WotC Hasbro CEO Chris Cox, "I would say that the underlying thesis of our D&D business is all about digital,”

[Alzrius]

so 2024 is the next half baked and rushed out the door cash grab?

Yes, it is. But not because they're trying to squeeze more money out of their existing base of tabletop players; rather, One D&D is only being made because WotC wanted to leverage Fandom to sell them D&D Beyond. But don't take my word for it, take Stephen Glicker's (who you'll recall had several of the most pointed insights into what was going on during the OGL scandal back in January):


And really, that explanation not only dovetails with what I mentioned before re: Ben Riggs saying that WotC is a fractious collective with no unified vision or single point of leadership, but it also explains the confused messaging with regards to One D&D itself (which is what the rest of the video is about).

This isn't a case of "WotC is doing something I don't like," it's a case of them living up to their track record of being a company at war with itself, and its output suffering because of that. That they conduct surveys about One D&D isn't really relevant in that regard; when there are political power struggles going on within the company, and executives who don't understand their own product and are only concerned with the most effective mode of monetization, public feedback has minor impact at best, unless it's an overwhelming reaction that dominates multiple news cycles and affects their bottom line to the point where they can't afford to ignore it (which is what the D&D Beyond cancellations in reaction to the OGL fiasco did).

One D&D exists to pave the way for the game's transition to an electronic medium. Everything else is a secondary concern. Or as the above video notes at the end:

 

[Warpiglet-7]

The vast majority of business exists to make money. When I go to work, I don’t go unless I get a paycheck.

My only issue here is about culture. I just hope what I love can thrive. Last night my pal used a big tv sunk in the table for a map. But we had minis on top.

But the fun was being around the table together. Yelling, high fiving, etc. and breaking bread together.

I recently had a “con” in my home. It was miniature and terrain heavy. My son who is in grade school played 2 days straight. He pointed out solutions to some problems that no one else did.

He also grabbed and evil high priest and drug him out of a chamber and used his off hand to tomahawk him dead with a natural 20

But he asked “when can we play again?!” After 2 days of no video games!

For me the hand wringing is more about shrugging. Show kids and newbs the face to face game and keep it rolling. If Waldo has social phobia and only wants to play a solo video game it does not confront me. If Waldo wants to play face to face one day and digital the next all good with me.

I think the roots of the game are so deep there is nothing here to mourn as long as we keep showing people what the analog can be.

 

[Dausuul]

It's no different than Marvel: the paper products are only there to maintain copyright. The real money is in the corporate engineered BS that the public laps up regardless of quality.

I'm curious: What has been the impact on the quality of the paper product? That's a real question, I'm not much into the Marvel universe.

I ask because of the post a few days ago on D&D sales, showing that the two editions with the most PHB sales -- 1E and 5E -- were the ones created with the lowest expectations. If D&D did become a multimedia juggernaut, and the paper game was no longer expected to bring in major profits, it might be a very good thing for the game.

Then again, it could also lead to the paper game getting yanked around by execs to serve the needs of the latest video game release. I just don't know. So I'm wondering how it's gone for fans of paper Marvel.

 

[Sulicius]

Yes, it is. But not because they're trying to squeeze more money out of their existing base of tabletop players; rather, One D&D is only being made because WotC wanted to leverage Fandom to sell them D&D Beyond. But don't take my word for it, take Stephen Glicker's (who you'll recall had several of the most pointed insights into what was going on during the OGL scandal back in January):


And really, that explanation not only dovetails with what I mentioned before re: Ben Riggs saying that WotC is a fractious collective with no unified vision or single point of leadership, but it also explains the confused messaging with regards to One D&D itself (which is what the rest of the video is about).

This isn't a case of "WotC is doing something I don't like," it's a case of them living up to their track record of being a company at war with itself, and its output suffering because of that. That they conduct surveys about One D&D isn't really relevant in that regard; when there are political power struggles going on within the company, and executives who don't understand their own product and are only concerned with the most effective mode of monetization, public feedback has minor impact at best, unless it's an overwhelming reaction that dominates multiple news cycles and affects their bottom line to the point where they can't afford to ignore it (which is what the D&D Beyond cancellations in reaction to the OGL fiasco did).

