NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 7674137" data-attributes="member: 59082">I think this is exactly right. There is no reason that D&D the TTRPG couldn't be better supported AND successful in this day and age (at least until the "Virtualapocalypse" that spinozajack was talking about) - I think Paizo has proven that with Pathfinder. Now of course Paizo might eventually face the problem of glut, but they've been churning out product for six or seven years now and seem to be doing just fine, with little sign of impending collapse or need to reboot.It really comes down to prioritization. WotC seems to have marginalized D&D the TTRPG in favor of D&D the brand, perhaps partially due to the impending Virtualapocalypse ("Baby Singularity?"). They still seemingly follow the corporate bottom line of profit margin, whereas a smaller company dedicated to the TTRPG itself would be able to balance that for love of the game itself.But as long as Hasbro sees value in the D&D brand then they won't relinquish it to a smaller company. Depends by what you mean "as good." As realistic and pleasing to a large number of people? Then I agree. But I think the difference is not unlike that of a synthesizer vs. a violin, or a mp3 vs. a vinyl record. For those with the "ears to hear" there will always be a difference, one that is organic vs. synthetic, imaginative vs. simulative, etc. The difference will become increasingly subtle, but it will linger for as long as there are people who remember the more organic version, if nothing else as a felt-sense.That said, I agree with you that VR will mark the end of D&D as a major recreational activity, for young people at least. After the boom of the late 70s to mid-80s, coupled with the inevitable decline of the fad spike, video games already turned it into a niche hobby and the RPG industry and community has been in denial ever since. But VR is going to turn it into an "ultra-niche" market, like model railroad or stamp collecting or Big Band music, where mainly only older folks are playing, with a slow trickling in of a few young throwbacks. It kind of saddens me, to be honest, but I see it as inevitable...impermanence is the way of things.I'm not a luddite or opposed to technological advancement, but increasingly I think we have to ask ourselves what is lost in our virtual worlds, whether it is social media, video games, or full-blown virtual reality. I mean, if hyper-realistic VR is a reality then we won't even have to date or have real sex pretty soon - we can all have one night stands with supermodels and actresses (or actors) - heck, we'll even be able to design our ideal VR partner, and best of all they won't push back with their ideas, hopes and dreams (unless we want them to)!Maybe this is too much of a tangent for this thread, so I'll leave it for now, but I think we're in for some turbulent waters, "interesting times" as Confucius said. As our ability to "create our own reality" increases, so too do the potential corresponding dangers of "de-humanization." Again, I am not saying that we shouldn't go on this journey as I think it is intrinsic to human nature to decide what human nature is, to create ourselves, just that we should do so with eyes wide open. We're going to see some wonderful, amazing, but also terrifyingly scary stuff. There are certain "primitive" cultural artifacts and human capacities that I for one don't see as worthy of "upgrading" or replacing, like the human imagination or physical, messy love-making, or the complexities and heartaches of a real relationship. Even if you are correct--which I'm not entirely sure you are, at least not in an absolute sense (e.g. I think we will still see some campaign materials and splats, even if never close to the level of prior editions)--why the need to continually go after people that are hoping for more? If nothing else some people are mourning the fact that the old approach to D&D is ending. On a related note, I've seen very few people that are actually wanting a return to the gluttonous days of 2E to 4E. I for one have been outspoken about wishing we'd see more one-shot adventures, campaign supplements, and various tools, but I'm perfectly happy never to see another "Complete" series or the countless mounds of product that we've seen in editions past.  But the bottom line is that many people are disappointed in the lack of product and still hoping for more. If they (we) want to hope, why do you care? Why do you feel the need to wake us up to the cold, hard truth of reality (as you see it)? To put it another way, why do you care how people want to spend their money?I do realize that there are extremes, and I for one don't understand why people "need" endless splats. But those are extremes. Most people that I've seen, including myself, are more moderate in their desires.</blockquote>

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