Has 3.5E "failed"?

[shadow]

As much as I want to rant about how much "3.$ sucks", I'll keep my personal opinions aside to keep this thread on topic.

I hardly think that 3.5e can be considered a failure. Afterall, from what I've heard it sold remarkably well. The real question is has it fractured the D&D community? I know one gamer who swears by 3.5e and declares that "the game was BROKEN until 3.5e came along!". I know another who hates 3.5e with a passion and now refuses to have anything to do with WotC.

 

[Desdichado]

I hardly think that 3.5e can be considered a failure. Afterall, from what I've heard it sold remarkably well. The real question is has it fractured the D&D community? I know one gamer who swears by 3.5e and declares that "the game was BROKEN until 3.5e came along!". I know another who hates 3.5e with a passion and now refuses to have anything to do with WotC.

I don't see how that's "the real question" because I don't see how that matters much.

 

[Gundark]

I don't believe WotC really meant for all D&D players to rush out and plunk down $90 for the revision. While I'm sure they'd have liked that to happen, I doubt they intended it to.

Rather, I believe WotC intended for existing D&D players to use the online revision update and the SRD to update their games---with 3.5 core books only being purchased by new players or by those replacing their old 3.0 books.

For example, I'd sold my 3e core books on eBay a while ago. Later, when I felt like running D&D again, I bought the 3.5 books.

Personally, I was pleasantly surprised by the scope and quality of the revision.

I agree

 

[Ranger REG]

They made the revision for the new players??? The new players don't know what is being revised.

I'm afraid the term "Revised" will be used in the same line of questioning as the old days with "Advanced" (as in Advanced D&D as opposed to D&D boxed sets and Rules Cyclopedia) from newbie gamers. In fact, there are already several posts from newbies that are asking what are the difference between 3e and 3.5e.

 

[Treebore]

You are right that WOTC, or anyone else, does not give specific breakdowns of how much of what sold. But they do differentiate how much "D&D" made versus CCG's. Of course miniature sales are going to make it even harder to determine how well their books are doing.

As it is D&D makes less than half what WOTC's CCG's make, which in 2002 was approx. $40 million versus right around $95 million. I haven't heard of 2003's numbers being released yet.

 

[MerricB]

They made the revision for the new players??? The new players don't know what is being revised.

Actually, there is some evidence that the revision has elements in it designed for new players.

Fixing various rules so there is less confusion about how they work is one element of this: if a new player doesn't need to ask a question about how a rule works, then this is an improvement!

Also, if you check out the links in my original post you'll find that Rich Redman was redesigning the DMG in mind of a newbie DM who didn't even have the Adventure Game to lead them into D&D.

Cheers!

 

[NPC]

Seems like the folks who hate 3.5e say it's a failure and the ones who like it say it's a success.

I think it's a success.

 

[Desdichado]

Seems like the folks who hate 3.5e say it's a failure and the ones who like it say it's a success.

I think it's a success.

Right, but the original question doesn't have anything to do with "do you like 3.5." Unfortunately, barring someone from Wizards of the Coast popping into this thread to give us an insider's viewpoint (something that hasn't really happened much since Zulkir left the fold to blaze his own trail) the question's probably unanswerable.

 

[MerricB]

Right, but the original question doesn't have anything to do with "do you like 3.5." Unfortunately, barring someone from Wizards of the Coast popping into this thread to give us an insider's viewpoint (something that hasn't really happened much since Zulkir left the fold to blaze his own trail) the question's probably unanswerable.

Mind you, some of those people who run game stores around here might be able to give us some feedback on how it has been selling for them.

Cheers!

 

[Silveras]

Since Wizards is not in the habit of publicly discussing the sales of D&D books (except to say "better than expected" when they are pleasantly surprised), the first real information most of us are going to have in this regard is when one of these happens:

• WotC announces they are hiring (good news)
• product announcements are delayed, and are thicker than expected
• WotC announces more layoffs (bad news)
• product announcements are delayed, and are slimmer than expected
• Hasbro sells the D&D brand (VERY bad news)
• products on the schedule start being canceled