weren't must-buys and in some cases, not well reviewed or received.

I was somewhat surprised that they reversed it on the new Core Books, which are, by all measures, CHEAP by modern standards for what they are. They're loss-leaders, in a lot of ways, so it's IMO smart business - the kind that I don't often see publishers agreeing with me on that score.

 

[Parmandur]

I was somewhat surprised that they reversed it on the new Core Books, which are, by all measures, CHEAP by modern standards for what they are. They're loss-leaders, in a lot of ways, so it's IMO smart business - the kind that I don't often see publishers agreeing with me on that score.

They can make up the core books in volume, unlike the smaller books.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

They can make up the core books in volume, unlike the smaller books.

Yes, of course. That's probably how they justified the decision to the higher-ups. I'm just glad that they approved it.

Some D&D-adjacent products have gone through massive price-hikes over they past few years, and for my store at least, it's caused the sales to tank:

Magic the Gathering, which held a price point per pack of around $5 for an extremely long time (longer than it probably needed to) and then has only just settled down from a trend of every set being more expensive than the last (with the occasional astronomical hike) - SHORT SIGHTED business, IMO.

WizKids Minis - now, I understand that there was some impossible to avoid hikes in the cost of producing and shipping these, but there also seems to be a certain amount of "no one can afford these things but the rich, so we might as well jack them to the sky" when it comes to the larger ones. This one probably comes down to unavoidable increases, for the random-packed pre-painted miniatures (Icons of the Realms, etc) but it really hit the sales HARD.

This is at my store, of course, but I can't imagine that we're not indicative of what will be seen across the board. OTOH, sometimes it all settles down, and a price-hike can seem normal a few years in (if it holds) and things go back to normal at the newer price point. This can't happen when prices keep hiking, but my hope is that both of these products are starting to settle on their current price points. We'll see.

 

[Retreater]

So this is strange...
I've visited my FLGS a few times in recent weeks to see if they have the 2024 book in stock, how many copies, etc.
And ... they're apparently not carrying it. They have a large D&D section with multiple copies of nearly every book you can imagine. However, they did preorders of 2024. If you didn't special order it, they're not going to keep it in stock.
That feels weird, not having that book on the shelf. They even have Pathfinder Core revisions.
Anyone else experience this?

 

[Zardnaar]

There's plenty of things that are actually cheaper today than they were in the past. A $50 PHB in 2014 is about $66 today for starters.

Yup 2E phb was a weeks rent here in 1995 for a room.

 

[Zardnaar]

Microtransactions can be very consumer-friendly. Take what will be something like (what we can assume that) the 3D VTT Model will look like: It's free to download, and free to use some very basic functionality. If you're smart (and perhaps stubborn) you can limit your spending to very little and (perhaps) get quite a bit out of it.

OTOH, if you're "a whale", you can go all-in and get a whole bunch of stuff. It's pretty win-win. The only drawback, from a consumer standpoint, is people who can't control themselves and spend more than they ought to, just because it's so easy to. This lack of control is exploited by the seller, which is why that model is so popular from above, but it's not really their "fault" if they make product that people want.



Yeah, although I still think that the price-hike of D&D books a few years ago was a mistake, not because it's not ultimately necessary, but because they did it: 1) At a time when I could see that a lot of customers were pretty strapped for cash & 2) They did it on some products that weren't must-buys and in some cases, not well reviewed or received.

I was somewhat surprised that they reversed it on the new Core Books, which are, by all measures, CHEAP by modern standards for what they are. They're loss-leaders, in a lot of ways, so it's IMO smart business - the kind that I don't often see publishers agreeing with me on that score.

I'm fine with microtransactions up to a point.

Where I draw the line is loot boxes and holding back content that should be in the base game to sell to you later.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Microtransactions can be very consumer-friendly. Take what will be something like (what we can assume that) the 3D VTT Model will look like: It's free to download, and free to use some very basic functionality. If you're smart (and perhaps stubborn) you can limit your spending to very little and (perhaps) get quite a bit out of it.

WotC getting rid of the a la carte purchases was definitely a blow to my spending with them. I do anticipate it'll be available for the VTT, as you outline.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So this is strange...
I've visited my FLGS a few times in recent weeks to see if they have the 2024 book in stock, how many copies, etc.
And ... they're apparently not carrying it. They have a large D&D section with multiple copies of nearly every book you can imagine. However, they did preorders of 2024. If you didn't special order it, they're not going to keep it in stock.
That feels weird, not having that book on the shelf. They even have Pathfinder Core revisions.
Anyone else experience this?

That feels like someone confusing their gaming tastes with what's good for their business, similar to the people proclaiming that "no one" is buying the 2024 books because their group chose not to.

 

[BigZebra]

Just anecdotal but when I bought it at my FLGS I asked how it was doing, and they said it was "flying off the shelf". They had a big pile of it, so I imagine they ordered a lot.

Oh and mine was printed i Belgium which I found interesting. I though they would all be printed in China I'm from Copenhagen (Denmark) so I appreciated it didn't travel around the globe.