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<blockquote data-quote="Azgulor" data-source="post: 3768262" data-attributes="member: 14291">Let's be realistic here, though.&nbsp; Last time I checked, WotC wasn't a non-profit organization.&nbsp; They want to make money &amp; rightly so.&nbsp; I'm a big fan of capitalism.We know from interviews with 3e designers that the biggest RPG sellers are the core rulebooks.&nbsp; An &quot;edition refresh&quot; is going to be part of a sound business plan.&nbsp;&nbsp; Any of us can debate the circumstances of the &quot;correct&quot; timing of such a refresh, but unless they're stupid businesspeople, it's in the plan.&nbsp; And the plan is to make money.&nbsp; If possible, make more than you are now.I haven't made up my mind about 4e.&nbsp; I won't be able to until the game is released. But there has been an excessive amount of criticism of anyone who dares to question the way WotC is handling the announcement/rollout.&nbsp; (Just to be clear, I'm not including you in that camp.)I can only speak for myself, but the biggest issue I have with this is that although we've been given few concrete details, if anyone criticizes WotC they are loudly dismissed as deluded and irrelevant old-timers, WotC-haters, or 3e fanboys.&nbsp; Pay no attention to the negative selling by WotC against 3e, don't dare criticize the lack of specific details comparable to the 3e release (sorry WotC set the precedent, not a competitor), and don't even suggest the possibility that these factors might indicate that 4e is coming in order to meet WotC's business plan.&nbsp; Obviously, it is only out of love for the game that a new edition is coming.&nbsp; &nbsp; :\ While RPGing is a hobby that we at EN World love (and I don't doubt the 4e developers do too), can we please agree to acknowledge that business requirements are driving this bus?&nbsp; I believe that meeting those requirements and love of the game guiding the development can coexist.&nbsp; In a perfect scenario, the business requirements take a back seat to quality of content.&nbsp; For the continued success of D&amp;D, I hope that will be case.&nbsp; But based on what I've seen thus far, WotC's handling isn't inspiring me with confidence that love of the game is winning out over business goals.The OP's original question is indicative of the mishandling by WotC.&nbsp; Too little selling the pros of 4e and too much selling of the cons of 3e/3.5.&nbsp; I don't work in the RPG industry.&nbsp; I do work in sales for a technology company.&nbsp; I'm drawing a parallel between tech refreshes/version upgrades/new products and a new edition of an RPG based on personal experience in the following example but I think it applies.&nbsp; A customer once said to me early in my career, &quot;Don't tell me it's better.&nbsp; Show me why it's better.&quot;&nbsp; I've never forgotten it.&nbsp; Graded against that scale, that's where WotC is getting a failing grade on 4e IMO.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Azgulor, post: 3768262, member: 14291"] Let's be realistic here, though. Last time I checked, WotC wasn't a non-profit organization. They want to make money & rightly so. I'm a big fan of capitalism. We know from interviews with 3e designers that the biggest RPG sellers are the core rulebooks. An "edition refresh" is going to be part of a sound business plan. Any of us can debate the circumstances of the "correct" timing of such a refresh, but unless they're stupid businesspeople, it's in the plan. And the plan is to make money. If possible, make more than you are now. I haven't made up my mind about 4e. [I]I won't be able to until the game is released.[/I] But there has been an excessive amount of criticism of anyone who dares to question [I]the way WotC is handling the announcement/rollout[/I]. (Just to be clear, I'm not including you in that camp.) I can only speak for myself, but the biggest issue I have with this is that although we've been given few concrete details, if anyone criticizes WotC they are loudly dismissed as deluded and irrelevant old-timers, WotC-haters, or 3e fanboys. Pay no attention to the negative selling by WotC against 3e, don't dare criticize the lack of specific details comparable to the 3e release (sorry WotC set the precedent, not a competitor), and don't even suggest the [I]possibility[/I] that these factors might indicate that 4e is coming in order to meet WotC's business plan. Obviously, it is [I]only[/I] out of love for the game that a new edition is coming. :\ While RPGing is a hobby that we at EN World love (and I don't doubt the 4e developers do too), can we please agree to acknowledge that business requirements are driving this bus? I believe that meeting those requirements and love of the game guiding the development [B]can[/B] coexist. In a perfect scenario, the business requirements take a back seat to quality of content. For the continued success of D&D, I hope that will be case. But based on what I've seen thus far, WotC's [I]handling[/I] isn't inspiring me with confidence that love of the game is winning out over business goals. The OP's original question is indicative of the mishandling by WotC. Too little selling the pros of 4e and too much selling of the cons of 3e/3.5. I don't work in the RPG industry. I do work in sales for a technology company. I'm drawing a parallel between tech refreshes/version upgrades/new products and a new edition of an RPG based on personal experience in the following example but I think it applies. A customer once said to me early in my career, "Don't [B]tell me [/B] it's better. [B]Show me [/B] why it's better." I've never forgotten it. Graded against that scale, that's where WotC is getting a failing grade on 4e IMO. [/QUOTE]

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