Reynard
aka Ian Eller
I'm not particularly worried about the ethical implications of my random musings.
D&D General Ben Riggs interviews Fred Hicks and Cam Banks, then shares WotC sales data.
- Thread starter darjr
- Start date
Zardnaar
Legend
My theory is the playervase will have to organically get sick of 5E. Im thinking17 years /2031.
BUT we have had precedence for 26 years with OD&D to 3.0.
darjr
I crit!
But…. You asked?
You seem to be assuming that people care about the internal structure of the rules over the enjoyment they have from creating characters, going on adventures and having fun with other players. A lot of things that people enjoy have changed very little for decades, if not centuries. People still play chess even though there haven't been any innovations for a long, long time. Some people still play AD&D.
It's fine if you are tired or the rules or focus more on the rules of the game than the play at the table, we all have different preferences. I can say that I got tired of 3e because of the issues at higher level even if I did think it was "innovative" I guess in it's needed reimagination of the game. I completely burned out on 4e. But I can't say the same about 5e. I like most of the changes they made for 2024 and can ignore the bits I don't like. As long as I, and my friends, can come up with new adventures and characters I don't see why we wouldn't continue to play. Meanwhile there's always a fresh batch of newbies coming along.
Zardnaar
Legend
True. Most peopke will likely get sick of an edition.
I still play AD&D occasionally. I suspect i wouldn't if ot was the only option.
Hussar
Legend
Another data point is the number of online games in the VTT sphere. Sure, the majority of games are D&D and the very large majority are D&D adjacent - Pathfinder, et al. But, there's a significant portion in every survey (usually around 30% or so) of online games that aren't D&D. Sure, no single game is even much more than a footnote overall, but, as an aggregate, the non-D&D segment of the hobby is pretty thriving. Even in the world of paid online games, you can pretty easily find a paid online game running something other than 5e WotC D&D.Not at my tables and not among those who follow my nonsense:
Dungeons & Dragons Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook Poll Results
In October 2016 I ran a Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition survey of 6,600 dungeon masters to better understand how DMs prepare and run their games. I wasn't happy to stop there, however. Since then I'v...slyflourish.com
More than half of the 3,300 players and GMs I surveyed often or almost always play games other than D&D 5e. Four of five at least occasionally play games other than D&D 5e.
Just because D&D has the big market doesn't mean we shouldn't shine the light on all the other games that might give us another flavor of this fine hobby.
If we think D&D is dominating the whole RPG industry, let's get the word out!
That was my whole intention for my post. Why lament that D&D isn't making a new version when instead we can look at the huge spectrum of other D&D-influenced RPGs, many from actual D&D designers who were unburdened by Hasbro's various marketing pushes?
Sure, most of the world drinks Coke or Pepsi, but, that doesn't mean that nothing else exists.
Parmandur
Book-Friend, he/him
looks at the ongoing Asmodee/FFG debacle under Embracer Group
That's a wildly optimistic take.
Scott Christian
Hero
I wonder three things:
- Wow!
- What caused the growth? I know logically it was a combination of factors, but I can't help but thinking a huge part of it was media time with Critical Role, Adventure Time, and it being mentioned on every sitcom at least once: Community, Futurama, Simpson's, SNL, etc. (On an even finer note, I really do wonder how much Critical Role's success had on their business?)
- Lastly, does D&D have a bit of a buffer against Negative Nellie's on the internet. I mean, there have been AAA games that lose sales because a few outspoken internet trolls point out how much they hate this or that. The same has held for movies and books. Is it possible the D&D crowd is a little immune to it? Maybe because they consider it the only game like it on the market? Or maybe because they're readers and know how to spot fallacy? I doubt either, but who knows?
Zardnaar
Legend
D&Ds not immune to it.
Theres general pitching you can ignore but often there's an issue there that can tank a product.
Reynard
aka Ian Eller
It was rhetorical. I was saying that it IS NOT somehow worse to wish for a new version of D&D even though people like the current one, than the reverse.
