Oh definitely. I've seen a lot of coverage in the mainstream media. I was just relating my recent experience. Frankly, I was a little surprised that it didn't come up.
Gizmodo: Dungeons & Dragons Has Burned Up All the Goodwill
Ruin Explorer
Legend
I mean, that's nice, but I don't think that's necessarily representative of much. I'm come up with multiple DMs I know. I am the most "online" of those DMs for sure, and that's why people came to me with questions/concerns, but that tells me people are concerned. I was even talking to a couple of players who were vexed by the impact this was having on some Kickstarters they'd backed.
It seems very unlikely that 14 people don't know about it. More likely they've had enough of talking about it. I mean, that happens plenty with plenty of issues.
People have to remember this wasn't a few creators or people talking about this and discussion wasn't limited to the extremities of Reddit.
Publishers, a ton of big and small TTRPG writers and YouTubers, every major and minor TTRPG forum, Discords, etc. talked about this.
Unless you are someone who plays or runs TTRPGs in your own space and quite literally never thinks about it outside of that - you would know about it. It probably easily came up for anyone even just looking for news on new D&D products.
I mean, think about it. 3rd Party D&D stuff - and increasingly, other TTRPG stuff - seems to do really well. That can't all be just megafans or the most engaged.
And it seems quite likely this would be spoken about in any game store.
Look. The fact that Paizo have come out and said that they sold what they expected to be 8 months of physiscal Pathfinder 2e Corebook stock in 2 weeks indicates that, in the most "only the really passionate / terminally online / DMs care about this", would inciate that near everyone discussing it went out and explored their options and bought stuff.
That feels unlikely to me.
Seems more likely that this has, and continues to have, some sort of legs, and is making me think the long term damage is gonna be bigger than I thought.
Publishers, a ton of big and small TTRPG writers and YouTubers, every major and minor TTRPG forum, Discords, etc. talked about this.
Unless you are someone who plays or runs TTRPGs in your own space and quite literally never thinks about it outside of that - you would know about it. It probably easily came up for anyone even just looking for news on new D&D products.
I mean, think about it. 3rd Party D&D stuff - and increasingly, other TTRPG stuff - seems to do really well. That can't all be just megafans or the most engaged.
And it seems quite likely this would be spoken about in any game store.
Look. The fact that Paizo have come out and said that they sold what they expected to be 8 months of physiscal Pathfinder 2e Corebook stock in 2 weeks indicates that, in the most "only the really passionate / terminally online / DMs care about this", would inciate that near everyone discussing it went out and explored their options and bought stuff.
That feels unlikely to me.
Seems more likely that this has, and continues to have, some sort of legs, and is making me think the long term damage is gonna be bigger than I thought.
Sacrosanct
Legend
I cringe when I see statements like that. While technically true, the person making them is telling us they have zero understanding on basic marketing knowledge. Branding is hugely important. It matters. A lot.
It's like saying, "Don't worry about losing access Windows or iOS, they aren't the only operating systems out there. Just develop your games for Morph OS."
DarkCrisis
Reeks of Jedi
I took them as saying that D&D was NEVER the ONLY game on the market. And that's simply not true. It was the first and it spent a good amount of time as the ONLY RPG.
Sure other people could have made their own and played with their friends and family (like Arneson did), but D&D was the first to make it a real product and put on the market.
It was the first and despite what sales and fans say it's also still "The best" in a marketing sense. Even in its worst times, it still outsold everything else. Like you said with your Windows OS parallel.
overgeeked
B/X Known World
Other RPGs are selling out across the US and Europe. Savage Worlds Adventure Edition (SWADE) is sold out. There’s no stock on Amazon, on Pinnacle’s website, or any locale stores that normally carry them. Pinnacle even put up a video on YouTube to say they were sold out. Savage Pathfinder is sold out on Amazon.
Alzrius
The EN World kitten
For anyone who wants more information about this:
Paizo Sells Out Eight Months of Pathfinder Supply In Two Weeks
Thanks to Paizo's Open Gaming Sale, the company has sold an eight-month supply of Pathfinder books in just under two weeks.
techraptor.net
Sacrosanct
Legend
I don't know about that. By 1978 there at least 8 other RPGs that did pretty well.
Who are all these people in 2023 who aren't online? Who doesn't look up their hobby online? Even my grandma used to look up knitting patterns, and that was over a decade ago.
DarkCrisis
Reeks of Jedi
Blizzard: "Don't you have a cellphone?"
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