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

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Strangely, I'm on the other side of the fence when it comes to the D&D Insider model. The idea of paying $10/month to access all of the rulebooks, character builder and Dragon & Dungeon articles doesn't seem to appeal to me.

I used to subscribe to both Dragon and Dungeon magazine, which cost more than $10/month, so you think that I would be all over the D&D Insider deal, but for some reason I'm not.

You're not alone in that. I subscribed to both magazines for a long time, and would pick them up again if available in print, but I won't pay a monthly fee for access to online "tools" that I can't retain.

 

[Mistwell]

Because they like to eat, Mistwell.[/I]

Well that is snarky, but not a good answer. They will eat whether they sell it at full retail, or offer a discount. There is room in the wholesale price to discount less than full price, and still cover overhead and a reasonable profit margin.

 

[Warunsun]

Just for history's sake I will point out that BECMI came after AD&D. The three core rulebook setup was established for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons in the very late 1970's. B/X Basic D&D came out originally in 1981 then was updated/re-released starting in 1983 as BECMI. The older model for today's D&D (AD&D) was the 3 rulebook one. The boxed set version was actually the newer model that eventually was abandoned. While the Original D&D did come in a box those three booklets aren't what you would consider a boxed set today.

Good Gaming.

 

[DMZ2112]

Well that is snarky, but not a good answer. They will eat whether they sell it at full retail, or offer a discount. There is room in the wholesale price to discount less than full price, and still cover overhead and a reasonable profit margin.

I'd say you were the one being snarky. This is a real problem for the hobby, whether you acknowledge it or not.

 

[sunshadow21]

It really depends on what's in the book, and what plans they have for other books. If they go the PF route, and include all the info that both DMs and players need into the PHB and/or the Monster Manuel, it's not as big of a deal than if they stick with the standard breakdown of information. Even with a PF style book, though, that's a lot of money for everyone sitting on the fence about the new edition, and that's where WotC may be overplaying their hand unless the starter set is really good (I'll believe it when I see it, given their history with such things) and/or they offer pdfs at a substantially lower price. Expecting people to pay an ongoing subscription like DDI or $50 for a game they aren't fully devoted to playing as their primary game is going to be a really hard sell, and they already have a bit of a challenge in selling this edition given that it has to fit within and compete with 4 other formal editions, not to mention the subeditions (like 3.5 and Essentials), and that's not even taking into account all the other competition out there. It's not a lot of money in and of itself, but they really have to hit this edition out of the park to get people off the fence and willing to pay that much and play it long enough to get those same people to make future purchases. I have no doubt that the initial sales will be high regardless of the price, but sustaining those sales is going to be tough at that price point in the current market unless the initial reviews are really, really good. There's simply too many other games, table top or video, that can give similar value for the same amount of money. The brand will help initially, but if the actual game is still only average or anywhere close to average, it's going to be a tough sell to sustain it.

 

[sunshadow21]

Double Post. My computer is not liking Enworld today.

 

[Mistwell]

I'd say you were the one being snarky. This is a real problem for the hobby, whether you acknowledge it or not.

What was snarky about me saying that there is room in the $50 for a game store to discount the product?

And which problem, people being snarky on the internet, or game stores being unable to discount books? I know successful game stores that do discount books. In fact, the most successful ones I know of all discount books. So, are you saying it's snarky for me to point that fact out? What exactly do you mean by that?

 

[DMZ2112]

What was snarky about me saying that there is room in the $50 for a game store to discount the product?

I retract. I'm under the weather and my indignation outpaced my logic. You're right, of course. The issue that threatens FLGSes is not that they are incapable of discounting, but rather that no matter how much they discount, they can't undercut online retailers.

 

[Mistwell]

I retract. I'm under the weather and my indignation outpaced my logic. You're right, of course. The issue that threatens FLGSes is not that they are incapable of discounting, but rather that no matter how much they discount, they can't undercut online retailers.

True. But at least for me, they don't have to undercut the online stores, they just need to make me feel like my continual patronage of their store is rewarded with a fair discount (10%-15% off for regular customers).

 

[mach1.9pants]

They just need to make me feel like I don't need to drive 5 or so hours to get there