D&D 5E How to slow the 5E treadmill?

[Mercurius]

Let's re-cap for a moment. "Original D&D" (OD&D) was published in 1974, after which the game split into two versions in 1977, Basic and Advanced. Basic went through a few incarnations, revised as B/X in 1981, then BECMI in 1983-86, then the Rules Cyclopedia in 1991 after which it fizzled away.

The core AD&D 1E books were published between 1977-79, with further books throughout the 80s. 2E came out in 1989, with a minor revision in 1995 with the Rules Options books. In 2000, a major change occured as 3E came out, and was then revised in 2003 as 3.5. In 2008, another major change as 4E came out, then re-packaged and slightly revised in 2010 as Essentials. The line was all but dead in early 2012 when the last book was published, and also the year that 5E was announced. Finally, it is 2014 and 5E is out.

So let's see...the "basic lineage," not including OD&D, has seen four different incarnations in a span of 14 years. The "advanced" lineage has seen five major editions, with a few revisions in between, in a span of 37 years. Breaking it down further:

1E: 12 years
2E: 11 years (revision after 6 years)
3E: 8 years (revision after 3 years)
4E: 4 years (revision after 2 years)

So there's a clear downward trend in years, with 4E lasting less than four years (from first to last published book). It is highly unlikely that 5E only lasts 4 years, but this brings me to my question, re-packaged from the thread title: How is Wizards of the Coast going to prevent a quick edition treadmill with 5E?

To put it another way, how are they going to avoid what happened with the last few editions: an over-saturation and glut of products with diminishing returns effect?

There are two aspects of this, creative and financial. One would think that the latter would follow the former, but this isn't always the case. For instance, some of the more creative offerings for 3.5 came out near the end of the cycle, yet WotC clearly saw a need--financial, if not creative--for a new edition.

So creativity is not enough. D&D diehards might enjoy Magic of Incarnum and Elder Evils, but they clearly have limited financial viability. Somehow there has to be financial "easter eggs" later in the edition cycle.

On the other hand, a new edition too soon can be even more devastating, especially if said edition isn't vetted by a substantial percentage of the community. This is one area in which WotC has seemingly done it right with 5E - while not everyone loves it, the lack of nerdrage and edition warring is noteworthy (I know, wait until the Trinity comes out, but one can be optimistic).

I'm sure that Mearls & Company are thinking about this, and even have a plan. But what do you think? How can they both keep the creative juices flowing and keep the line financially viable? It seems we know some of the answer already - a more differentiated approach to the brand, for instance, so that the entire D&D line is not married to the well-being of the tabletop RPG.

But what other ideas are out there?

I've got one that many might disagree with and, at first blush, seems counter to what I'm saying above, but here goes: Don't be afraid to reprint and revise the core rulebooks every few years. I'm not talking about major revisions, but smaller ones. So imagine a "5.2" out in 2017 and then a "5.4" in 2020. I suppose that is what they did with 3.5, and while there was some rage it was generally accepted--I don't remember a major ragequit movement in 2003, but in truth the revision overall strengthened the game. I'm saying - do that again. Continue to evolve and improve the game. The core is simple enough that such changes can be made. In truth, one of my biggest complaints with 4E before 5E was announced, was that they didn't reprint and revise the PHB.

In other words, you don't need to wait for a new edition to improve your product - go ahead, revise! If it is good, people will buy it. This also fits with the idea of the core rules being Basic D&D on line, and thus "evergreen" and always updating. With that *free* document always reflecting the latest revisions and updates, you can feel free to print new books more frequently.

One more. Fewer, but better products. Take one from Paizo, who seem to come out with a new hardback 3-4 times a year rather than 1-2 times a month. We want lots of product, but how about a ton of adventures and interesting setting books? But as far as splats go, the less the better - if they're meaty and of high quality, like Paizo's.

What else? What do you think? How to keep 5E fresh and vital for as long as possible? Again, this isn't to say that 6E isn't an inevitability, but I'd like to see 5E thrive.

 

[Thaumaturge]

Don't be afraid to reprint and revise the core rulebooks every few years. I'm not talking about major revisions, but smaller ones.

I've gotten the sense that this is what they plan. The revisions will be based on surveys and feedback.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Umbran]

One major way is to change the overall business model.

This has been strongly hinted at - that maybe they are going to be less worried about how much money individual products make, and more interested in how much the D&D brand makes. The RPG then exists largely to support the brand, not to be a financial success in and of itself.

