Is the d20 market completely saturated?

[Mark]

Jeez, what is it with my threads and necromancy? Odd.

Anyway, to answer your question, Mark, to a degree, yes.

I think there are tons of products on the market, and in the past two years, we've seen some publishers fall out of the marketplace.

That said, I think there are gems out there. You just have to weed through the average stuff to find them.

I normally don't revive old threads, unless they have polls or are long on advice, but I thought it humorous that someone who had such feelings was still around and as excited as ever when he posts.

I think CZHorse says it best. I, too, like the game I play most to have nearly endless amounts of support. I guess it is never a matter of how much is on the market as it is how much of use is on the market.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I'd say that 'standard' splat books are fairly well saturdated.

However, that doesn't mean that innovative ones aren't coming out all the time.

Last year, when we had far more d20 publishers, Poisoncraft by Blue Devil Games surprised me with how cool it was.

Arcana Evolved is a nice 2nd edition of Arcana Unearthed and I hear it's sourcebooks are solid.

Thieves World, a setting, is coming out. Settings, if interesting done, will always pass the bloat if word of mouth is out there.

Some 3.5 updates, like the Monsternomicon, are still coming down the pipeline and pretty much anything Privatter puts outs, I'll check out at the very least (still digesting the World Guide.)

 

[JoeGKushner]

Rassin frassin thread necromancy...

Well, in the last two (two!) years, I have shifted my buying habits to pdfs, and there are less print products, or so it seems.

But will the pendulum swing...

Is that a matter of price or convience?

 

[WizarDru]

I'd say that 'standard' splat books are fairly well saturdated.

However, that doesn't mean that innovative ones aren't coming out all the time.

I originally felt that way when the 'Races' books came out, but then broke down and got one and realized that I liked them much, much more than I expected I would. The format and emphasis changes have been excellent.

What I wonder, personally, is if there is still any market for adventures of any type, in any format? The last print adventure I saw (other than the Eberron modules) was Slave Lords of Cydonia, arguably more sourcebook than module.

 

[der_kluge]

I normally don't revive old threads, unless they have polls or are long on advice, but I thought it humorous that someone who had such feelings was still around and as excited as ever when he posts.

I think CZHorse says it best. I, too, like the game I play most to have nearly endless amounts of support. I guess it is never a matter of how much is on the market as it is how much of use is on the market.

Actually, nowadays I find myself looking for rules independent books - idea books, that I can use regardless of system. So, for me at least, new "d20" books aren't as a big a deal for me anymore. I'm more likely to anticipate the next HARP release as I am something from a d20 source.

 

[swrushing]

Excuse me while I wax philosophic here, but as a player, and a sometimes DM, there's really not much left for me to purchase that would extensively add a huge amount of value to the game.

Ok, maybe your hyperbole is broader than mine, but i for one would like to know what you have purchased before now that did "extensively add a huge amount of value to the game."

I mean, to be frank, i doubt that i have ever used more than 25% of any rpg supplement i have purchased ever, and i normally consider "i got 1-2 ideas and maybe 1-2 sessions worth of miscellaney otherwise" as DAMG GOOD for an RPG supplement, any RPG supplement, and i buy lots.

 

[diaglo]

Thoughts?

i've seen some companies come and go. i've seen some merge with others to conserve resources. i've seen some try to bring old games into the market as new.

give it time.

 

[The_Universe]

As long as I have money in my pocket that I'm itching to spend on D20 books and accessories, the market's not saturated. Really, as long as there's ANYBODY who's still willing to spend money on new products, the market's not saturated.

There's definitely still stuff I want to see in print, and every once in a while something comes along that I have never even thought about that I end up wanting - there's a long way to market saturation in a game based on imagination. I don't think we're even close.

 

[Henry]

In the time since I wrote my previous post in this thread, I've purchased:

Mutants and Masterminds
SpyCraft & Arms & Armor Guide
Arcana Unearthed
Diamond Throne & GM's Screen
Testament
Expanded Psionics Handbook
Eberron Campaign Setting
Monster Manual 3
Sharn, City of Towers
Lone Wolf Campaign Setting
Arcana Evolved
Grim Tales
Castles & Crusades
Black Company Campaign Setting
Races of Eberron

And about a dozen PDF's.

Of all those, I still own all but two - I dropped Testament because I will never use it, and Races of Eberron because I found its information redundant.

One thing I noticed - I've been buying products more for being whole complete systems, than being supplements. (I count Eberron and the XPH as "complete systems" because of the volume of info). I also didn't buy one hundredth of what's been released. It pretty much sticks to what I said two years ago: I'll buy the products that stand out to me, but not a lot in the way of "variant prestige classes, spells, etc." It's saturated, but not in the way some people mean the term.

 

[Breakdaddy]

Excuse me while I wax philosophic here, but as a player, and a sometimes DM, there's really not much left for me to purchase that would extensively add a huge amount of value to the game. I mean, there are tons of splat books, tons of monster books, plenty of modules, campaign settings, and a host of other great products out there, that already add a lot to my game.

Do others see as I do, that the d20 market is saturated with product, and the margins are continuing to shrink down as fans reach a point to where more books add less and less to their already diverse game?

Thoughts?

iawtp. Well, mostly. There *are* what I would consider exceptional products worthy of my attention, but they are becoming a rare commodity indeed in recent months. Whats worse, sorting through all the chaff to find the finest grains of wheat has become a tedium which I try to avoid with time being a factor as much as laziness.