D&D 5E Am I no longer WoTC's target audience?
- Thread starter der_kluge
- Start date
bedir than
Hero
I find it odd that so many people don't want to reach out to new players. Stranger Things was a perfect way to get 40-somethings playing the game for the first time. I loved DMing them and was exposed to new ways to approach the game specifically because of it.
D&D Essentials is about to do the same thing at work, where we are going to tack on some hour long sessions at the end of a busy day.
There are still new stories to tell together. D&D helps me do that. New players help tell new stories.
D&D Essentials is about to do the same thing at work, where we are going to tack on some hour long sessions at the end of a busy day.
There are still new stories to tell together. D&D helps me do that. New players help tell new stories.
aco175
Legend
I found that 2e I bought a lot of things and played with the books a long time. I still have much of the FR books and stuff from 2e. 3e was a great syatem when it came out and I bought a lot of books as well, it seems a lot of 3pp as well. This may be part of why 4e came out. 4e saw less books that I bought, but still severalover the life of 4e. With 5e I have bought the core 3 books and some smaller things, but not any of the adventure books.
I do like the move with DMsGuild. It opens many of the older books and allows smaller adventures to be made. Many people do not like the quality or the legitimacy of the adventures since they are not made directly be Hasbro.
I do like the move with DMsGuild. It opens many of the older books and allows smaller adventures to be made. Many people do not like the quality or the legitimacy of the adventures since they are not made directly be Hasbro.
schneeland
Hero
To be fair: I don't think that's the case - to me it seems more like, given the slow release cadence of 5e, some people would like to see stuff they are interested in prioritized over stuff that primarily attracts new players. Could also be fixed by WotC by releasing more books, but I don't think they will do that.
hawkeyefan
Legend
Well, there’s two ways to look at it.
I’m very happy that the hobby is reaching new people. I hope that D&D continues to thrive and grow. I also hope that rising tide helps other games find an audience.
I’m all for that, and I don’t begrudge WotC trying to get new people involved.
The idea that they can continue selling to an ever shrinking and increasingly....I don’t know, ornery is probably the best way to put it...fanbase is silly.
All that aside, I personally am not looking for new players. I’ve been lucky enough to play with the same core group of people over the years. People have come and gone, and I’m sure that will continue, but this current swell in the hobby doesn’t directly matter to me at all.
I’m glad it’s helping others find new players and has brought many back to the hobby. I hope that continues. It just has little impact to me.
18-25 year olds are the gold standard for getting people locked into using a particular product. Because they will eventually have spending money.
Demetrios1453
Hero
It's amazing. The best purchase(s) I've ever made on the DMs Guild, even at the price.
LuisCarlos17f
Legend
The target is the market sector who buys the new productos. Older generations would rather to be collector of previous editions. The remake of movie, teleseries or videogames are for the yougest fandom, not for who enjoyed the original ones.
The old D&D lines aren't buried in a sealed crypt, but they are neither the next of the list (and before they are the movies of the hasbroverse: Transformers, G.IJoe..). The old franchises need a lot of work to continue the metaplot but they aren't forgotten at all and they can't publish only rehash updated to the last edition. This doesn't work like this.
Teenage fans have got time but not enough money. Young adults haven't got enough money nor time when they are starting to work and create a family. Older have got lot of money but not enough time. They are lucky if they can play D&D with their little children.
The old D&D lines aren't buried in a sealed crypt, but they are neither the next of the list (and before they are the movies of the hasbroverse: Transformers, G.IJoe..). The old franchises need a lot of work to continue the metaplot but they aren't forgotten at all and they can't publish only rehash updated to the last edition. This doesn't work like this.
Teenage fans have got time but not enough money. Young adults haven't got enough money nor time when they are starting to work and create a family. Older have got lot of money but not enough time. They are lucky if they can play D&D with their little children.
Harzel
Adventurer
You forgot Medicare Advantage insurance plans. True, you have to not only be over 40, but also in the more leet over 65 demographic, but come September/October, I have to be very diligent about emptying my mailbox every day (mostly straight into the recycle bin).
Ovinomancer
No flips for you!
Parents buy for kids things that kids repeatedly ask them for because marketing is aimed heavily at the kids. This isn't the case for D&D. Sure, there's a market for this demo, but it isn't a major one.
What merchandising? Where are the money making product lines that aren't books?
Sure, but it's not the core market for 5e at the moment. That's mostly post-school adults.
TwoSix
Unserious gamer
Something to look forward to!
ad_hoc
(he/they)
I haven't bought a book since Xanathar's.
I don't need more adventure paths right now and the new rules and campaign stuff just hasn't interested me.
And that's okay. 5e is still by far my favourite edition and one I could see playing for many years to come.
About demographics; keep in mind that most 5e players have never played a previous edition.
Hobby gamers are no longer the majority. This is something I see time and again on boards, usually when talking about release schedule but also about releases in general. That WotC will regret not catering to hobby gamers. Sometimes they throw in that Pathfinder will eat up their customers.
I think many people outside of hobby gaming don't realize just how huge (relatively speaking) D&D is now.
I don't need more adventure paths right now and the new rules and campaign stuff just hasn't interested me.
And that's okay. 5e is still by far my favourite edition and one I could see playing for many years to come.
About demographics; keep in mind that most 5e players have never played a previous edition.
Hobby gamers are no longer the majority. This is something I see time and again on boards, usually when talking about release schedule but also about releases in general. That WotC will regret not catering to hobby gamers. Sometimes they throw in that Pathfinder will eat up their customers.
I think many people outside of hobby gaming don't realize just how huge (relatively speaking) D&D is now.
Ovinomancer
No flips for you!
All gamers are hobby gamers, because gaming is a hobby. Maybe a better word for your point (which I don't disagree with, btw).
Xenonnonex
Hero
"Because they must cater specifically to me. And they must continually make products to make me happy."
Parmandur
Book-Friend
T-shirts, plushies. Their advertising for that is allover the place.
hawkeyefan
Legend
My daughter got me the D&D version of Clue for Christmas.
There’s plenty of merchandise associated with D&D in one way or another. It’s definitely nothing like Marvel or Star Wars and the like, but it’s out there.
I honestly think nostalgia and the sense of having a past is an important part of their brand and their marketing.
It’s just that....probably for the first time in a log time....they also market with the sense of having a future.
Some of the people who are in the past group will resent any focus on the future group because of some perceived reduction in attention it’ll net them.
There’s plenty of merchandise associated with D&D in one way or another. It’s definitely nothing like Marvel or Star Wars and the like, but it’s out there.
I honestly think nostalgia and the sense of having a past is an important part of their brand and their marketing.
It’s just that....probably for the first time in a log time....they also market with the sense of having a future.
Some of the people who are in the past group will resent any focus on the future group because of some perceived reduction in attention it’ll net them.
M.L. Martin
Adventurer
I'm too attached to the 2nd Edition setting, and the changes and additions felt gratuitous (e.g., dusk elves and Mordenkainen), contrived (Madam Eva as Strahd's half-sister), and/or overly bleak (large numbers of soulless Barovians), and a read through suggested little worth mining.
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Tony Vargas
Legend
You are no longer D&Ds only target audience.
(WotC has long had other audiences for their other lines, of course.)
How much disposable income do their parents have?
