D&D is 30 this month!
- Thread starter Zander
- Start date
Happy B-Day D&D! 
Epametheus
First Post
Creepy, how age sort of sneaks up on ya.
I think D&D has been getting enough cosmetic surgery to avoid sag, though
I think D&D has been getting enough cosmetic surgery to avoid sag, though
William Ronald
Explorer
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, D&D!!!
Thanks to everyone involved in starting the game and helping this hobby grow to what it is today.
Mark, I have been playing since September, 1980, so don't feel too bad about playing for 30 years. Of course, I doubt that Gygax and Arneson imagined where the state of their game and the RPG industry is today back in 1974.
Thanks to everyone involved in starting the game and helping this hobby grow to what it is today.
Mark, I have been playing since September, 1980, so don't feel too bad about playing for 30 years. Of course, I doubt that Gygax and Arneson imagined where the state of their game and the RPG industry is today back in 1974.
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
Zander said:
He hasn't...until now.
Don Kaye and I were eager to get the D&D game published early in 1973, but Tactical Studies Rules lacked the wherewithal to afford the printing cost. After "analyzing" the market, I was convinced that the game would find acceptance amongst board wargamers, many military miniatures players, and SF fans. Thus Don and I were figuring sales in the 50K range in three years--we had no advertising to speak of, but word of mouth was strong even before official publication:
Sales Record for the launch:
1,000 copies from Graphic Printing in Lake Geneva sold out in the first 10 months of 1974--actually more like nine, as the release was late in January, and only one paid mail-order sale was made, with about 150 copies going out to our distributors (all military miniatures manufacturers). We sold direct to shops and mail-order customers back then too.
2,000 additional copies were ordered from Graphic Printing in October 1974, delivered in Novemebr, and were sold out by May 1975. this was the last run of the "brown woodgrain box" version.
3,000 copies were ordered from Heritage Models in Dallas, Texas, in May and delivered in June 1975. For these I had ordered the white-wrapped box with printing on the wrapper. The entire stock was sold in under three months.
10,000 copies were ordered from Patch Press in Beloit, Wisconsin, in September 1975.
It was about this time that I finally realized that the audience for the D&D game was far larger than I had initially estimated
Cheerio,
Gary
Col_Pladoh
Gary Gygax
Zander said:
He hasn't...until now.
Don Kaye and I were eager to get the D&D game published early in 1973, but Tactical Studies Rules lacked the wherewithal to afford the printing cost. After "analyzing" the market, I was convinced that the game would find acceptance amongst board wargamers, many military miniatures players, and SF fans. Thus Don and I were figuring sales in the 50K range in three years--we had no advertising to speak of, but word of mouth was strong even before official publication:
Sales Record for the launch:
1,000 copies from Graphic Printing in Lake Geneva sold out in the first 10 months of 1974--actually more like nine, as the release was late in January, and only one paid mail-order sale was made, with about 150 copies going out to our distributors (all military miniatures manufacturers). We sold direct to shops and mail-order customers back then too.
2,000 additional copies were ordered from Graphic Printing in October 1974, delivered in Novemebr, and were sold out by May 1975. this was the last run of the "brown woodgrain box" version.
3,000 copies were ordered from Heritage Models in Dallas, Texas, in May and delivered in June 1975. For these I had ordered the white-wrapped box with printing on the wrapper. The entire stock was sold in under three months.
10,000 copies were ordered from Patch Press in Beloit, Wisconsin, in September 1975.
It was about this time that I finally realized that the audience for the D&D game was far larger than I had initially estimated
Cheerio,
Gary
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