How D&D Was Saved and Made It To 4e

[kenobi65]

I wonder if WOTC makes more more money off FR/Eberron novels or splatbooks? I'm guessing the novels. Though the profit margin is likely much lower, since there's more competition, surely they sell more novels. I've never thought about this one before . . .

For FR, certainly; some FR novels make the NYT best-seller list. I'd be willing to bet that a significant number of FR novel readers are not regular D&D players.

So, from my D&D player universe, more splatbooks is not going to make much difference to sales.

It's a hard habit to break, but it's generally a bad idea to assume "what all my friends and I do" is particularly representative of the broader gaming community.

If you read these boards for any length of time, you'll see that there are an awful lot of DMs who do write their own material. And, there's an awful lot of DMs who don't use prewritten adventures/modules.

Remember that WotC got out of the module business for most of 3E, because their numbers showed it just wasn't profitable for them (lower sales, and higher cost-per-page to produce, than sourcebooks); they only got back into the business when they recognized that it was an important niche, especially for beginning DMs, and many of the third-party publishers had gotten out of the module business.

 

[Lanefan]

I haven't known anybody like that since AD&D in college. I suspect it's age related. People older than college age tend not to be able to devote as much leisure time to the game, and likely younger players don't have the skills to build a world, though they might try.

We-ell, I'm long past college age, with a full-time job, and last weekend I dropped the puck on a game I just spent the better part of 2 years designing (and it's still not finished).

And I've known some homebrew worlds from younger DMs to be perfectly playable. Some.


Lanefan

 

[Felix]

Uh... huh? No it didn't.

I beg to differ, my dear Hobo.

This isn't exactly the acme of argumentation here, guys. Children on playgrounds can muster up similar "Yes-it-did! No-it-didn't!" arguments, with more passion as well.

4e will have been in development for 3 years by the summer of 08, and was scheduled to be released due to financial concerns. A number of 3.5e products (Book of 9 Swords I'm looking at you) were made intentionally to incorporate 4e design elements into 3.5e to see how they handled. Mechanics for at-will abilities and per-encounter abilities (Reserve feats and Skill tricks, anyone?) arrived in 3.5e books without there being any real precedence for these kind of rules. WotC killed off Dungeon and Dragon magazines, two popular support platforms for 3.5e in favor of the Digital Initiative and Online Subscription.

The point of all of that?

• 4e was going to be released regardless the state of 3.5e.

• 4e design co-opted 3.5e suppliments for use as a field test.

• WotC sacrificed popular 3.5e support to remove competition for their 4e support system.

Glut has nothing to do with it. 3rd Edition was euthanized by WotC who hoped that in its final moments of profitability it may be of some use as a playtest to help 4e's chances. It was a business decision.

And "glut" is over-feeding as well as flooding the market. If a particular DM's game suffers because of rules bloat, I suggest it is because that DM lacks the willpower to keep too many d20 products out of his game. Does your player want a prestige class from book A, a feat from book B, and a magical armor from book C?

[Nancy Reagan] Just Say NO

 

[Gentlegamer]

And "glut" is over-feeding as well as flooding the market. If a particular DM's game suffers because of rules bloat, I suggest it is because that DM lacks the willpower to keep too many d20 products out of his game. Does your player want a prestige class from book A, a feat from book B, and a magical armor from book C?

[Nancy Reagan] Just Say NO

I'm Gentlegamer, and I approve this message.

 

[Wisdom Penalty]

This isn't exactly the acme of argumentation here, guys.

 

[haakon1]

Glut has nothing to do with it. 3rd Edition was euthanized by WotC who hoped that in its final moments of profitability it may be of some use as a playtest to help 4e's chances. It was a business decision.

QFT

 

[haakon1]

Any number of the world's greatest campaign and adventure writers cannot produce enough product to keep a game company afloat -- even if every DM buys their stuff. The profit margins are too razor thin.

Explain the success of Paizo and the DCC's?