D&D General D&D's Utter Dominance Is Good or Bad Because...

[Reynard]

Judging from the past ten years?

Yes. The fandom will be ecstatically happy with this.

Again,that has a lot to do with unprecedented growth. That growth literally cannot continue indefinitely. It is a mathematical impossibility. There will be a point at which existing customers rather than new ones will have to do so e heavy lifting.

 

[MichaelSomething]

There has been player content, though. Fizban's and Bigby's, as well as the settings. It's just that it is boring.

If you're looking for bolder 5E material, there's no better place then En5ider, Enworld's very own publication! Get a weekly dose of high quality 5E stuff delivered right to your inbox for less then the cost of a daily coffee!

 

[Reynard]

If you're looking for bolder 5E material, there's no better place then En5ider, Enworld's very own publication! Get a weekly dose of high quality 5E stuff delivered right to your inbox for less then the cost of a daily coffee!

Sure. there are tons of 3PP sources. The point is WotC has found success with a boring and anemic output because they are primarily catering to the newest fans. That's fine. It is working for them. I'm glad it works for them. But I do wonder how much longer it can work if the real intent is their stated "evergreen and 5E doesn't change much" mantra.

 

[Hussar]

I think you have inferred that, actually. I mean, does anyone actually believe any given WotC produced book wouldn't sell?

well, yes. Yes a WotC produced book for sure might not sell. We have an entire edition before the current one that proves that simply slapping the D&D logo on something does not guarantee sales.

WotC's business plan has never changed. They announced this ten years ago and they're sticking to it. We get 3-5 offerings a year, mostly adventures, with the occasional setting or crunch book from time to time. The crunch books are VERY well signposted with numerous Unearthed Arcana offerings and polls to make sure that every single WotC book that comes out is a fantastic seller. They've made an entire business around not rocking the boat and being as broadly appealing as possible.

It's a fantastically successful model. I'm still not sure what evidence people have put forward that they shouldn't keep doing exactly what they've been doing. I mean, good grief, this year was the first layoffs at WOtC in ten years. I remember the YEARLY layoffs during the 3e days. Every single year, a large chunk of the staff got their pink slips for Christmas. All because of the boom/bust cycle of D&D.

This is what a mature business looks like. Stable, safe, and predictable.

 

[Micah Sweet]

You have insinuated that WotC should produce material that would not be profitable as a goodwill gesture to the community. Do you believe Paizo or Kobold Press should as well?

Not be as profitable, perhaps. And yes, given a similar situation, any other game company should do the same.

 

[Hussar]

Again,that has a lot to do with unprecedented growth. That growth literally cannot continue indefinitely. It is a mathematical impossibility. There will be a point at which existing customers rather than new ones will have to do so e heavy lifting.

Evidence?

What evidence do you have that it's new players driving sales and not existing ones? And, how are you defining "New Player"? Is someone who got into the hobby in 2015 a "New Player"? How long does someone have to be in the hobby to no longer be called a "New Player"? Someone who got into the hobby, say, when Critical Role first started hitting big - Say 2017 or 2018 - has been in the hobby for nearly six years. That's not a "New Player" in my mind.

Yet, all these adventures have these huge long tails and still sell fantastically well. It's not like "New Players" are buying every single module. They might buy the newest module at the time they get into the hobby, but, then, after that first campaign, they aren't really new players anymore and are continuing to buy older books.

 

[Reynard]

well, yes. Yes a WotC produced book for sure might not sell. We have an entire edition before the current one that proves that simply slapping the D&D logo on something does not guarantee sales.

That's overstating it a little. 4E sold fine, just not well enough for Hasbro.

WotC's business plan has never changed. They announced this ten years ago and they're sticking to it. We get 3-5 offerings a year, mostly adventures, with the occasional setting or crunch book from time to time. The crunch books are VERY well signposted with numerous Unearthed Arcana offerings and polls to make sure that every single WotC book that comes out is a fantastic seller. They've made an entire business around not rocking the boat and being as broadly appealing as possible.

It's a fantastically successful model. I'm still not sure what evidence people have put forward that they shouldn't keep doing exactly what they've been doing. I mean, good grief, this year was the first layoffs at WOtC in ten years. I remember the YEARLY layoffs during the 3e days. Every single year, a large chunk of the staff got their pink slips for Christmas. All because of the boom/bust cycle of D&D.

This is what a mature business looks like. Stable, safe, and predictable.

You believe that the current trends that have granted them success will continue indefinitely?

 

[Hussar]

That's overstating it a little. 4E sold fine, just not well enough for Hasbro.

You believe that the current trends that have granted them success will continue indefinitely?

I think that they would be foolish to buck the trend that has served them well for a decade by chasing a bunch of nebulous fans that most likely won't ever actually be satisfied, all the while sacrificing current fans who have proven time and again that they have zero interest in niche produces and innovation. The fandom has declared in the strongest terms possible that they want D&D to stay just the way it is and have zero interest in changes.

Every single time WotC has suggested any changes, be it changes to mechanics, changes to lore, changes in general, it is met with an overwhelming NOPE from the fandom. Kender tied to the Faewild? NOPE. Exploding dice for fighters? NOPE. Different adventure formats? NOPE. Psionics in any form? NOPE. On and on and on. Ten years to get one, and exactly one, new class and maybe three new races in the PHB?

This is the D&D that we demanded from WotC. We got what we demanded. I have zero sympathy for those, like me, who have been thrown under the bus for the past decade and steamrolled by the fandom, only to now start whingeing that WotC isn't doing enough.

 

[Reynard]

Every single time WotC has suggested any changes, be it changes to mechanics, changes to lore, changes in general, it is met with an overwhelming NOPE from the fandom. Kender tied to the Faewild? NOPE. Exploding dice for fighters? NOPE. Different adventure formats? NOPE. Psionics in any form? NOPE. On and on and on. Ten years to get one, and exactly one, new class and maybe three new races in the PHB?

Is that "the fandom" or a vocal but small subset of fans? How many of the 30 million D&D players respond to the playtest surveys? Why would WotC cater everything to that small group, as opposed to some other small group?

 

[MichaelSomething]

Sure. there are tons of 3PP sources. The point is WotC has found success with a boring and anemic output because they are primarily catering to the newest fans. That's fine. It is working for them. I'm glad it works for them. But I do wonder how much longer it can work if the real intent is their stated "evergreen and 5E doesn't change much" mantra.

Just long enough until either the movie verse, live service video game, or monthly loot box subscription get online.