D&D on CNN!

[BronzeDragon]

I realized I now have absolutely no reason to visit the WotC website. It used to be part of my daily routine. But, I deleted WotC from my favorites/shortcuts because I just don't have a reason to go there anymore.

Ebay makes a quite good substitute for it.

I know I've been using it a lot...

 

[Hussar]

[No message]

 

[pemerton]

my current campaign features rich characterization, several different kinds of satire, usually occurring simultaneously, a healthy dollop of Grand Guignol, and plenty of unadulterated 'smart guys having a lark'

Mallus, your posts always leave me very curious about your game! The reality of mine feels very vanilla compared to the description of yours!

 

[Subtlepanic]

I think the numbers I stated were tens of millions for the first run. Well, 20 is two tens. Ok, overstated, but, still more than your 15 million. And, in any case, it STILL dwarfs D&D, which was my point.

Oh, I wasn't disputing your point about board game sales; I'm disputing your point about Fighting Fantasy sales.

Fighting Fantasy gamebooks sold many, many more copies than the tens of thousands you're suggesting: at last count, just over 15 million copies worldwide.

Gamebooks served as a great introduction to D&D and other RPGs for thousands upon thousands of gamers, so I don't think they're a bad comparison.

Anyway, to add my twopence to the topic, the comparison to board games shouldn't hurt anybody if it gets people playing. For the past three decades I've used "It's like a board game without the board" to get new players into the game, which usually gets some interest.

 

[Maggan]

But, then again, this is mostly based on opinion, hearsay and anecdotal evidence, so YMMV...

In my circle of gamers, and the connecting circles, I see and hear a lot less gripe over D&D4 than I did over D&D3.

And as far as I remember, there were quite a lot of people hammering on the suckyness of 3e for as long as there were any legs in that edition. Now they've probably moved on to 4e.

There are D&D sites that instituted a topic ban on 3e, and mentioning it by name is a moddable offense.

There are a lot of fractures in the hobby. Some people like OD&D and hate everything else, some people love AD&D but hates AD&D + Unearthed Arcana, and so on so forth.

So from where I sit, comfortable in my armchair, the edition wars are nothing new, nor are they any more or less intense than before.

And as always, IMO, YMMV and all that.

/M

 

[MoxieFu]

Sigh..I miss the days when publicity came free from the religulous' wackos.

jh

I understand what you are saying, but I am afraid that the stigma the game has today is due to all that negative noise those people generated back in the 80's. It was great for fanning the flames and getting attention back then, but the long term effects have created the situation we have today.

Many people today STILL think that there's a demonic connection in the game. People have a tendency to not let facts get in the way of what they want to believe.

I think the article was good publicity for all the "Normals" out there. I also think its a great idea for WotC to finally release a REAL Basic boxed set where you can actually roll up characters.

Even though I am not a customer of WotC any more I am glad to see them taking steps in the right direction instead of shooting themselves in the foot.

 

[Mark]

In my circle of gamers, and the connecting circles, I see and hear a lot less gripe over D&D4 than I did over D&D3.

And as far as I remember, there were quite a lot of people hammering on the suckyness of 3e for as long as there were any legs in that edition. Now they've probably moved on to 4e.

There are D&D sites that instituted a topic ban on 3e, and mentioning it by name is a moddable offense.

Interesting. Aside from Dragonsfoot which has no 3e or 4e forums (though it does support some OGL games like C&C), what D&D sites are you describing? Do you have some links? As someone who plays all editions and does visit a lot of D&D sites, I'm surprised to not have heard of this modding practice you describe.

 

[MrMyth]

Well then either the game is NOT the same and the ad copy is full of crap or the game IS the same and the spin is full of crap.

Which is it?

Neither?

No one has claimed D&D is "the same" as a board game. They've said that "in some ways, it plays out like a board game."

Seriously, each game consists of hundreds of disparate qualities that make up the whole of it. Is it really that hard to believe that the two types of games can share a handful of qualities without being identical on every level?

D&D is like a board game in that both involve sitting around a table, while people take turns and follow a series of detailed rules. That's the connection that is being drawn, and it is a solid one that the average person can easily understand.

 

[Peraion Graufalke]

Many people today STILL think that there's a demonic connection in the game. People have a tendency to not let facts get in the way of what they want to believe.

Regarding D&D, IMO it's more a case of "Did not do their research". AKA ignoring the "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" part, straight out of the manual.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled edition war.

 

[Herschel]

Other than the D&D brand name and a few superficial similarities, 4e is nothing like the D&D of 20 years ago. It's a totally different game that just happens to have the same name.

...

My best guess is this "lapsed player" effort is probably aimed at getting lapsed 3e players to give 4e another look. The 1e/2e crowd is probably out of reach.

Yet here I am, buying rule books for the first time since 2E and having a blast. It's the gaming experience that matters, not the rules set.