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<blockquote data-quote="Ghostwind" data-source="post: 2046947" data-attributes="member: 3060">I don't think it is a backlash as much as a market adjustment. For the first 3 years after the release of third edition and d20, the floodgates were wide open and everyone jumped in the pool because there was a vast feeding frenzy of gamers literally consuming what they could afford and then some. Once the rules became very familiar to the gamers that used d20 on a regular basis, the need for a constant flow of material (much of it being covered in triplicate) ebbed. Gamers could design their own material based on the books they already owned and used. In short, the need for certain content was not as great. &nbsp;In today's world, gamers are buying more but also being more choosy about what they are spending those dollars on. They are after innovative, original, very cool and easy to utilize books. They also realize that they don't have to buy every new product that comes out like they did in 2000-2002. They are letting their brains dictate buying decisions and not their impluses. This is the environment that publishers are currently in. Gamers are smart and are using those brains to dicate what companies to support based upon their gaming needs, not wants.&nbsp;My prediction is very few publishers will be able to release a product each month and stay in the game. Most will drop to a quarterly release schedule and focus on making better books that fit an unexplored/unexploited niche in gaming. Many will switch to pdf-only in an effort to remain in the publishing business despite lackluster print sales and a large debt. A few will simply go away and even less will make a public announcement declaring their departure. However, there will always be other companies that step up and fill those holes with new products that they think will sell better than a Wotc book. Such is the nature of the OGL and publishing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ghostwind, post: 2046947, member: 3060"] I don't think it is a backlash as much as a market adjustment. For the first 3 years after the release of third edition and d20, the floodgates were wide open and everyone jumped in the pool because there was a vast feeding frenzy of gamers literally consuming what they could afford and then some. Once the rules became very familiar to the gamers that used d20 on a regular basis, the need for a constant flow of material (much of it being covered in triplicate) ebbed. Gamers could design their own material based on the books they already owned and used. In short, the need for certain content was not as great. In today's world, gamers are buying more but also being more choosy about what they are spending those dollars on. They are after innovative, original, very cool and easy to utilize books. They also realize that they don't have to buy every new product that comes out like they did in 2000-2002. They are letting their brains dictate buying decisions and not their impluses. This is the environment that publishers are currently in. Gamers are smart and are using those brains to dicate what companies to support based upon their gaming needs, not wants. My prediction is very few publishers will be able to release a product each month and stay in the game. Most will drop to a quarterly release schedule and focus on making better books that fit an unexplored/unexploited niche in gaming. Many will switch to pdf-only in an effort to remain in the publishing business despite lackluster print sales and a large debt. A few will simply go away and even less will make a public announcement declaring their departure. However, there will always be other companies that step up and fill those holes with new products that they think will sell better than a Wotc book. Such is the nature of the OGL and publishing. [/QUOTE]

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