D&D 5E Light release schedule: More harm than good?

[guachi]

Twenty-five years ago TSR would publish upcoming releases in Dragon magazine. Given the long lead time for releases I'd say that if a product isn't mentioned as coming out in the next 3-6 months it's because there is nothing that is going to be released in the next 3-6 months.

I'm having fun running old stuff with 5e but I doubt I'll have fun running anything actually produced for 5e outside the Starter Set (and LMoP is really fun) in the next year or two.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

New adventure path and some odds and sods. That's 2015 done. We may not know everything, but, we do know that the Elemental Princes thing is coming soon. What more are you expecting?

For a whole year? Is the fact that I'm expecting slightly more than a couple of adventures so hard to believe?

 

[weldon]

I would say they are wasting their time in this case then. Focusing on the MMO isn't really going to bring in any more people of a significant number than of they just let the MMO run it's own course and let people drift over if they want to.

That's a little cynical for me. The only way to really know if a coordinated cross-media event helps the RPG and the other properties is to try it. You have a right to be skeptical, but I appreciate that they are trying something new.

 

[Jester David]

I would say they are wasting their time in this case then. Focusing on the MMO isn't really going to bring in any more people of a significant number than of they just let the MMO run it's own course and let people drift over if they want to.

Maybe. Maybe not.
Coordinating everything across their lines is a valid strategy. If someone likes one of the stories and wants to see more they have more avenues to get to the content.
And, really, it doesn't hurt.

Really, it's nothing new. They were doing this with the Rise of the Underdark storyline at the end of 4e, only with D&D Online. This is the fourth or fifth storyline they've tried, they've just expanded beyond a couple products and a season of Encounters. Before they were kinda non-events if you didn't play Encounters. And they couldn't get as epic with the level limit. So WotC is basically taking their planned release schedule of bi-annual events and making those key to all licenced products.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Maybe. Maybe not.
Coordinating everything across their lines is a valid strategy. If someone likes one of the stories and wants to see more they have more avenues to get to the content.
And, really, it doesn't hurt.

It's what Star Wars did with "Shadows of the Empire" IIRC. I think it was successful, at least from a commercial point of view.

 

[Sailor Moon]

That's a little cynical for me. The only way to really know if a coordinated cross-media event helps the RPG and the other properties is to try it. You have a right to be skeptical, but I appreciate that they are trying something new.

It's actually something they've tried before with DDO. I could understand if the MMO was a blockbuster hit WoW but it's not. I feel like WoTc are trying to do too many things at one time to the point where there is a feeling of everything being incomplete.

They need to focus on their strengths.

 

[Parmandur]

The MMO is not great shakes, by most accounts, but is where the money is at; why wouldn't they develop it further? Now they have the single player, with a dash of limited co-op, game on the way. They'll likely tie that in, too.

You yourself point out that they have tried it before. Maybe it made them a lot of money, so they are going further. That would be a good bet, given their current game plan...

 

[Sailor Moon]

The MMO is not great shakes, by most accounts, but is where the money is at; why wouldn't they develop it further? Now they have the single player, with a dash of limited co-op, game on the way. They'll likely tie that in, too.

You yourself point out that they have tried it before. Maybe it made them a lot of money, so they are going further. That would be a good bet, given their current game plan...

But if it comes at the cost of focus on the table top game then I don't want it. WoTc does not have a good track record of being able to juggle multiple things at once.

 

[Nellisir]

Speculation aside, WotC is on the verge of losing my attention, possibly for good. I increasingly just don't care. They've given me nothing to care about.

5e -is- a good system for expansion and tweaking and customizing; if WotC's plan is to ignore all that and have their RPG designers making plushies and MMO's (which I don't actually believe, btw), then I don't care about WotC. I'm not in the market for MASSIVE CAMPAIGN ADVENTURE PATHS, so if that's all they've got, then 5e is a bust as far as I'm concerned. And that's disappointing.

 

[weldon]

WoTc does not have a good track record of being able to juggle multiple things at once.

Then it would follow that they should have a light release schedule, right?