D&D 4E Fewer WotC books in 4E?

[Khairn]

I was wondering if this might happen, due to the digital initiative.

WoTC needs to generate a revenue stream; in the past the only way to do this was to produce printed products. In 4E however, it might be possible to have the DI take up the slack. In fact, in order to promote the DI, it would probably be a good idea for WoTC to tighten the supply of books, hence leading to a pent-up desire for product. 3rd party publishers will no doubt feed some of this need, but we all know there are a lot of people for whom only WoTC products are acceptable.

I believe this is what will eventually happen.

Fewer books to start, but then additional "core" material released solely through the DDI. I believe that the growth of the DDI is a significant business / financial goal for 4E, and that WotC will do what they can to help encourage customers to subscribe, without making it appear that the DDI is necessary to play.

 

[Gundark]

So what do all of you think?

I do suspect fewer books as WotC are going to rely more on the DDI to generate revenue (I'll be signing up). Fewer books and a successful DDI is why I think we'll see 4e last longer than a lot of people assume

 

[delericho]

If I were running WOTC's product line, I'd leave some time during which releases were light. I'd expect most gaming groups to spend a little time getting used to an entirely new system before they'd be in the market for new books.

Makes sense. Maybe they've learned their lesson from "Sword & Fist"?

Also, I would expect that if a third party rushed out a psionic book (for example) it would be superceded by the official one in the future. By that I mean, later official D&D products would seamlessly integrate the official psionic rules, making the official psionic book indispensable.

I'm not sure that would actually matter. Aren't something like 90% of a 3rd party book's total sales in the first two months after release? So, who cares if it gets superceded in six months time?

 

[Reaper Steve]

I'm not sure that would actually matter. Aren't something like 90% of a 3rd party book's total sales in the first two months after release? So, who cares if it gets superceded in six months time?

Excellent (also unsubstantiated) point... throw that log on my fire!

I don't think WotC has anything to fear about a 3rd party product overshadowing official stuff for quite some time. Granted, there are some great 3rd parties out there, but I don't think they will be able to improve the game's mechanics for a while. I mean, we've got a 'who's who of d20 team' that's been building 4E for two years... I don't think an outside publisher will make something that significantly improves the game without first gaining experience with it. I do think they will be able to make some good adventures almost out the gate. I say 'almost' because I think it will take some time for them to get accostumed to the 4E encounter design philiosophy.

 

[Wisdom Penalty]

I sure as heck hope they release fewer books.

The onslaught of books led to a premature death of 3E. And no - I don't want 3rd party folks trying to jump in for a bit o' the cash in the interim.

Ideally, the release would simply be:

YEAR ONE - PHB I, MM I, DMG I, CAMPAIGN SETTING I
YEAR TWO - PHB 2, MM 2, DMG 2, CAMPAIGN SETTING 2, SPECIALTY BOOK (PSIONICS)
YEAR THREE - REPEAT AD INFINITUM.

I think there's some law that states a release of 5 or fewer hardbacks per year is the best for the game on the long run.

W.P.

 

[crazy_cat]

You can recreate most of 4E with the 3E SRD. It's more work, certainly, but it won't be impossible to do.

I'm sure this will be true once the rules are actually released for public view (and I'm not 100% sure I understand how your respone relates to my pervious post, but nevermind I'll reply anyways )

[Devils advocate]
If WOTC don't release these rules in advance to 3rd party publishers however - either as a new 4e SRD or as preview copies of the actual 4e rulebooks - then when 4e releases the 3rd party publishers are not going to have any product to actually release as modern production/print schedules and lead times simply wont give them time to get anything actually worth buying to market.

I look forward to buying quality 4e products (assuming the system is actually worthwhile) from Paizo, Goodman, and Necromancer - but realistically I'm expecting WOTC to have a monopoly on 4e products for 2-3 months after initial release.

BTW - I would have added a smiley thingy to my initilal post but I couldn't find the right one. Is there one for throwing a can of petrol at something (a thread for example), whilst wearing asbestos trousers, and then running away grinning like a loon?

[/Devils advocate]

 

[Monkey Boy]

Excellent (also unsubstantiated) point... throw that log on my fire!

I don't think WotC has anything to fear about a 3rd party product overshadowing official stuff for quite some time. Granted, there are some great 3rd parties out there, but I don't think they will be able to improve the game's mechanics for a while. I mean, we've got a 'who's who of d20 team' that's been building 4E for two years... I don't think an outside publisher will make something that significantly improves the game without first gaining experience with it. I do think they will be able to make some good adventures almost out the gate. I say 'almost' because I think it will take some time for them to get accostumed to the 4E encounter design philiosophy.

I know there is a lot of overlap between Paizo's stable of writers and WOTC. I am sure the shared freelancers have copies of draft rules and are familiar with them. I do not see this being a hurdle, for Paizo at least, in undertstanding the rule-set and being able to design new material beyond adventures.

 

[Lackhand]

BTW - I would have added a smiley thingy to my initilal post but I couldn't find the right one. Is there one for throwing a can of petrol at something (a thread for example), whilst wearing asbestos trousers, and then running away grinning like a loon?

Sure: Because EN World doesn't take kindly to intentional flame.

However, I don't think that you were really flaming or trolling, so the smiley would have been a bit out of place!

 

[dmccoy1693]

My assumption is that they have a product line (ala Race books, Complete books) that isn't announced yet..

 

[TerraDave]

I have heard multiple times that they want to release: 10-12 books per year.

What do we know for 2008:

Worlds and Monster January
Keep on the Shadowfel May
Corebooks June

So 5 books in 6 months, about the right pace.

2000 and 2001?

This is what came out (not including 3 core books)

Sunless Citadel, The 08/2000
D&D Gazetteer 09/2000
Living Greyhawk Gazetteer 11/2000
Forge of Fury, The 11/2000
Hero Builder's Guidebook 12/2000

Sword and Fist: A Guidebook to Monks and Fighters 01/2001
Speaker in Dreams, The 01/2001
Monster Compendium: Monsters of Faerûn 02/2001
Psionics Handbook: 03/2001
Standing Stone, The 04/2001
Defenders of the Faith: A Guidebook to Clerics and Paladins 05/2001
Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 06/2001
Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil 06/2001
Tome and Blood: A Guidebook to Wizards and Sorcerers 07/2001
Magic of Faerun 08/2001
Heart of Nightfang Spire 08/2001
Manual of the Planes 09/2001
Enemies and Allies 10/2001
Oriental Adventures 10/2001
Lords of Darkness 11/2001
Deep Horizon 11/2001
Song and Silence: A Guidebook to Bards and Rogues 12/2001

So 8 products in 2000 and 17 products in 2001. But many where pretty short.

By page count, the new edition may be almost the same. And, if this is any precedent, things will really get going in 2009