D&D is now in (exceedingly awesome) commercial form

[Ourph]

I think WotC will be relatively successful in getting "old guys" to buy their new box. I'm really curious to see whether or how that translates into a larger D&D community.

I don't think the box is intended to bring lapsed 40-something gamers back to the fold. It is intended to induce lapsed 40-something gamers to buy it for their kids. The kids won't care whether the rules are the same as they were 30 years ago and the purpose is to get those kids to "graduate" to 4e in the same way that the original Red Box helped kids "graduate" to AD&D back in the day.

 

[buddhafrog]

A lot of mixed replies. Much of what I want to say has already been said - mostly that WOTC has said that the Red Box is meant for new players, but also particularly the children of former players.

Very few ads can work to all audiences. Some obviously don't care for this ad. I *LOVE* it so much I want to marry it. It works for me and a lot of people here - probably many of the AD&D children of the 80's who now have children of our own.

Other Good Pts:

* It shouts rebellion
* the game can't visually compare with video games, so why should they try to make graphics that do? Instead, the graphics are old school, and b/c of this stand out so much more
* this ad is a lot different than any ad I've ever seen - always a plus!
* Nothing is said.... just makes you use your imagination and curiosity (which is the strength of D&D, right?)
* at the end, it did say, "available at Target", which seems to fly in the face of the actual ad - you mean this thing is mass produced?

 

[buddhafrog]

A lot of people are complaining: this is their plan??!!

Of course, if this is the only way they are marketing it is not enough. There is no one-step marketing that would be enough. I hope there will be other various marketing strategies - I hope we'll see threads on them here, both Red Box and Essentials.

I assume this will be an internet at on related websites. I'd love to see it on TV in exactly the same student-created-type-quality b/c it stands out so much from the standard commercial that you mindlessly mute or change the channel. I think people would really notice this, however, this would be a lot more costly and risky.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

The bolded is precisely what I mean. They're not going to remember the particulars of the rules, but they will remember that they never put out a battle board or used counters. They will remember that combat didn't seem to take as long. They will remember character construction as being simpler. I am absolutely sure some will like the changes and others won't like the changes. The question then becomes as you state it, how the nostalgia and newness compliment each other.

I think WotC will be relatively successful in getting "old guys" to buy their new box. I'm really curious to see whether or how that translates into a larger D&D community.

I didn't have the original Red Box or any old AD&D / OD&D material. But from what I hear games at that time tended to describe their rules in not necessarily streamlined and fast-to-grasp style, using "Gygaxian prose" and what else. That people then didn't use counters or battle maps I would even doubt. Minis aren't that new to Roleplaying Games!

I think someone that left RPGs for two decades will open the box and see a very mature product that is well-organized and designed and offers a lot of material for its price. He will see that RPGs have evolved - maybe just like he did.
He might feel inspired himself to play this, or feel that this is the right thing for his children. The "Old" D&D didn't hurt him and it provided him a lot of fun, the "New" D&D might seem just the same but to "modern standards".

 

[CharlesRyan]

Just seems like if they really want to grow the game they need to stop "preaching to the choir" . . .

Several people have made this point well already, but I'm not afraid of redundancy. . . .

Thing is, they aren't preaching to the choir. You and I are the choir, and this ad isn't aimed at us (though we might get a kick out of it).

This ad is aimed at all those guys who left the choir 20 years ago. It says "Hey, remember how much fun the choir was? Why don't you come back, and bring your kids!"

 

[CharlesRyan]

eh, I think this is their attempt at viral marketing.
I seriously doub't we'll se this add anywhere but youtube.

The fact that it's tagged with Target says to me it's probably intended for broadcast, even if it's just Hulu. Such tags are usually the result of a commercial agreement with the retailer. It's possible Target would request tagging in a viral campaign, but those sorts of things are usually below the threshold of concern for a big-box retailer; they generally only care about mass market campaigns.

Just speculation, of course.

 

[CharlesRyan]

WotC might get them to buy the box, but will they get them to sign on as long-term customers employing a rule set that, in my opinion, bears little resemblance to the rule system these lapsed players are familiar with and are presumably nostalgic for? WotC must be quite confident of the self-evident improvement of the rules.

When 4E came out, my D&D group had two new players join. Both were middle-aged men who'd played D&D in the 80s but hadn't gamed since. They'd heard about 4E, and were interested in giving the hobby another spin. They were exactly the sort of folk this current campaign is aimed at (except neither had gaming-aged kids to bring along with them).

Neither one was the least bit put off by the changes in the game. I think this was because A) They expected change; every technology changes; B) Their nostalgia was focused on the experience of the game, not the rules; and C) Yes, they did find the rules improved--for all 4E's possible faults, it's not like the AD&D rules were exactly clear or intuitive.

They both really enjoyed the game, and they were both still members of the group two years later, when I moved away from the UK. As far as I know, they're still playing!

 

[CharlesRyan]

BTW, I just flipped over to Geekdo. The first two threads to pop up under the RPGG forums are titled "Getting back into D&D after 25 years" and "RPGing for the first time in 13 years."

Anecdotal, of course, but it's one of a zillion such signs I've seen in the recent past that there's a huge surge of interest from lapsed players. WotC is either driving this wave, or trying to ride it. Either way, it's good marketing.

 

[renau1g]

I think it's great because it is so different than anything out there (the key to any marketing success), and if they really showed what D&D looks like, which is a bunch of people sitting around a table, rolling dice around, with cheetos* and Mountain Dew*...would you really expect to be able to draw in new gamers . If they want super awesome-o graphics when they're killing orcs, WOW or DragonAge or any other VG can accomodate them much better than D&D. D&D's strength is the open-ness, can do anything type setting that can't be replicated by VG's, even open ones like Fallout 3.

* substitute favorite snack/drink here.

 

[Scribble]

This is perfect for not only the old school, crowd, but the new school crowd of potential gamer...

Take a look at things on adult swim sometime. This would blend in well with that stuff... It's just so weird and tripped out... I mean that Grell is thrashin dude like a guitar!