D&D 5E Initial D&D Next Releases Showing Up on Barnes & Noble Website

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Well, the 3E PH and 3.5 PH were $30, not $35. The $20 price doesn't count, really--that was explicitly a bargain or loss leader price for early adopters to convince them to buy the books.

... and you'd think that given the fracturing of the base WotC would actually want to repeat with a loss leader this time.

 

[D'karr]

I'm skeptical/curious at this point, but a $50 price point is too high for me to buy sight unseen, even if Amazon takes it down to $33 or so.

Inflation calculators don't even figure in my "customer buying" decision. I make a heck of a lot more today than I did in 2000 with 3e, and even more than I made in 2008 with 4e. At $50 this really tips the scales of value for me.

When I first bought 4e I purchased the combined boxed set (phb, dmg, mm) from Amazon and that was deeply discounted so it was about $60. At approx $20 a book I was in the market, and it was a great value. At $30 a book I might have grudgingly been in the market. Any higher than that and they would have lost me as a customer. The 3e FRCS at $40 dollars was my limit at the time and that book, IMO, would have been a fantastic value even at $50. Years later I purchase Ptolus because I also saw a value there, even at $100.

I had played 4e at DDXP and had continued to run it for my group using a copy of the existing playtest rules. Even though I really enjoyed the game and continued to run 4e, even without the rules. At a price point as what they are advertising now I'm sure I would not have bought it. And I was way more enthusiastic of 4e at that time than I've been for 5e since the announcement. The 5e PHB is going to have to be absolutely fabulous for me to even consider buying it at that price, and there is no chance that I will purchase it sight-unseen.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I want to support WotC but I will not pay $50 for a phb... ever

 

[grafikchaos]

If there will be electronic versions without having to subscribe monthly

I'm really happy to be back into playing rpg's again. I really am. I've had a love affair with D&D for-freaking-ever. Seeing the playtest online, and getting back into the game, and introducing it to my teenage daughter have been fantastic. I'm glad to be back home with all of my fellow geeks.

However, I have a very tight gaming budget. The box set doesn't interest me in the least, because I grew up on first and second editions, and I love having a bit of meat on my game. If anyone asks me where they should start, as a complete newbie, then I'd point them to the box set, sure. But I want to get back into the game, and $50 for just the PHB is cost-prohibitive to me. If it is like the Pathfinder core book, then sure, I can justify it, no problem. Fifty for the PHB, then another $50 or so for a MM, then I'd be good to go. But, since I run the games I'm in, pushing $150 for PHB, DMG and MM will make me think twice about purchasing it. If the work is stellar, then I'll think about it a bit harder and then decide.

Which brings us to electronic versions. I'll have no problem with purchasing pdf's for $20 or maybe even $30 a pop. I don't have to have the actual books, since I've been running of the playtest lately anyway and have gotten used to electronic versions. Sixty to ninety bucks is more appealing to me than $150, big time. However, I am absolutely NOT going to subscribe to a monthly service, in order to have access to electronic versions. I understand that people love their DDI accounts, and don't mind the cost. I do, and I'm not going to do that. Either give me electronic or printed versions, take my money up front, and I'll go play my game.

Now, if I can get all three books for $30 or $35 a pop through Amazon or Coolstuff Inc., then I'll seriously reconsider buying printed. Otherwise, if I can't, then I'll just switch completely over to Savage Worlds and the Fantasy Companion, and maybe do Shaintar or Hellfrost, and call it a day. Seeing a $50 price tag for just the PHB actually made my heart sink a bit.

 

[Hutchimus Prime]

But, there's another factor at well. Next is being met with more indifference and skepticism than any prior WotC edition, from my observations.

Maaaybe in the internet echo chamber, but that's hardly a scientific sample.

 

[Mistwell]

So it will be about $29.97 (40% off) on Amazon? Seems fine to me.

