D&D 5E Could 5E Use A Branded Magazine In Stores (Again)?

[Azzy]

I know it's not profitable, but that wasn't the question, was it? Do I want it? Yes! Not going to get it, but that's different from wanting.

I'm in the same boat. I know it's not realistic, but I'd love it just the same.

 

[tommybahama]

It's almost impossible to make a profit with any print magazine - they are all moving online only.

The question is akin to "should WotC hire town criers?"

Obsolete media is obsolete.

Apparently that is a widely held myth. Magazine sales and reader demographics are still very strong. Magazine sales are $27 billion annually and readership has grown since 2008.

Physical books bring in $22 billion annually. E-books bring in $2.2 billion and has zero market growth. Claims that electronic media is taking over is greatly exaggerated.

 

[JeffB]

I'd love to see print magazines again ala The Dragon/Dungeon from inception through the mid to late 1990s (I let my subs lapse in the 3.x WOTC/Paizo era)

As a freebie I cannot complain, but If Dragon + is in any indication of the quality and type of content we'd see in a WOTC D&D print magazine, I'd never buy one.

Print Magazines of today are 80% ads, and 20% clickbait type articles we see online. My wife leaves them in the library* Cooking magazines (I do all the cooking so these are for me, really), "Women's" magazines, her Subaru magazine, Local culture/events/people magazines (i.e. things like "Westchester County" or "Connecticut") Even the professional facing magazines she gets (Wife is an RN) have some of the most ridiculous $*^t I've seen in them.

As for gaming-I'd rather spend my money on some amateur zines (several out there in OSR land) or pick up issues (or pay for a re-print anthology) of great old magazines/zines like Sorcerers Apprentice and A&E

*The bathroom

 

[HarbingerX]

I think the best option would be for someone in the dmsguild community create a monthly set of collected articles and make it available for print on demand. I have a bunch of OSR magazines from lulu.com I got that way.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

The indie gaming zine scene is still going strong, in print even. There are a ton of DCC RPG zines that Goodman Games distributes. Kobold Press puts out the very slick Warlock 5e zine.

From time to time I think about doing a gaming zine myself (for years I did a small music zine), but I'm not sure I have the time for it these days.

I think that an official Zine published by WotC and sold for 1.50$ on the Dmguild with insight of the ecology of a monster and a few variants of it, new adventuring equipment, tips for dms, side treck for the most recent AP, interview with the team, statblocks for famous character from streaming shows, the synospis of the story so far of those streams, ads and preview, printable 8''x 11'' battle maps or token etc.

could work well

 

[Bravesteel25]

Yeah I missed that. The two questions are completely different. The poll results are 100% worthless.

Not really. It allows for the voting on the framed question of the poll and discussion of the title’s question. Chill out.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

Obsolete media is obsolete.

One would say that about vinyl records some years ago. Heck, even the cassette tape still gets some love in independent music circles. Most media have features that go beyond the information contained within, innovative creators will work with that to create an experience that cannot be exported to a pdf file.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[tommybahama]

All forms of traditional media are struggling due to Google, Facebook, and Amazon hoovering up 70% of ad revenue. This does not mean a niche publication like a relaunched Dragon Magazine that avoided politics would not generate substantial money. Every article I've seen suggests the opposite. Niche publications are doing well.

 

[vecna00]

I would spend money on a new D&D magazine. It probably won't happen, but I would spend the money if it did.