How WotC drove me to WoW

[Ander00]

I love gnomes, but I don't really think they are being treated any more poorly than in third edition. Them being in the MM isn't that big of a deal to me, as any DM who isn't a gnome-hater is likely to allow them, while you probably wouldn't want to play one under the other kind of DM anyway.


cheers

 

[Impeesa]

Don't think of it as "D&D lost a player", so much as "D&D4 made a collector into a casual player".

This statement really piques my curiosity, I am wondering how common this phenomenon will be. The new mandate at WotC to focus on bringing in fresh blood by catering to the casual crowd seems to be coming from above, since the Magic department just made some major changes with the same goal. Those changes are specifically aimed at appealing to the Yu-gi-oh crowd (and I'm not being cynical there, that's exactly how they described it, short of naming a specific game). I don't know so much that this tack is specifically inspired by WoW, or if it's the spectacular success of the Wii, casual flash games, etc, and the widespread, newfound realization of just how much larger this market is.

Here's the thing that worries me though: Games like D&D and Magic will probably always be a little more niche than WoW or the Wii. You don't read about how wonderful this D&D game is in the paper and buy a set for your retirement home. Because of this, I suspect roleplaying and card games are more dependant on those hardcore collector fans to spread the hobby to their friends. Casuals don't evangelize. And if D&D becomes so casual-focused that formerly hardcore players who take it up become casual themselves, it's possible it could hurt the game more than it helps in the long run. I'd be interested to know if anyone else thinks the same way.