I wonder what the 3rd party publishers, who are dependant on WotC think?

[Hjorimir]

I'd think that 3rd-party publishers (good and bad) will be chomping at the bit for the new edition if for no other reason that in the early days of 4E there will be plenty of opportunity to be the first (or second) to cover any topic and have a rush of sales.

 

[Khairn]

I'm hoping that at least one of the 3rd party publishers will continue to target and support the 3.5 market, which I think will still be around after 4E launches. 4E introduces an entirely new set of entry barriers for some players, and along with the other negatives clinging to WotC thanks to 3.5, magazine cancellations etc etc ... many customers are still irritated at them and are looking for a source for new 3.5 material.

I was hoping it would be Paizo since they are doing such an outstanding job, but I think that any company announcing their plans to continue supporting 3.5 gameplay, will gain some very loyal fans & customers.

 

[Mark]

I think a number of us 3rd party publishers, in honor of the fourth edition of D&D, will opt to become 4th party publishers.

 

[Cergorach]

I think that this isn't like the 3.0 to 3.5 catastrophe, where the changes were minor, this time you'll have a huge difference. People won't be able to use 3.5E crunch in a 4E game without some heavy retooling. Smart publishers would continue publishing 3.5E material upto the 4E release date and then switch to 4E material. They'll have to promise 4E crunch downloads for their 3.5E material and visa versa, should keep both camps happy. 4E is going to create a huge boost in sales!

 

[KingCrab]

I'll be happy if Paizo releases two pathfinder adventure paths for 3.5 before the switch, so I'll have lots of stuff to play while others are switching over.

 

[Glyfair]

Smart publishers would continue publishing 3.5E material upto the 4E release date and then switch to 4E material.

Smart publishers will publish as much rules set neutral material until 4E is revealed and then figure out which way their customer base is leaning.

That doesn't mean non-rules material. However, material with minimal rules material. Wolfgang's devil series in Kobold Quarterly is a good example. A devil prince's stats, a minor devils stats, the rest background and fluff.

 

[Ranger REG]

I'm just feeling, at this moment, that this is the drawback of the OGL.

Meh. I don't think 4e is going to affect OGL-based games like Mutants & Masterminds, Castle & Crusade, Spycraft, and others.

It may affect d20 publishers, but not a whole lot of major publishers are d20-labeled products, though someone did mentioned that Chris Pramas of Green Ronin is pretty well-prepared for the transition/changeover.

If the publisher is not flexible, then they're going to lag behind seriously, just as those gamers who beleive that the d20 System is a rigid ruleset. (I can't helped but laugh at them for accusing Star Wars to "flagrantly violate the basic tenets of the d20 System.")

 

[Cergorach]

Smart publishers will publish as much rules set neutral material until 4E is revealed and then figure out which way their customer base is leaning.

I made that statement with that assumption in mind, sorry for not being clear, i got carried away in the excitement ;-)

(Prestige)Class, feat, spell, and monster books are going to be a pain to convert (with the monster books being the easiest). Adventures are also going to be a pain (if 2e to 3e stat conversions are any indication). Setting books and omicons (draco-, demon-, etc) are the way to go imho.

New print settings or series would probably benefit from direct 4E compatibility, the question is, can those publishers wait until a May 2008 release.

 

[Particle_Man]

I hope that Iron Heroes is at least thinking about converting (if they don't then it's not a big deal to me).

With Mike Mearls the lead developer for 4e, this may be easier to do than with other 3e games. I see Star Wars Saga Edition and Iron Heroes as sort of de facto previews of 4e, and there are already Saga conversions of Iron Heroes stuff.

 

[Roudi]