Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6333708" data-attributes="member: 59082">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 years2E: 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.</blockquote>

Verification