D&D 3E/3.5 4E vs 3E Sales Figures: The Facts

[Cthulhudrew]

Wait a minute.

Was Amazon as big a force in 2000 when 3e came out?

Not so big when 3E came out, but by 3.5 Amazon was chugging right along.

 

[Kzach]

That is the obvious answer. A less obvious one, and one that is purely speculative, is that there is a slight back-lash to the prevalence of games such as World of Warcraft. I mean, I'm wondering (and hoping) if at some people people begin to get sick of imagination simulators and want to engage their actual, real imaginations again. The difference between pen-and-paper RPGs vs computer RPGs is similar to the difference between a violin and a programmed synthesizer. Let's just hope that in thirty years D&D, like the violin, is looked back on as a "classic" of human endeavor, rather than an anachronism of a bygone era before full-immersion VR.

I very much fall into this category.

I started playing WoW pretty much as soon as it came out and got hooked. When I lost my business it became an obsession. When I realised it was more than just a game to me, I quit.

Part of what help me quit, though, was my excitement over 4e. And now I'm hankering to get back into an RL game.

No matter how good computer games get, humans are a very social animal. I've read studies that suggest it's even vital to our survival and mental health. And not just talking online but being in the company of people.

Personally, I'm buzzed and can't wait to roll some real dice, crack some bad movie reference jokes, order some pizza and slurp beers/pepsi for a few hours every week with a bunch of good people

 

[Ripzerai]

I think what we can draw from this is that the audience for D&D has grown from 2000 to now. Possibly this is because of the LotR movies, Eragon, Harry Potter, Narnia and so on in popular culture. Possibly it's because third edition was just that awesome that every 3e and 3.5 product whetted consumers' appetites for more, or because 3e was better than 2e, or because WotC is better at marketing than TSR was. Perhaps WotC is better at hyping 4e than they were at hyping 3e (though this doesn't match my memory). Possibly it's because Dragon and Dungeon Magazines were getting better and helping to draw peoples' interests into new products (in which case, their print demise might cause growth to slow). Possibly the Internet has been helping to spread information about the hobby virally. Possibly even webcomics like Penny Arcade, Order of the Stick, and Something Positive have managed to make tabletop RPGs seem cooler to the new generation. Maybe things like WoW, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur's Gate have helped too. Possibly it's because stereotypes and insane rumors from the 1980s have died down.

I think Amazon's growth has probably helped. I'm not sure if comparisons with 3.5 are fair, since those core books were eminently skippable by those who already had the 3.0 versions.

 

[Dacileva]

That is the obvious answer. A less obvious one, and one that is purely speculative, is that there is a slight back-lash to the prevalence of games such as World of Warcraft. I mean, I'm wondering (and hoping) if at some people people begin to get sick of imagination simulators and want to engage their actual, real imaginations again.

This is possible, but they're not mutually-exclusive, either. I am an avid WoW player, and I'm starting up an online 4e game soon. I'm actually finding that I will likely have to have two games just to accommodate all of my friends from WoW who want to play it. My results may be biased by the fact that I play on a roleplaying server, so most of my friends have run up against the limitations of roleplaying in a static world (i.e. the world only advances when the dev team advances it, regardless of player character activity). It doesn't mean any of them want to stop playing WoW, but they'll all be happy to put aside one evening a week to play something where they have a direct, tangible influence on the gameworld, too.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm finding plenty of current WoW players who are perfectly happy with the game interested in 4E and the DDI vaporware.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

And Windows Vista is selling well too. I fully expected the core books to sell well initially. The question will be months 3+ and suplement sales as to whether people will stick with the new version.

 

[hectorse]

And Windows Vista is selling well too. I fully expected the core books to sell well initially. The question will be months 3+ and suplement sales as to whether people will stick with the new version.

I am pretty sure they will

Most people buying the core rulebooks are DM's

4th edition manages to satiate the DM's lust for easy encounter design and once most of us say WE WILL BE PLAYING 4TH EDITION BECAUSE IT'S EASIER ON US, many players will start making the switch

 

[Nifft]

Most people buying the core rulebooks are DM's

4th edition manages to satiate the DM's lust for easy encounter design and once most of us say WE WILL BE PLAYING 4TH EDITION BECAUSE IT'S EASIER ON US, many players will start making the switch

My whole group has pre-ordered, but then, many of us also act as DMs.

I want to see how it plays at Paragon and Epic levels, and how easy / hard / rewarding it is to DM at those tiers. Then I'll make up my mind about 4e.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Mark]

The D&D brand is a juggernaut. The player base is its biggest draw and self-perpetuating.

 

[Family]

We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.

The D&D brand is a juggernaut. The player base is its biggest draw and self-perpetuating.

"An estimated 20 million people worldwide have played the game, with more than $1bn (£505m) spent on equipment and books."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7278927.stm

"...the $1.5 billion fantasy game industry..."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/04/AR2008030402784.html

That'll do pig. That'll do.