Has the release of d20 material slowed down?

[marketingman]

Gen Con I believe will be the true telling point if the market is slow then a larger amount of Non-d20 companies will be present after all the Dealers room is maxed and above last years number.

Origins Numbers were up and Gen Cons are already thru the roof so if the d20 market is set for a two year down turn know is the start. We wait we see.

 

[Krug]

Not to mention Green Ronin for example, they are moving in other directions as well, WFRP is one, Licensed properties is another (oh and card games). It also seems that their release 'speed' of D20 books has slowed down...

Even Mongoose has changed tact with what looks like more strategy/miniature games. Hmm going from D&D to own in-house magazine to own miniatures line.. all sounds kinda familiar...

 

[Cergorach]

Even Mongoose has changed tact with what looks like more strategy/miniature games. Hmm going from D&D to own in-house magazine to own miniatures line.. all sounds kinda familiar...

Oh gawd! This is Citadel/GW all over again! *grins*

 

[Pramas]

Not to mention Green Ronin for example, they are moving in other directions as well, WFRP is one, Licensed properties is another (oh and card games). It also seems that their release 'speed' of D20 books has slowed down...

We are mixing up our d20 releases with other types of stuff, including card games like Torches & Pitchforks and boardgames like Dracula's Revenge. Plus of course Mutants & Masterminds material (which may or may not count as d20 depending on who you talk to). Nonetheless, we've put out 3 d20 books (the Trojan War campaign setting, Dezzavold: Fortress of the Drow, and Modern Magic) within the past two weeks, so it's not like we've given up on it!

Generally speaking though, the market isn't what it was. It's no surprise that companies are slowing down or stopping their d20 releases. Some companies are stopping altogether. This is not unusual for the game industry (it happens all the time) but it may be more noticeable in this case because of d20.

 

[Ranger REG]

most are less then 35$ but we are seeing many more this year that are more expensive then previous years.

Then allow me to welcome you to the real world: economics, inflations, and all that.

 

[Ranger REG]

I didn't mean this as more expensive for the same product, i'm talking about splatbooks that have become bigger and therefore more expensive (from $20 to $30), i'm very happy with that because the 'splatbooks' are now 160-192 pages (twice as big), are full color, and are hardcover, all for a measily $10 extra.

What i am trying to say is that there is both an increase in the number of products and the average pice for each product (by WotC). That means that if a person wants every WotC RPG supplement they'll need a far bigger budget then two years ago...

Two years ago???

I can understand if you compare price of today to that of, say 1994, but two years ago it hasn't changed much. Then again, the price of gasoline have been steadily rising (at least in Hawaii, I haven't seen it dropped) and is affecting other sales prices, including the bookprinting companies and distributors (aka transporters, they have to pay the huge gas price in order to move products from one destination to the next via trucks, air, and ships).

Personally, I think WotC finally got the price right for these games, compared to TSR who have been underpricing and killing themselves financially. Yes, it may sucks to us customers (everyone desires to get more $$$ coming and and less $$$ shelling out), but at least they're in business.

It's kewl to get so much choice, but it also puts a strain on consumers and retailers. Retailers need to order everything WotC, that means that there's less room/money for other lines/companies.

Personally, if retailers is all about the money, they should stop selling RPGs altogether, and stick with the currently dominating cash cow in the gaming market: TCG, CMG, and boardgames. That's the truth, brah.

 

[baseballfury]

All the companies producing crap products have disappeared or are spending more time making quality products.

Some producers of crap have (thankfully) gone away, but the worst offender soldiers on. Meanwhile, companies that made good stuff (like Atlas) are leaving d20 behind.

 

[Crothian]

Then allow me to welcome you to the real world: economics, inflations, and all that.

Thanks, but I was already there. I have no problem with the price increases. I'm just saying they are there.

 

[mroberon1972]

One of the trends I see is small publishers taking advantage of the digital age. They publish small PDFs with one or two items in it, and charge the price of a cheep burger for it. While quality levels seem to be highly variable, it works well in allowing customer to pick the items they want for a cheap price. On the oher hand, in increases the number of individual products released.

I have to say that part of the problem with getting quality products is that people refuse to risk buying them.

When you spend hundreds of dollars on art and months on editing a product, and then you hear people saying they won't even consider your product because you're not a 'big name' company, it's no wonder that some of them just pump out cheep trash. They can make more profit doing that than doing it the 'right' way.

I know it's not what people want to hear, but it's true.

Mind you, I'm not saying you should buy products that you don't need or want. I'm just saying that TSR was a tiny company once. Where would you be if nobody had bought thier products?

 

[mearls]

I don't think the issue is that there are fewer d20 releases. I think that there's simply fewer *interesting* d20 products coming out. The 2nd edition back catalog has been done several times over. Now it's time for companies to come up with new and interesting ideas.

In other words, the idea well is starting to run a bit dry. Can you remember the last time you were really excited about a d20 product? And then the product came through on the promise you thought it held?