D&D (2024) Is the 5E player base going to split?

[Reynard]

This is always an interesting argument.

So, since game books are huge well-springs of entertainment...sometimes literally lasting decades and generations...why do people constantly push for and buy new game books? I mean, I bought a $20 PHB back in 1984 and it's still in good shape. It's perfectly serviceable and the game still plays well enough and I can hack it to my heart's content. So why, since I've already invested in the game, and it's an eternal source of entertainment...why on Earth would I bother buying a newer, more expensive version of the mostly similar game book?

FOMO is real for a lot of people. Also, just because a game is still serviceable and playable doesn't mean you DON'T want to see a new version of it. And for me personally, if I have gotten my money's worth out of one edition and enjoyed it, I feel like chances are the same will be true in the future. And with D&D I have only been wrong once, so...

 

[Parmandur]

Sure. And others don't care about that.

Apparently enough to propel sales.

 

[dave2008]

I feel that way about other stuff (old books, maps, pocketwatches, just not pictures really. I don't like having to pay for fancy art I don't really care about, but it is what it is.

I don't really like paying for fancy words I don't care about either, everyone is different. I could use a D&D that was just technical / mechanical language and art and be fairly happy.

 

[billd91]

Except that $60 back in 1986 was over double what it is today.

It's very weird that it's the absolute dollar amount that is some kind of limit and not the purchasing power of that dollar amount. $60 today is 4 people going to the movies. $60 back in 1986 would have paid for around 15 people to go to the movies. Have parents gotten cheaper about paying for their kids entertainment?

As has been mentioned, there are some effects of competition and economies of scale.
But chances are those parents now are carrying a lot more student loan and mortgage debt than their counterparts in 1986.

 

[Parmandur]

As has been mentioned, there are some effects of competition and economies of scale.
But chances are those parents now are carrying a lot more student loan and mortgage debt than their counterparts in 1986.

Also the games aren't being bought by those parents, but the kids grown up. My parents haven't bought a video game since the Xbox 360 era, I'm sure.

 

[Micah Sweet]

FOMO is real for a lot of people. Also, just because a game is still serviceable and playable doesn't mean you DON'T want to see a new version of it. And for me personally, if I have gotten my money's worth out of one edition and enjoyed it, I feel like chances are the same will be true in the future. And with D&D I have only been wrong once, so...

What does FOMO mean?

 

[aco175]

First of all, weren't the original hardcovers 12.95 or less? Anyhow, $15 in 1978 inflates to over $60 today.

Some of the inflation should have been taken away by productivity. The 1978 computer could not do what we have today. The internet allows file sharing. The speed of printing. A lot of things should make a book cheaper than the inflated cost. Salaries, art, marketing likely offset most of this though. I would like to see the old b&w art inside the book though.

 

[Parmandur]

What does FOMO mean?

Fear of Missing Out. It's yhe psychological model used to sell limited edition sneakers and such. Very present in tabletop gaming spaces.

 

[Reynard]

I don't really like paying for fancy words I don't care about either, everyone is different. I could use a D&D that was just technical / mechanical language and art and be fairly happy.

I desperately want modules that come ina slipcase witha purely technical/utilitarian book separate from the fluffy, arty readable book.

 

[Parmandur]

Some of the inflation should have been taken away by productivity. The 1978 computer could not do what we have today. The internet allows file sharing. The speed of printing. A lot of things should make a book cheaper than the inflated cost. Salaries, art, marketing likely offset most of this though. I would like to see the old b&w art inside the book though.

Actually, my understanding is that printing prices have gone up, because of material changes (different kinds of paper are used now) and labor (particularly for publishers like WotC who print in the U.S.A. with vendors who pay American wages).