If we start seeing other media - a new line of fiction, mobile game applications, computer games, or the like, and we can then expect this is the course they're taking.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

One major way is to change the overall business model.

This has been strongly hinted at - that maybe they are going to be less worried about how much money individual products make, and more interested in how much the D&D brand makes. The RPG then exists largely to support the brand, not to be a financial success in and of itself.

If we start seeing other media - a new line of fiction, mobile game applications, computer games, or the like, and we can then expect this is the course they're taking.

This already seems to be the case with Kreo children's toys and the like. I'm amazed they never tried this before. It's such a great idea to take the weight of the RPG and go with licensing.

 

[Alzrius]

One major way is to change the overall business model.

This has been strongly hinted at - that maybe they are going to be less worried about how much money individual products make, and more interested in how much the D&D brand makes. The RPG then exists largely to support the brand, not to be a financial success in and of itself.

If we start seeing other media - a new line of fiction, mobile game applications, computer games, or the like, and we can then expect this is the course they're taking.

To be fair, this isn't a new idea. Before they let Hasbro purchase the company, WotC essentially ran all of D&D at a loss; they could afford to do so because Magic: the Gathering kept the company in the black.

With Hasbro splitting M:tG and D&D so that each has their own financial targets for each year, rather than letting WotC have a collective target as a single sub-entity, they've made it much harder to do this. Diversification of the D&D brand across various media is probably the only viable alternative left at this point.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

Another tactic is to release more Forgotten Realms and adventure content. Then, in a few years, shelf the realms for a while, and focus on another setting. And so on every few years. This would create a form of reboot without needing a new edition.

 

[mips42]

To quote the great Yogurt "Merchandising! Where the real money from the movie is made. We put the pictures' name on EVERYTHING!"
Seriously, though. I seem to recall Mearls saying something to the effect of 'This is a version we plan on sticking with" and "If we get to a point where [the customer] has to buy a new book, we've gone too far.'
With the additive modularity that has been talked about, i tihnk the plan is to have 'rules for x' for sale separately to allow for mixing pieces that you want. Also I remember Mearls saying that they had plans for adventure or modules where all you need is Basic and then any additional rules (monsters, whatever) would be contained in the adventure or module.
So it would appear from what has already been said that there is going to be content coming from lots of directions. This seems like a good thing as long as they can manage the 'rule X from book A + feat Y from book B = SUPER CHARACTER'. This is my main concern.
I suppose, though, it'd be easy enough for a DM to say 'Nope, that thing is not allowed in my game'. Well, as easy as it ever has been.

Spoiler

It may be different for you.
This is just my opinion.
Your mileage may vary.
Consult your doctor if it persists.
etc.

 

[Mercurius]

One major way is to change the overall business model.

This has been strongly hinted at - that maybe they are going to be less worried about how much money individual products make, and more interested in how much the D&D brand makes. The RPG then exists largely to support the brand, not to be a financial success in and of itself.

If we start seeing other media - a new line of fiction, mobile game applications, computer games, or the like, and we can then expect this is the course they're taking.

Yeah, that is my sense as well - and what I meant by "a more differentiated approach to the brand, for instance, so that the entire D&D line is not married to the well-being of the tabletop RPG."

I'm wondering also if the whole D&D Insider thing was a lot more profitable than we realize, with a very high profit margin. Perhaps they view digital stuff as the cash cow, with paper books being more of a loss leader for the entire franchise.

 

[Stormonu]

The edition treadmill partially occurs because D&D has all its eggs in one basket (i.e., one game). part of TSR's health had been it was doing other games - Star Frontiers, Gamma World, etc.

WotC has MtG, with D&D as a sideline. If the release schedule is slowed - say, an adventure or two a month and an expansion book every three months or so, I think the game would be at a good pace so we only get a core rules revison every five years or so.

And so long as we don't get a major rewrite - just some reorganization, errata and a handful of new ideas, I think that would put the game in an excellent position to be around for another thirty years.

 

[Umbran]

The edition treadmill partially occurs because D&D has all its eggs in one basket (i.e., one game). part of TSR's health had been it was doing other games - Star Frontiers, Gamma World, etc.

I don't expect Star Frontiers, Gamma World, and the like had enough sales to help really support the health of the company. I don't doubt that was part of the idea, but I don't think they would up with enough players to make it work. This supported by how short the Star Frontiers run with TSR was....