D&D 3E/3.5 5E's Initial Raw Sales Numbers Stronger Than 3E's!

It seems that the initial sales of D&D 5th Edition are very strong. Asked about how they compare to 3E and 4E, WotC's Mike Mearls says that "Raw numbers are stronger, but that's not the complete picture. end of year 1 is the key." The Player's Handbook has now topped the hardcover nonfiction sellers list at Publishers Weekly. As of right now, it's #1 in Fantasy Gaming at Amazon, and a week ago it was the #1 book on Amazon!

In other news, prompted by some discussion about the gaps between D&D edition releases, I whipped up this quick info-graphic showing the dates that each edition was released. [threadcm]http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?359004-So-I-have-been-out-of-town-for-a-few-weeks-did-I-miss-something[/threadcm]

 

[Zardnaar]

Also note 4E had a good launch on Amazon as well. It is to premature to call it IMHO. Come back this time next year or even 2016.

 

[Tony Vargas]

The RPGA network seems to have collapsed. They do not have the staff to support D&D like they used to.

The RPGA was incorporated into WPN and the various 'Living ______' stuff a long time ago, wasn't it? And, that last incarnation, LFR, was cut off by WotC in 2010 or 2012, I think it was, though the guys running it did come through with all the promised adventures through 30th level, surprisingly enough.

Maybe they're regretting that now? AL seems to have picked up pretty quickly in my area, though...

 

[Mistwell]

There were things like bulletin boards but you did not have things like facebook, twitter, youtube and apps on cell phones linking them all together.

I wish you would stop repeating claims that have already been refuted...unless you have a response to the refutation.

Myspace.
Friendster.
AOL.
Usenet.

These were all big at the time. Bigger than mere "message board". They were, in fact, HUGE. MySpace surpassed Google as the most visited website in the United States at one point.

Computer use has doubled or tripled since 2000 depending on what country you are in, you could not msg the D&D designers on twitter or watch them on youtube.

This is another one of those Zard-specials, where you cite a generic set of data that has little to do with the topic but imply it has a lot to do with the topic. Nobody cares, say, computer use in Zibabwe for this topic. We're talking about internet usage, in the United States, which is where the overwhelming bulk of "D&D discussions on the internet" would be found. Right now internet usage is at 81% of Americans. By comparison, in 2000 it was about 51% of Americans. Now that is certainty growth, but it's not "doubled or tripled". We're also talking about gamer nerds - who were the first adopters of the Internet. I am sure the number of Americans online in the gamer nerd community has increased since 2000, but it's definitely not the wild numbers you're trying to imply here.

Its a slight difference of scale. I'm willing to bet you will find more positive reviews on the latest Game of Thrones book than Shakespeare or the bible as well.

Wow talk about disingenuous. We're comparing a book from 2000 to a book from 2014, where Amazon physical-book sales have raised about 30% and internet usage has raised about 30% as well in that period of time. So you compare it to books thousands of years old, which definitely never had any internet access when they released?

Why the constant exaggerations here Zard? It's not persuasive once someone reveals what you're doing, in fact it's the opposite. By doing this so much in this thread, you're decreasing the credibility of your arguments in general. It's like crying wolf.

 

[Lalato]

Now it's #1! (as of 3:46 pm EST)

Still #3 in books overall. #1 in Fantasy Gaming books though. (actually the top 5 in Fantasy Gaming are all 5e books)

 

[TerraDave]

back up

#2/#5/#1

 

[darjr]

A new thing that needs confirmation.

The PHB has been sold out. Distributors don't have any more. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[TerraDave]

I like how it is "nonfiction".

Just ask Black Leaf.





By casting the right spell...

 

[Gundark]

So yeah the PHB had sold out at my LGS and they had to order more. I was out of town this weekend and stopped at a LGS in the Vancouver area (Langley) apparently 5e as been a hot seller for them as well as there are lots of gamers taking a look at the new game.

 

[TerraDave]

The monster manual is #23 in hot new releases, #51 overall, and #1 in fantasy gaming.

 

[Gundark]

and now it is number 1 on Amazon