Harry Potter, D&D, and the children's market

[Scribble]

One of the greatest things about D&D in my opinion is that it scales with your age... It's just rules. How you interpret those rules is up to you.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I think in order to each kids, you've got to reach adults. The next iteration of D&D should be more accessible to people with jobs and other responsibilities. Once more adults play it (and more teens continue playing when they become adults), the game will trickle down to the younger buyers.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Do you fear that kids will abandon RPGs or just the RPGs you play?

I play D&D. That will be the last one to go. I doubt that anyone will pull off creating another RPG for the "new generation" after that one went away.

Every generation comes with their own approach to entertainment. What clicks with one generation won't click with another. Changes in style, technology, morals, and other factors will create new things that we can never imagine. I collected baseball cards, read comics and played D&D. My kids collect Pokemon, read novels, and play with their Gameboys. I'd much rather bond over the things that give THEM enjoyment than the other way around.

I'm sure when my kids get more into "fantasy" setting games they'll much rather play WoW or Elder Scroll, with all the bells and whistles, than dad's D&D. If they do show an interest, great - let's play! Otherwise I'll let them enjoy their own things.

I grew up with Gameboys and PCs, with not just bells and whistles, but a full orchestra. I still enjoy Roleplaying and letting my information do the trick for me.

Though I don't have children, I have cousins that are young enough to be my children. Many of them enjoy books, even though they have access to PCs and Nintendo DSs. I'm say enjoying - not just reading them because their parents want them to read. You'll have a hard time convincing me that they wouldn't enjoy RPGs (if the German rulebooks were any good, I'd probably have introduced them to the hobby by now.)


What I'm saying is that even though video games and TV have a strong thing going for them with great audio and visuals, imagination is still around, and even the youngest generation enjoys using it.

 

[Nellisir]

I think a Harry Potter-ish D&D game would be interesting; might sell; and would not be the core D&D book we know now. Yes, you can play D&D at 10 or 12, but there's something about Harry Potter, Tom Sawyer, and Treasure Island that D&D, right now, doesn't capture very well.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

They shouldn't, unless they bring back the Silver Age (pre-Y2K) comics back.

explain to me the comic book ages. I thought the silver age was around 1956


edit
*ah sorry, already covered*

 

[Moon-Lancer]

In any event, I am absolutely convinced that RPGs will not win a large audience amongst young teens (and pre-teens) by watering itself down in some foolish attempt to connect with them.

I agree very much with this statment. As it is, i think d&d is watered down to a dangerous level. It seems so... bland... i dono. I love dnd, but with just the core books its so lacking in something. even the art. I know it was intended to be vanilla, but if that were true, wouldn't we have more toppings (settings) to choose from? I think its too sterile for much of its potential audience already.

Snow White seems a light and airy tale untill you see Prince Phillip up there fighting a dragon ten thousand times his size and driving his sword into it's heart.

I think the fight with the dragon was sleeping beauty, but i understand your point. Maleficent is still considered to be the most evil villain of all the Disney kingdoms. This is reaffirmed imo with kingdom hearts. The dragon and the demon from fantasia are probably the darkest moments in Disney's history to date.

the only difference from the dragon scene being g or pg to pg-13 and R, would be blood, cursing and some deep kissing and peting at the end of the film

 

[Scott_Rouse]

Kids have no disposable income.

In 2003 one study estimated tweens (kids 9-13) had about $39 billion in annual buying power. That number has likely gone up.

http://www.imediaconnection.com/news/1706.asp

 

[Scott_Rouse]

Considering that tabletop RPGs are dying off due to competition and lack of interest, what merit is there in Dungeons & Dragons moving into the chilren's market?

I don't think they are dead although the large portion of the current playing audience is aging and it becomes increasingly difficult to acquire new players. This issue is not exclusive to table top RPGs or games in general. Toys, books, and activities like fishing are seeing declining audience as kids are over scheduled and age out of play patterns more quickly.

Do you think the time may be right for WotC to start publishing products for a younger audience?

The Mirrorstone line of books from WOTC (Practical Guide to Dragons etc) is meant to introduce young readers to D&D based fantasy but I don't think it would be in our best interest to water down the D&D RPG rules to appeal to a younger audience. High School and College age appropriate rules seems to be a really good place for the brand. Younger ( smart) kids down to about 12-13 who want to play can easily handle the rules as they are presented in the Basic Game. Between the Basic Game and the Core rulebooks we have products like the Players Kit and Scourge of the Howling Horde (A new DM teaching adventure) that are meant to be bridge products. We will continue to explore these types of products that migrate new players deeper into the game

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Aren't the Mirrorstone books just fiction? What, beyond the D&D label on the front of the books, brings kids into the hobby? I think that's a great idea, but not as great of an idea as coupling with a branded version of the Basic Game or even a bridge product between the Basic Game and the core books.

 

[Scott_Rouse]

Aren't the Mirrorstone books just fiction? What, beyond the D&D label on the front of the books, brings kids into the hobby? I think that's a great idea, but not as great of an idea as coupling with a branded version of the Basic Game or even a bridge product between the Basic Game and the core books.

yes. see my edited response