One D&D exists to pave the way for the game's transition to an electronic medium. Everything else is a secondary concern. Or as the above video notes at the end:

View attachment 292365

Do you mean OneD&D as the revision to the rules? Have you seen evidence if the claim that it is made for the transition you name?

 

[Alzrius]

Do you mean OneD&D as the revision to the rules? Have you seen evidence if the claim that it is made for the transition you name?

I don't understand your first question, here. As for evidence, I'll direct you to the video I posted. I suppose you can say that Glicker is lying/misinformed, but given his reporting on the OGL fiasco, he's earned credibility enough that any such accusation would itself need evidence backing it up.

 

[Reynard]

Do you mean OneD&D as the revision to the rules? Have you seen evidence if the claim that it is made for the transition you name?

If they really wanted to use 1D&D as a tool to get everyone on DDB, they would give away the changes for free on Beyond.

 

[Nikosandros]

the two editions with the most PHB sales -- 1E and 5E -- were the ones created with the lowest expectations.

Was 1e really created with low expectations?

 

[grimslade]

Oofta provided a really good summary above and Micah Sweet makes a great point as well. I am not worried about D&D. The TTRPG is going to continue with the 4 adventure and splat releases a year, but no real significant changes. There will be many more CRPGs, Digital tabletops, and weird phone apps. The Barbie movie shows that there is value in IP for movies, but BG3 dwarfs it. Even duds like Dark Alliance make money. D&D Beyond and the VTT will be peanuts compared to the flood of apps and games that will be forthcoming.
So play 5E or Anniversary edition if you like the final result. Use D&D Beyond or don't. There is no more gold to be had for Hasbro from the golden goose of the D&D game, but the D&D brand will lay eggs of various quality for decades more.

 

[ad_hoc]

Focusing on digital doesn't mean abandoning offline play.

Digital could be 5 times as big revenue wise as paper books and the paper books could still be just as supported as they are now.

They are a very strong revenue stream which Hasbro isn't going to throw away.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Yes, it is. But not because they're trying to squeeze more money out of their existing base of tabletop players; rather, One D&D is only being made because WotC wanted to leverage Fandom to sell them D&D Beyond. But don't take my word for it, take Stephen Glicker's (who you'll recall had several of the most pointed insights into what was going on during the OGL scandal back in January):


And really, that explanation not only dovetails with what I mentioned before re: Ben Riggs saying that WotC is a fractious collective with no unified vision or single point of leadership, but it also explains the confused messaging with regards to One D&D itself (which is what the rest of the video is about).

This isn't a case of "WotC is doing something I don't like," it's a case of them living up to their track record of being a company at war with itself, and its output suffering because of that. That they conduct surveys about One D&D isn't really relevant in that regard; when there are political power struggles going on within the company, and executives who don't understand their own product and are only concerned with the most effective mode of monetization, public feedback has minor impact at best, unless it's an overwhelming reaction that dominates multiple news cycles and affects their bottom line to the point where they can't afford to ignore it (which is what the D&D Beyond cancellations in reaction to the OGL fiasco did).

One D&D exists to pave the way for the game's transition to an electronic medium. Everything else is a secondary concern. Or as the above video notes at the end:

View attachment 292365

I have not watched the video, I really do not care about what the internal conflicts are within WoTC nor am I too bothered about the digital strategy.
No business on earth was going to let the fiftieth anniversary of their flagship product pass without an update. We could have predicted that back 2014 (for all I know someone did but were laughed at because everyone knew sixth edition would be out before that).
The internal dog fighting about digital is not really going to impact the design of the D&D revision, unless there is faction fighting within the design team and I have no reason to believe that is the case.
Any revised version of D&D that is subject to marketing focus that the survey process is, is going to be pretty conservative as to changes.
Finally, a word on digital. The future is going to be largely digital. Book will never completely disappear, no more than handsaws have disappeared in the age of 3D Printing and CNC machines.
The base game is in the creative commons and they have promised that the revised game will also. D&D's fate is not tied to a single company.
I wish WotC luck on their digital endeavours and I will partake as I see fit.