D&D 5E Is DnD next chasing a pipedream?

[damngravity]

Wizards seems to be trying to make DnD Next attractive to Pathfinder players but all the PF players I know either don't know about DnDnext and/or don't care. They are happy with PF and are not going to switch. So what is the purposes of making a game that your target group won't play and which some of your current customers don't like. Wizards is making DnD Next like 3.5 and PF but we already have those. It just seems so pointless.

 

[MortalPlague]

Wizards seems to be trying to make DnD Next attractive to Pathfinder players but all the PF players I know either don't know about DnDnext and/or don't care.

We're still a year and a half or so from the eventual release of D&D Next. I'm sure the big media blitz won't get going for at least another year, maybe longer. So the fact that some of the PF players haven't heard of it yet isn't too surprising.

On top of that, we're still a long way from a look at what will be the final product. When the game is polished and shiny, then we'll see if PF players take notice.

 

[Ratskinner]

Wizards seems to be trying to make DnD Next attractive to Pathfinder players but all the PF players I know either don't know about DnDnext and/or don't care.

Statements like this always kinda confuse me. Of course they are trying to make it appeal to PF players. They're trying to make it appeal to anyone who might be into it.

They are happy with PF and are not going to switch. So what is the purposes of making a game that your target group won't play and which some of your current customers don't like.

IME, people's home gaming lives are far less caring about system than we seem to be on the internet. (Still an issue, but there is much less crusading and planting of feet.) The biggest draw for a fantasy tabletop game is the power of network externalities. That is, you get far more value from a game which everyone around you is playing (or willing to play.) I know that there are places where Pathfinder has taken that mantle of THE Game from D&D (I live in one.) However, I suspect that D&D still has the cachet to retake that spot...if the new edition can appeal to all those gamers enough to (re)create a larger value through those externalities (allowing folks of differing edition to game together).

Wizards is making DnD Next like 3.5 and PF but we already have those. It just seems so pointless.

I must say, as someone who is relatively edition-agnostic, I don't find Next to be particularly like 3.5, nor particularly like 4e, and not particularly like AD&D, or even BECMI. (It is, of course, closer to any of those than say...FATE.) I find it a very nice (if rough around the edges, yet) middle ground.

 

[Animal]

damngrafity, you could say that Pathfinder was also pointless because we already had 3.5. But i personally switched to PF when a friend of mine introduced it to me. Same way reasonable gamers will be interested in D&DN if it proves to be an improvement over previous editions or just a cool game in its own right.

 

[DEFCON 1]

People buy games.

Thus, you make games you hope people will buy.

 

[delericho]

People buy games.

Thus, you make games you hope people will buy.

Exactly. The only other options are to make games you don't expect people to buy, or simply to not make games. I doubt either makes for a viable business plan.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Exactly. The only other options are to make games you don't expect people to buy, or simply to not make games. I doubt either makes for a viable business plan.

Actually... I'd imagine there'd be a lot of people out there who'd say that NOT publishing roleplaying games is indeed the most viable business plan.

 

[VinylTap]

DnD next is going to be a huge hit on launch, with or without the support of this forum. Its a big name, and its a forward-thinking easy-to-play house hold brand that has a history of big launches. The details of the game, and what it means for the meta-game of DND is of little importance-- as far as launch goes.

If WOTC play their cards right they'll turn a big launch into a continually growing user base of new players and support an active/creative core of base of hardcore players-- much like paizo has done with their game. The game will live or die by its product support, not by its launch, imo.

If they pull similar stunts to what they did with 4th (half arsed web support etc) then it will probably go about as well for them as 4th did.

 

[Bluenose]

Wizards seems to be trying to make DnD Next attractive to Pathfinder players

Well there's your error. They're trying to make it attractive to D&D fans. All versions thereof.

 

[amerigoV]

At some point PF will get old, moldy and bogged down under its own weight. We shall see how the fanboys react when Pathfinder 2.0 comes out. That is when D&D will win them back. (or not - I like to cover my bases when I make a predication).