DnD Shorts final video

[Dannyalcatraz]

I think I don't care what you think.

Mod Note:

Going forward, if that’s genuinely how you feel, don’t even respond to the other poster. Jabs like that tend to lead to increasingly bad behavior.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

WOTC has been wrong EVERY time.

I don't know. But in my personal opinion, being wrong half the time is still not good enough to totally trust everything that is said.
I mean, in roulette I would not bet all my money on red, just because it is more often "right" than betting on Zero.

 

[The Stray]

Forums are poor places for extended explanations. Suffice it to say, there is far much more at work here than Chris Cao. This is easily evidenced by the fact that he was unaware of the D&D Beyond acquisition until it actually happened.

Chris Cao is a small minor piece on the chess board of actors that brought things to this point.

Wow. What a helpful, insightful, and thorough analysis. We are truly blessed to have your pearls of wisdom on this. You are truly one of the most posters of all time.

 

[Umbran]

Wow. What a helpful, insightful, and thorough analysis. We are truly blessed to have your pearls of wisdom on this. You are truly one of the most posters of all time.

Mod Note:

Folks don't seem able to learn that snark is not helpful in any of these threads. Maybe it makes you feel good, but it stinks the place up for everyone else, and generally makes everyone more aggravated, something that we don't need now.

So, you're done in this discussion. Don't repeat the performance elsewhere.

 

[Lanefan]

I think that contraction had already happened at that point. AD&D 2e did not sell as well as AD&D 1e or Basic D&D had. Magic came out in 1993, by that point AD&D 2e was already way behind 1e and Basic in sales.

By 1993 the player base had largely settled into a long-term and fairly stable holding pattern largely left over from the 1e era: not that many new people coming in, but also not many leaving.

Then Magic was released in 1993 and became huge in 1994. Because of this, by 1995 the D&D player base had eroded away to a small fraction of what it was just a few years earlier; but TSR didn't catch on to this and kept churning out product at the same rate as before. Combine those two things and yes, TSR ran hard onto the rocks and the game - and, arguably, the entire RPG hobby - was on life support by 1997.

 

[raniE]

By 1993 the player base had largely settled into a long-term and fairly stable holding pattern largely left over from the 1e era: not that many new people coming in, but also not many leaving.

Then Magic was released in 1993 and became huge in 1994. Because of this, by 1995 the D&D player base had eroded away to a small fraction of what it was just a few years earlier; but TSR didn't catch on to this and kept churning out product at the same rate as before. Combine those two things and yes, TSR ran hard onto the rocks and the game - and, arguably, the entire RPG hobby - was on life support by 1997.

I’d appreciate some actual numbers on this, because that’s not the impression I had of the rpg hobby at the time, nor of the reasons behind the collapse of TSR, other than a small part.

 

[Aspirinsmurf]

I’d appreciate some actual numbers on this, because that’s not the impression I had of the rpg hobby at the time, nor of the reasons behind the collapse of TSR, other than a small part.

I’ve heard this explanation before, MtG being the main competitor at the time. But the mess that was TSR in the 90s is multi-faceted.

TSR, Inc. - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Xyxox]

I’ve heard this explanation before, MtG being the main competitor at the time. But the mess that was TSR in the 90s is multi-faceted.

TSR, Inc. - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

MtG was a factor, but setting bloat and poor business decisions were bigger factors

 

[M_Natas]

No, but Discord's VTT features are...well let's just say minimal at best.

hrm, I would say, most VTTs have to much features that distract from the actual Tabletop experience. Thats why I only use Owlbear Rodeo when I DM a game and only for big complicated battles to show the positions of the Monsters/Players/NPC. The players have their character sheets at home, I also have everything at home and not on a server and it works nearly as fast and well as if we were sitting on the table.

Macros here ... buttons there ... Roll20, Foundry and co are already turning D&D into a facsimile of a computer game with giant maps of the dungeon that kill any imagination of the players and detoriated DM skills like how to describe things. that is the wrong direction. A little bit more and I can just play skyrim. Because it also makes the DM unflexible. If they didn't prepare that in advance, they don't know how to run it!

 

[SkidAce]

By 1993 the player base had largely settled into a long-term and fairly stable holding pattern largely left over from the 1e era: not that many new people coming in, but also not many leaving.

Then Magic was released in 1993 and became huge in 1994. Because of this, by 1995 the D&D player base had eroded away to a small fraction of what it was just a few years earlier; but TSR didn't catch on to this and kept churning out product at the same rate as before. Combine those two things and yes, TSR ran hard onto the rocks and the game - and, arguably, the entire RPG hobby - was on life support by 1997.

I don't disagree about the business side, but every time the military made me change bases during that era, I was able to find a group to play or DM for.