D&D 5E Halflings are the 7th most popular 5e race

[Hussar]

Also, let's think about what is continually selling at the top rate: the three core books. Establiahed players aren't the ones driving those sales, new players are.

I mean sure folks do buy replacement books (my librarian mother would have a conniption if she saw how some of you abused your books ) but yeah core three purchases are going to be new players.

Is there any evidence of this large group of 45+ year old new players? I’m sure they exist but I’m going to go out on a limb and say they probably aren’t a big group. That 15% for the 45 plus crowd probably looks a lot more like us old farts who’ve been playing for a long time.

 

[Parmandur]

Just checked, out of curiosity, and the latest Dwarven Forge Kickstarter had a bit over two thousand backers. Giving 3 million smackeraoos, so a solid chunk of change...but that's not all profit. And 2000 is less than a fraction of a percent of D&D players. WotC has a business model based on reaching a way, way wider audience than top percentile whales.

 

[Parmandur]

I mean sure folks do buy replacement books (my librarian mother would have a conniption if she saw how some of you abused your books ) but yeah core three purchases are going to be new players.

Is there any evidence of this large group of 45+ year old new players? I’m sure they exist but I’m going to go out on a limb and say they probably aren’t a big group. That 15% for the 45 plus crowd probably looks a lot more like us old farts who’ve been playing for a long time.

Probavly some are replacements, but WotC does replace books under warranty, too, in a large number of situations.

I have no idea if older newer playersis a large percentage, probably isn't from a business perspective, but it does at least seem to exist.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I mean sure folks do buy replacement books (my librarian mother would have a conniption if she saw how some of you abused your books ) but yeah core three purchases are going to be new players.

Is there any evidence of this large group of 45+ year old new players? I’m sure they exist but I’m going to go out on a limb and say they probably aren’t a big group. That 15% for the 45 plus crowd probably looks a lot more like us old farts who’ve been playing for a long time.

I'm sure you will have someone helpfully explain to you that this is either a Silent Majority problem (there are actually way more old hands, they just don't respond to surveys!), a Core Fans problem (dismissing the majority of fans being in the 25-49 range because the 50+ crowd are the die-hards that have to be retained lest you court disaster), or possibly an acclimation problem (if those youngins would just get over themselves and do things this way, all would be fine.) Little to no evidence will actually be provided for these assertions, despite the fact that they contradict the evidence available to us as reported by the people with a vested interest in knowing the actual truth of the matter. Instead, these assertions will simply be expected to be taken on faith, or handwaved off with anecdotes.

At least, if past is prologue, that's how this will play out. I've been through this particular song and dance more than once already.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yes, "two four" is Canada-speak for a 24-case.

Yes. A “two four”.

Man y’all got too much cold air and wilderness…

Also why is a 24 case that pricey? How much is a 12er of craft?

 

[Parmandur]

A quick check of online prices near me shows $19 USD for a 24 pack of swill, up to $35 for 24 of the real good stuff (805, specifically).

I usually buy a 6 pack which lasts me a week-ish, about $10.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

A quick check of online prices near me shows $19 USD for a 24 pack of swill, up to $35 for 24 of the real good stuff (805, specifically).

I usually buy a 6 pack which lasts me a week-ish, about $10.

These days I don’t drink enough to g eat anything that isn’t really good, and I’m lucky enough to have good local breweries.

I also drink little enough that buying large quantities of their stuff isn’t worth it, so idk what a case or a “growler” costs.

 

[Parmandur]

These days I don’t drink enough to g eat anything that isn’t really good, and I’m lucky enough to have good local breweries.

I also drink little enough that buying large quantities of their stuff isn’t worth it, so idk what a case or a “growler” costs.

Honestly, it is slightly more cost efficient, and beer has a good shelf life, bit I can't really bring myself to buy an entire month's worth of beer, and storing thst much wouod be problematic with toddlers around.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Man y’all got too much cold air and wilderness…

Also why is a 24 case that pricey? How much is a 12er of craft?

I know I live in a high-density craft brew area, and local conditions would mean lower prices regardless, but at local brew shops a solid 12-pack of good craft will usually set you back $25-$30. 24-packs of legit craft beer are rare--generally you buy craft beer in smaller amounts.

If we're being fully honest about boozy college students, however, they're going to buy whatever's cheap, not what's fancy. Fancy is for folks who want to sit down and enjoy the beer itself.

 

[Clint_L]

Just checked, out of curiosity, and the latest Dwarven Forge Kickstarter had a bit over two thousand backers. Giving 3 million smackeraoos, so a solid chunk of change...but that's not all profit. And 2000 is less than a fraction of a percent of D&D players. WotC has a business model based on reaching a way, way wider audience than top percentile whales.

Well, now you're just being insulting, I assume intentionally so.

We just got a demographic breakdown on the previous page - are we just pretending that isn't there? And as any marketer can tell you, advertising focuses on younger consumers because they are more malleable and there is more upside: if you can get them young, you can get many decades of sales out of them. I very much doubt that most D&D sales are going to teens; per the demographics, I would anticipate most are going to folks between 25-40, who are 50% of the player base.

Also, I very much doubt there are 40 million current players - WotC themselves only claimed 50 million folks exposed to D&D over the lifetime of the game (providing no evidence) and then bad journalism ran with it, soon converting that claim to 50 million active players, which is very different from the actual, unsubstantiated claim. No one knows how many current players there are, but 40 million is a wildly optimistic figure, particularly given sales. The best estimate I've seen was about 14 million from a few years ago, but that was super napkin math and still rooted in unverifiable claims from WotC (i.e. PR).