D&D 4E I'm Not Sure I Can Afford 4e

[Turanil]

It also occurred to me that this may be the last D&D. The print industry is changing, and it remains to be seen whether tabletop RPGs will survive in their current form until the 2020s.

My opinion is that 4e is the last iteration of D&D. For at least 3 reasons :
1) People who bought so many 3.5 stuff, then will have bought so many 4e stuff, will begin to tire spending money, and might not want go to 5e in the grand majority.
2) Gaming is changing, and tabletop RPGs may quickly become a thing of the past in the ever expanding digital/computer civilization.
3) (I believe the main factor) The huge and sore economical recession that is coming will eventually kill WotC.

 

[Darrin Drader]

My opinion is that 4e is the last iteration of D&D. For at least 3 reasons :
1) People who bought so many 3.5 stuff, then will have bought so many 4e stuff, will begin to tire spending money, and might not want go to 5e in the grand majority.

A very real possibility. I don't tire of spending the money, but I do tire spending more money on new iterations of the same things we've had before, such as Oriental Adventures, Manual of the Planes, Psionics, etc.

2) Gaming is changing, and tabletop RPGs may quickly become a thing of the past in the ever expanding digital/computer civilization.

WoW and Oblivion are pretty good. I don't play WoW, but Oblivion definitely scratches that need to game itch.

3) (I believe the main factor) The huge and sore economical recession that is coming will eventually kill WotC.

Not so sure about this one. D&D has survived recessions just fine in the past. In fact, one of the guys I used to work with pointed out that games tend to do better during a recession because you get a lot more hours of enjoyment for the money spent than any other form of entertainment.

On the other hand, I think the coming recession may prove to be more of a depression, and a depression could obliterate the economy as we know it.

 

[jtrowell]

My opinion is that 4e is the last iteration of D&D. For at least 3 reasons :
1) People who bought so many 3.5 stuff, then will have bought so many 4e stuff, will begin to tire spending money, and might not want go to 5e in the grand majority.

I started roleplaying games when ~9 years old (and I'm now 30), and one of my first RPGs was BECMI (aaah, the good old basic set ...).

This year, it will make 8 years since 3.0 has been released.

Do you realize that between 3.0 and 5e they will certainly have been enough time to growth the next generation ?

 

[Fallen Seraph]

I honestly think that D&D won't die it either completely, or in hardback form.

The first reason is simple enough even with recession, and even if 4e bombs, WotC has enough profit from other things to stay afloat and produce 5e or go back to 3.5.

I also think there really is something to be said about having a hardback of a book. I am sure I am not the only one who finds it less then comfortable/enjoyable reading all my books on the computer. Also it is harder to take with you then simply grabbing the book. Really when it comes down to it, books are simply easier on the customer and thus more likely to generate profit.

 

[Sitara]

Guys, the4 pnp hobby will always survive. I mean seriosuly, do you see video games replacing novels and books?

Yeah I didn't think so.

PnP rpg's are not just to be played, many many people also enjoy reading them, reading sourcebook, soruce material, reading cool crunch, etc etc.

Video game and other forms of entertainment are great, but pales in comparison the the power of the written word (be it on paper or on a pdf) Even the revenues of the best of video games(world of warcraft with 9 million recorded users) pales in comparison to the revenues generated by the Harry potter books, which have made JK Rowling the 10th richest persopn in the world in around 10-12 years time.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Mhmm, I have TONS of PnP books I bought solely to read and look at the art, hell I bought PnP books in series I don't like because of some good stories and art in it.

 

[Cmarco]

Um... this was exactly the case with every edition of D&D in the past, as my bookshelf full of 1e/2e/3e and BECM (I don't have Immortals) can attest to.

Ditto. If I add up everything (old issues of dragon, as well as sourcebooks, options, and everything else I've picked up book-wise pertaining to D&D), I've got a collection of well over 100 books and easily as many supplements. Throw in the massive piles of minis I have (I've run out of storage. They're all over my desk, shelves, and in their storage case), and well... yeah... it definitely is the case for every edition

 

[Aus_Snow]

It's also occured to me that this may be the last D&D.

I wonder. And kinda hope not.

It sounds like you might be feeling a bit older, maybe even jaded.

I don't know what to say, really. Check out the SRD and go from there? Worked for some folks, regarding 3e. Eh, I dunno.

 

[Mephistopheles]

I have enough D&D 3.5 stuff and d20 stuff and OGL stuff to run adventures for decades.

I know a few groups who are still saying this about 1E. They're still playing it so I guess they're not wrong.

 

[Firevalkyrie]

I am turning around some of the same thoughts in my head as well these days.

I have enough D&D 3.5 stuff and d20 stuff and OGL stuff to run adventures for decades.

I do too. I'm not going to 4th Edition because I NEED it, I'm going to 4th Edition because I WANT it, and because for the way I play, 4th Edition seems to offer a better game (less prep, faster and more intense combat, stronger social mechanics) than 3.5 does.

Also, my FLGS sells gift certificates, so my plan is to buy 4 gift certs each for the price of 1 D&D book over the span of 6 months, and use them all on release day to buy my copy of the game (I'm buying an extra player's handbook so my fiancee also has one).