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<blockquote data-quote="Deset Gled" data-source="post: 8214640" data-attributes="member: 7808">Here's my take on what happened at the very high business level:3.5e was essentially at the end of it's planned product lifecycle.&nbsp; The product roadmap that started when WotC purchased D&amp;D from TSR and started the 3e project, which was then taken over by Hasbro, was coming to an end.4e was Hasbro's attempt at treating D&amp;D as a subscription service.&nbsp; As everyone has noted, this failed.&nbsp; There are a large number of reasons for this, ranging from game design to technical issues to the fanbase, and everything in between.Around this time, Hasbro started the switch from being a toy company to &quot;global brand experiences&quot; company.&nbsp; At the upper level, they stopped focusing on direct manufacturing and instead focused primarily on branding and licensing for income.&nbsp; You can read about this in the business news, not the gaming news.&nbsp; The switch started somewhere around 2010 (right around D&amp;D Essentials), and they completed the business crossover in 2015 when they closed two of their last two factories in MA and Ireland (right around D&amp;D 5e's release).5e, with it's slower release schedule, lighter rules, and planned continuance rather than planned obsolescence, is a direct result of the focus on D&amp;D as a brand rather than a product or a service.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Deset Gled, post: 8214640, member: 7808"] Here's my take on what happened at the very high business level: 3.5e was essentially at the end of it's planned product lifecycle. The product roadmap that started when WotC purchased D&D from TSR and started the 3e project, which was then taken over by Hasbro, was coming to an end. 4e was Hasbro's attempt at treating D&D as a subscription service. As everyone has noted, this failed. There are a large number of reasons for this, ranging from game design to technical issues to the fanbase, and everything in between. Around this time, Hasbro started the switch from being a toy company to "global brand experiences" company. At the upper level, they stopped focusing on direct manufacturing and instead focused primarily on branding and licensing for income. You can read about this in the business news, not the gaming news. The switch started somewhere around 2010 (right around D&D Essentials), and they completed the business crossover in 2015 when they closed two of their last two factories in MA and Ireland (right around D&D 5e's release). 5e, with it's slower release schedule, lighter rules, and planned continuance rather than planned obsolescence, is a direct result of the focus on D&D as a brand rather than a product or a service. [/QUOTE]

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