D&D 4E 4E is to be announced at GenCon?

[DM-Rocco]

I have resisted posting on the whole 4e thing, but here is my prediction just so I can get it off of my chest and never look at one of these threads again.

4e will be as helpful to the gaming industry as 2e. I'll skip 4e like I mostly did with 2e and see you at 5e

 

[Alnag]

Completely out of my butt - I doubt we'll be seeing any concrete news or release about 4E until 2010. 3.5 still has a heck of a lot of juice in her, and WotC seems to have quite a few releases that are still up and coming.

I am not so sure about that, because the products from the late 2007 and early 2008 are really strange one. Both Behind the Screen books seems to be very fluffy, not tied to any edition. The same goes for that half-time sorceress and the monster thing...

They are publishing Eberron, yes. But any other significant titles. No. So they wouldn't be hurt if the sales drop much. On the other hand I do not expect them to announce it on gamecon either. I expect the publish in 2009/2010 (anniversary thing you know...).

Gamecon is too soon to announce this. I expect Winter Fantasy to do the job. The next one probably.

On the matter of telling, they are not planning it. They do. But can you imagine, what would happen if they would say so? The didn't lie either. They said, they have stuff planned for 2008. That's true. But what kind of stuff...

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

No offense to Bill Clark, but this posting makes absolutely no business sense. They shouldn't put plans on hold because there is a risk that a new edition will come out. If they did, they would paralyze themselves and never get anything new out. Might as well just close up shop now and be done. If I were at Necro, I would be thinking along these lines:

4e announcement will be made a minimum of 6 months before release, likely longer, so there is still time to get product out and sold. Keep trucking along in the meantime.

Continue to market to the 3.5 crowd. 4e will have early adopters, late adopters and people who never do. Make products good enough that people will want to convert them to 4e to be able to use them.

4e might be OGL, it might not. If it is, publishers will probably get some developer information prior to release to be able to get products moving and provide assistance in converting already developed but unreleased product. If it isn't OGL, either keep making 3.5 products, find another niche, or close up shop.

 

[Driddle]

Interesting. I just found another reference to the impending release of 4E here:Very Valid Resource Must be imminent. Everyone's talking about it.

 

[Henry]

Interesting. I just found another reference to the impending release of 4E here:Very Valid Resource Must be imminent. Everyone's talking about it.

That reminds me: I haven't watched "Groundhog Day" in a while... I need to dust it off and watch it this weekend.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I have resisted posting on the whole 4e thing, but here is my prediction just so I can get it off of my chest and never look at one of these threads again.

4e will be as helpful to the gaming industry as 2e. I'll skip 4e like I mostly did with 2e and see you at 5e

I on the other hand have skiped the whole 3.5 thing and stuck with 3E. I am waiting hopefully for 4E.

I am not so sure about that, because the products from the late 2007 and early 2008 are really strange one. Both Behind the Screen books seems to be very fluffy, not tied to any edition. The same goes for that half-time sorceress and the monster thing...

They are publishing Eberron, yes. But any other significant titles. No. So they wouldn't be hurt if the sales drop much. On the other hand I do not expect them to announce it on gamecon either. I expect the publish in 2009/2010 (anniversary thing you know...).

This is what I am seeing as well except I expect Announce at Gen Con 2007 and Release at Gen Con 2008. This is just a year later than my previous expectation.

I also see the DI being Demoed at Gen Con 2007 and it being the primary source for all things future 4E.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I had predicted something earlier this year and events since then might lend to my (ludicrous) portent:

WotC will announce 4E at this year's GenCon, kind of...

They won't announce a release date, they will announce instead that they intend to begin working on 4E. And in a move that will spin the attitude towards them back to the positive after the DDM/DI issue that will stun the whole community they will announce that their new customer friendly online digital initiative (DI) will focus on allowing the community to have a say in how 4E is formed. This new empowerment of the community will reinvigorate D&D fans across the board.

Won't happen, but it would be an amazing move on their part. Would probably win back alot of POed fans and make sure that 4E sales are good because it's "made by gamers, for gamers."

Feel free to call my theory, that which is mine, as which I wrote because it is my theory, stupid.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

Interesting. I just found another reference to the impending release of 4E here:Very Valid Resource Must be imminent. Everyone's talking about it.

I'm caught in an infinite loop! NOOOOOOOOOOooooOOOOOOOooooo....

 

[Nikosandros]

QFT.

Also, while I can appreciate Bill's speculation, it made me cringe. The idea that a publisher is more "in the know" tends to accompany such rumors, lending them undue credence.

Exactly... plus, I've really lost count on how many times some publisher claimed such things...

 

[Driddle]

That reminds me: I haven't watched "Groundhog Day" in a while... I need to dust it off and watch it this weekend.

One of my all-time favorite movies!

I'll wake up tomorrow and be told for the first time again that 4th Edition is nigh on the horizon. Same thing every day. ... The cycle will only end if I can somehow convince Andie MacDowell to play D&D and go to bed with me.

Of course the next day -- if it ever comes -- will present its own problems as I explain to my wife why Andie's there. But I'll deal with that when I get there.