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Message: <blockquote data-quote="doctorhook" data-source="post: 6344349" data-attributes="member: 58401">There's too many variables to say. If we assume that 5E is a hit, it's highly likely that it will be the top selling RPG product at least some of the time. Either way, both WotC and Paizo are faced with the dilemma of how to sustain their revenues without flooding their own market.WotC is publicly stating now that they want to avoid relying solely on the revenue of RPG rulebooks, so they plan to diversify the D&D brand with more apps, video games, board games, comics, novels, and other tie-in media. Paizo is expanding the Pathfinder brand too (surely because they're finding themselves facing similar challenges), but for all of their success, Paizo is still a small-fry compared to the resources and infrastructure that WotC and Hasbro can put behind D&D if they choose to. Paizo is cranking out new books at the same pace that WotC previously tried, and there's no reason to think they won't end up facing the same problems, particularly market saturation.If 5E is especially successful, I expect by early 2015 Pathfinder sales could begin to drop significantly, forcing Paizo to adopt a new direction for the PF line. This could be anything: slowing their release, changing their publishing format, reducing the number of rulebooks in favour of settings and APs, developing a new edition of Pathfinder, publishing 5E Golarion content, or any of dozens of other possibilities.---Addendum: I don't believe the RPG market is large enough to support two "big fish". I think the vast majority of gamers (mostly casuals) who spend money on RPG products will only spend their money on one product line at a time, because they only have time to play one game at a time. Because of all this, I believe that eventually either 5E or Pathfinder will largely choke-out sales of the other.Both WotC and Paizo are trying to expand their brands, because they know the RPG publishing market is not fertile (profitable) enough to sustain their revenues indefinitely. Beyond just providing new revenue streams, expanding the D&D and Pathfinder brands allows those companies to draw new potential consumers into the RPG market. In the off-chance that one of those brand expansions (e.g.: some new D&D video game) becomes a mega-success, that's just gravy.</blockquote>

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