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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CharlesRyan" data-source="post: 4541600" data-attributes="member: 5265">Wow. Cool thread. Sorry I wasn't around to jump in earlier.I'll answer a few specific points in a minute, but I want to make a couple broader points first.For starters, for clarity, I don't work for WotC. I used to work for WotC, I know a lot about D&D, I've played for 30 years, and I love the game. (Those points are not unrelated.) I play both 3.5 and 4E. I post on EN World as an enthusiastic gamer, not in any official capacity. (There are a few exceptions to that last point, but they're generally pretty clear.) I'm not here to "sell" anyone on 4E (again, a few exceptions, but they're clear), not that my point is really 4E-specific.Secondly, I urge everyone to avoid descending into minutiae ("there's been a 36.9% growth in PHB sales, but a 38.7% growth in population") or leaning too hard on the anecdotal ("in my high school we had over a million D&D players!"). This issue requires a broader view. My point is about seeing the forest, not the trees.And this is the point: We do not live in the post-apocalyptic ruins of D&D's greatness. This is as great a time to be involved with D&D, as great or greater than any. D&D might have been a fad in 1983, but it's now better than that: A successful, well-known, thriving hobby with millions of participants.How can I prove that? I can't--nobody can. But when I first came to this conclusion, back in 2004/2005, I had access to lots of data that, while not specific, painted a pretty solid directional picture. Most of it, like the much-discussed 1E sales data, was sketchy. (Note: sketchy, not nonexistent.) But it was across the board: Convention numbers, RPGA numbers, media hits, name recognition, and many other bits and bobs. It's very had to tease out exactly how many players any era represents. (Or, as has been pointed out, what the term "player" actually means!) But it was clear to me that while D&D might once have been a pop culture fad, as an actual activity it was roughly as healthy and "big" as it had ever been.Skeptical? Fair enough. It's a soft issue, and everyone brings different experiences and perceptions to the table. But I urge you to take off any rose-tinted glasses you might be wearing and take a close look at D&D's positions in 1983 society and today's. The situation is definitely different. But truthfully (and edition biases aside), would you rather be a gamer in 1983 or now? Fewer cartoons, fewer PHBs sold at hardware stores and gas stations. But more actual gamers, more real games, bigger and stronger communities.We don't live in the distant shadow of D&D's greatness. That greatness is now.</blockquote>

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