Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="sunshadow21" data-source="post: 6237917" data-attributes="member: 6667193">That was the overall theory and expectation of 4E as well, though, and we see how well that worked out. The problem with that idea is that while the table top game doesn't have to make tons of money, it does have to generate lots of interest, and 4E never did that. The dryness of the initial books and DDI unintentionally creating a closed system that made collaboration with outside companies difficult at best ended up working against WotC; no one but them and a few fans dedicated to going to their site and subscribing to DDI cared about it enough to do anything with it. The fact it sold so well initially was probably due as much to the initial complaints and the interest and discussion generated by the initial complaints as it was by any genuine interest in the system itself, and that is going to be the big problem they have with Next. Getting people to notice enough to care is going to be a real challenge given the relative dud that was 4E and the now much more crowded marketplace. The system may very well be a solid system, but getting enough people to notice, and more importantly, care, is going to be hard beyond the interest surrounding the initial release. And if the table top game never gets off the ground, none of the "multi-platform" options are going to even be considered because no one else is going to bother with it. Nor will there likely be a 6th edition. Bad sales that retain a broad interest can be overcome with a new edition; general boredom and disinterest of a brand bred by two "failed" products in a row (at least in terms of public reception and WotC/Hasbro corporate reaction)  is a much bigger hurdle, and I frankly don't think WotC has the talent or necessary skillsets to overcome that big of a hurdle. More importantly, I'm not convinced that the corporate suits have enough interest to even try. Add in the fact that Hasbro could care less about D&D if WotC can't get even get it off the ground, and you get the fact that for better or for worse, this is probably the "do or die edition" of the formal D&D brand. It either takes off from here, branching into other platforms, dragging the table top game with it, or it just dies, at least for the foreseeable future.</blockquote>

Verification