 

[Dire Bare]

Pricing

Back when I was a kid, gosh darn it, Cokes were a nickel and D&D books were only $20! I had to walk to the gaming store uphill through the snow BOTH WAYS! How dare these young flippertygidgets at WotC charge $50 for a full-color, hardbound gaming book when everyone else in the industry is doing the same because, supposedly, there's this new-fangled thing called "inflation"! I hear somebody saying that these WotC folks are a business and out to make some money from my hard-working self! That's just not right! Back in the day, D&D was run by a charitable organization that had gamers in mind, not profits! Why, they practically gave away the first run of 3E player's handbooks, because they cared! Today, they're just out to get our money, and the game probably sucks too, because there are minor rules changes that don't mesh with my personal play style and I'm too old and set in my ways to try things differently!

The above is hyperbolic satire, just in case anyone's not sure.

Personally, I'm not happy with pricing increases in anything that I buy, but I understand that inflation happens, and it hits some industries harder than others. In addition to being a D&D fan, I also play Warhammer 40K, and the whining about prices (and rules, and other things) is almost identical on forums for fans of both games. Quality full-color hardback books at $50 is currently a fair price. There are smaller companies that produce books with cheaper MSRPs, but often with black-and-white interiors, cheaper paper, cheaper bindings, or all three. WotC (like Games Workshop) is a large company selling the world's most famous and popular RPG to a mass audience, and they are opting for quality books (quality paper, bindings, and full-color). They could make the decision to offer the PHB at a cheaper "loss-leader" price, but with the fact that gamers and other curious folks buy up the PHB in droves regardless of price point, why should they take that hit, as it probably won't affect sales numbers?

And, we don't know what price point WotC will offer a digital version of the core books at, or even if they will offer digital versions right away. We also don't know if WotC will offer a cheaper PHB down the road (or how far down the road) that might be paperback, black-and-white, or have the page count trimmed. They have done both before, we'll have to wait and see.

A probable $150 for the core three books is certainly a lot of money, and I will probably not be able to simply walk down to the FLGS and purchase the three core books all at once. But I'm not going to complain, I'll just budget and sigh.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Maaaybe in the internet echo chamber, but that's hardly a scientific sample.

I don't know how scientific it is but every edition feels like it needs to 'prove itself' more then the last...

I think they should sell the first print of PHB (and only PHB not MM or DMG) at cost -10% and first print of MM and DMG at cost. they should be small print runs, and the second print runs and on should then be at normal price (although I think $40 is the most)

Imagine PHB 1st run at $24.95 later at $39.99 PDF @ $15
DMG 1st print at $32.95 then later at $39.99 PDF @ $15
MM 1st print at $32.95 then later at $39.99 PDF @ $15

then they could have a gen con exclusive you get all 3 books for $69.99

 

[Jester David]

$50 was the MSRP of the collector's books released the last couple years. And that's the price you pay for most other RPG hardcovers from smaller publishers.
However, the reprints and smaller RPGs likely have tiny print runs. And Paizo still manages to put out $40 hardbacks.

So, unless this is a giant 500-page monstrosity it will feel like a cash grab. If it's under 400-pages I will have to think long and hard about being able to justify the purchase, especially if there's the other books the same price to also purchase.

It might also depend on the content. If this is all the rules to play and optional rules, and the DMG is a big book of optional rules it doesn't hurt the wallet nearly as much. Ditto if there us an SRD with content so you can stagger the purchase of the monster book, if there are no monsters included.
I'd love if this was a 500-page book akin to the Rules Cyclopedia with monsters and DMing rules, making it all you need to play (if only for 5 levels before needing more monsters), with everything else being gravy.

 

[grafikchaos]

So it will be about $29.97 (40% off) on Amazon? Seems fine to me.

If that's the case Mistwell, then I'm in. However, Wizards being, well, Wizards, it wouldn't shock me if they enacted a minimum pricing structure. Not saying it will happen, but it just wouldn't shock me. Forgive my pessimistic attitude. I want in, I really do, but if it's going to be $150 just to buy in as a DM, I'll have to look elsewhere.