D&D 5E Are we at, or close, to peak D&D? Again?

[jayoungr]

D&D's greatest threat is video games.

Entertainment dollar per hour atm is 3-1 in videogames favor. 300 odd hours on AC Origins/Odyssey is 2-3 years of D&D.

No prep required.

Considering that you CAN play D&D for free with the basic rules, I'm not sure how you're figuring the dollar per hour cost.

 

[S'mon]

I feel like the player base is still on the uptick, but the product has peaked and is heading for a downturn of rushed and poorly appealing product.

That seems plausible - that product quality is downtrending. Really the only 5e WoTC product I'm happy with are PHB-DMG-MM & XGTE, I think XGTE did a good job at fixing the failures in the core books (eg decent crafting rules, proper encounter tables). Although the VTT version of 5e Forge of Fury does have nice maps and was well worth $4.99 - the maps in TFTYP are appalling. Starter Set & Essentials Kit are good for what they do; if you're American the box sets are great value - sadly in UK we have 20% VAT on cardboard boxes but not on books, which harms their value.

Still, WoTC did an overall great job with 5e 'out the gate' and the game continues to be deservedly very successful. It's very accessible to new players; it's highly modular by D&D standards, and can be run successfully in a wide range of styles and genres. It doesn't do very low magic (though the chassis can be successfully adapted for such, eg AIME) but it works great for a much wider variety of approaches than any other D&D edition I can think of.

 

[S'mon]

The kind of eight year olds that Games Workshop is marketing to, not really a problem, same as Legos. WotC has a wider possible audience.

D&D does have a definite advantage there, in that the Starter Set and Essentials Kit combined are like $40 at Target, and after that the only necessary costs are pencils, paper and time, all of which come easy to most middle schoolers.

There's plenty of free materials to get started, D&D Beyond has enough there to make a decent character.

 

[Parmandur]

There's plenty of free materials to get started, D&D Beyond has enough there to make a decent character.

True that, though the Target box sets probably work better for the average 8 year old (and point them to Beyond, anyways).

 

[TheSword]

A $400 start-up cost ($100 for the rulebook alone) isn't going to get you a lot of eight-year-olds, though.

Erm. Games Workshops share price has absolutely soared from approx £5 a share in 2014 to a high of £70 per share in 2019. They’re down to about £50 by the end of 2020 due to it being a largely face to face hobby and stores being closed but you can’t argue with 1000% growth.

Games Workshop has no problem selling games to kids.

 

[Zardnaar]

Considering that you CAN play D&D for free with the basic rules, I'm not sure how you're figuring the dollar per hour cost.

Easy money I spend on games vs money on books.

Technically I don't spend my own money on books. Gifts and store credit play for free.

If I spent real money games are cheaper vs D&D.

Candle keep "cost" me $70 NZD but it was store credit real money $0.

 

[turnip_farmer]

I don't really understand how something like Dungeons and Dragons is a viable business model, honestly.

I bought a few rulebooks from Wizards, but I can't think of any reason to ever give them any more money. I've got what I need to create, I don't need a load of irrelevant guff on top of that.

Warhammer or Magic is different, it's all about collecting more stuff. But I don't really get why anyone would buy a book like Tasha's.

 

[Zardnaar]

I don't really understand how something like Dungeons and Dragons is a viable business model, honestly.

I bought a few rulebooks from Wizards, but I can't think of any reason to ever give them any more money. I've got what I need to create, I don't need a load of irrelevant guff on top of that.

Warhammer or Magic is different, it's all about collecting more stuff. But I don't really get why anyone would buy a book like Tasha's.

When the bug bites gotta get them all.

Alot of unused 2E, 3E,5E material.

 

[TerraDave]

Its huge right now. At some point it will peak.

That doesn't mean crash. And it doesn't mean multi-media is essential.

I mean, are there people breathlessly awaiting the Settlers of Catan movie or Magic the Gathering TV show? Monopoly the miniseries?

D&D, like those other games, has a solid and sustainable hobby game niche, and can stay evergreen.

Unless WotC screws it up.

 

[loverdrive]

Well, I'd want to see TTRPG hobby rise in popularity, but D&D drop a few positions. Pathfinder too.