5E on the horizon?

[billd91]

No 5E.

You increase staff in the lead up to a new edition, you don't reduce it.

Generally, I'd say so. There were substantial layoffs shortly after major releases including 3.0 and 4 (the one that included Jonathan Tweet). On the other hand, Skip Williams was released by WotC in 2002 - shortly before the 3.5 release.

I wouldn't be surprised to see WotC use the savings in cutting long-time employees, each of whom probably makes at least twice what a starting employee would make, to pay for an increase in staff numbers. Perhaps in preparation for a new edition...?

 

[Mark CMG]

To know when WotC is working/further along on 5E, don't watch the firings, watch the hires and promotions.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I remember one really good one. If I could recall the thread title I'd link to it, but it was something like "If you had control of the next version of D&D, what would you do".

There were lots of really thoughtful and inspiring posts. If only I could remember the title or even the month it was written!

Found it!

http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/274027-where-do-you-see-want-5-0-go.html

Go and take a read of that thread, and a forked followup here http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/274142-return-dungeon.html for some really interesting stuff.

cheers

 

[Aberzanzorax]

I do think there is enough of a pattern to start to wonder if they're going to "shake things up" in some major way. I don't think that means 5e necessarily.


I'd change/add to your list with:
- 4E fractured the D&D community, which paved the way for...
- Pathfinder, the first serious contender for the throne, at least since Vampire in its hey-day.
- 4.5, aka Essentials, fractured the 4e fanbase somewhat.
- Several books scheduled for publication for 4e are cancelled
- There appears to be a shift toward board games and collectible card games.
- The cancelling of the minis line.
- Mike Mearls starts writing a bunch of pieces about the core/essence of D&D.
- D&D head honcho Bill Slaviscek (and two others) are laid off.


I don't know what that list means, but I think it's a bit more complete. What else besides 5e might it mean, I wonder?

 

[Dausuul]

I do think there is enough of a pattern to start to wonder if they're going to "shake things up" in some major way. I don't think that means 5e necessarily.

The thing about shake-ups is, they're disruptive. Inevitably, some customers get shaken off the boat. And the more you shake, the worse it gets. We've already had a fairly recent shake-up with Essentials, which leads me to think we're not going to have another one for a couple years at least.

As I say, I do believe they are working on 5E, albeit in the early stages. I don't believe it's going to be announced in the near future. It's much too soon for that. Even if 4E were about to collapse completely (which I don't think is the case), WotC's RPG division might be better served to go dark for the next few years, with Mike Mearls laboring alone by candlelight over the next edition, and announce the result with great fanfare around 2014. Announcing now would just split an already overstressed fanbase further.

 

[Dannager]

I do think there is enough of a pattern to start to wonder if they're going to "shake things up" in some major way. I don't think that means 5e necessarily.


I'd change/add to your list with:
- 4E fractured the D&D community, which paved the way for...
- Pathfinder, the first serious contender for the throne, at least since Vampire in its hey-day.
- 4.5, aka Essentials, fractured the 4e fanbase somewhat.
- Several books scheduled for publication for 4e are cancelled
- There appears to be a shift toward board games and collectible card games.
- The cancelling of the minis line.
- Mike Mearls starts writing a bunch of pieces about the core/essence of D&D.
- D&D head honcho Bill Slaviscek (and two others) are laid off.


I don't know what that list means, but I think it's a bit more complete. What else besides 5e might it mean, I wonder?

In all likelihood, far, far less than most people think it means.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I do not believe that there will be an announcement of 5e until at least the final shape and pricing model for the DDI tools are announced.
I alslo strongly suspect that around about that there will be an announcement of an addition of a module mart to the VTT at that time.

This may very well be how they bring in the old gamers.
Use out VTT and we have a prefabbed Keep on the Borderlands for $3.00.

Wizards have made a very strong committment to digital content and addons over the life of 4e so far in spite of some severe setbacks and great wodges of money.

Once they have it in place they are likely to leave it alone for a while to recoup the salaries of the developers.

5e will require re-development and if it is very different (as different as43 to 3e or 3e to 2e) then the software will need to be completely reworked.
That is very expensive, and watching how people use the online tools will provide some very valuable marketing data.

In my opinion, they would be much wiser to forego 5e for 10 years or so and bring out a couple of interations of the online tools in the meantime.
Expand the subscriber base and offer additional digital services.

Then when they have mastered the digital channel bring out 5e.

 

[El Mahdi]

I do not believe that there will be an announcement of 5e until at least the final shape and pricing model for the DDI tools are announced.

This is a good point and brings up something else: even if WotC intends DDI to be the future, how can thay move to the next step until they finally get DDI done/right/complete.

Is it just me, or does it feel like DDI is still in it's development stages, and hasn't come anywhere close to its promise yet...

 

[AeroDm]

I predict 5e will have a much longer play test cycle than 4e did with a fair portion of it being "public." The 3e play test cycle was (I believe) three years with more than year of it well known and regular tidbits given out. That generated huge good will but was only tenable because 2e sales were almost non-existent and so there was no risk of deterring sales. If 5e continues the DDi subscription model, which all signs indicate it will, then the 5e previews will become one of the features of the subscription that entice people to subscribe.

 

[Bedrockgames]

4E only game out a few years ago. I don't think they'd do a new edition this soon. They may just be cutting costs like a lot of other companies.