No Macs? Holy crap did WotC do the math wrong!

[Crazy Jerome]

But I also think that Charles Ryan's original post is being lost in the discussion on this thread. Even though macs have a small share of the total marketshare of all computers in the US, statistically it works out that 50% of groups will have be negatively affected by the decision to not target mac users.

As has also been pointed out, the 50% of all groups number is only correct if one assumes that Mac users are evenly distributed among roleplaying groups, rather than clustered. This is a huge assumption, and would seem to be contra-indicated by all this talk of Macs taking over the universities.

 

[Breschau of Livonia]

Some random thoughts...

My on-hiatus group would be perfect for the digital initiative. We have one player who has moved out of state who would game with us via a combination of webcam/VoIP/IM. It works ok, but a program geared for playing D&D would be ideal. But... I (the DM), use a Mac, he uses a PC.

Does that mean we won't play D&D 4e? No, but... Were such support available on a multiplatform basis, we'd be more likely to play D&D than other games. i.e. it would make D&D more competitive vs. other possible games such as Savage Worlds, Mutants & Masterminds, etc.

 

[Jhaelen]

I didn't read the whole thread, so I'm not sure if it's already been pointed out, but Macs are pretty much completely irrelevant outside of the US.

 

[Kunimatyu]

As has also been pointed out, the 50% of all groups number is only correct if one assumes that Mac users are evenly distributed among roleplaying groups, rather than clustered. This is a huge assumption, and would seem to be contra-indicated by all this talk of Macs taking over the universities.

Isn't this actually a concern, since tons and tons of D&D players get into the game in a college environment, and as such are more likely than the average joe to encounter/be Mac users? Isn't one of the stated DI goals to be able to reconnect with your college gaming group?

Honestly, I'm just surprised WotC didn't realize about the laptop percentages for macs, which become even more significant when you consider that few macs are "locked down" for work purposes, whereas a substantial number of PC laptops are.

That being said, I'm much more excited about the new ruleset -- I still fear that the computer-based content will be eTools 2.0, and the talk of paying for digital miniatures just annoys the heck out of me.

 

[Glyfair]

Honestly, I'm just surprised WotC didn't realize about the laptop percentages for macs, which become even more significant when you consider that few macs are "locked down" for work purposes, whereas a substantial number of PC laptops are.

WotC has stated that they have done market research among their user base. You can choose to guess at the market percentage Macs have among D&D players (at least those likely to use DDI), but as far as I know only WotC has seen the numbers.

Whatever the percentage is, 2% or 50%, WotC has decided that their approach is appropriate for their user base. You can question their research, or even accuse them of lying about the research, but I don't think doing so is going to change their position.

 

[Michael Morris]

Personally I welcome WotC's decision - it opens up a niche I can exploit. I will be writing OGL tools for 4e using Actionscript 3. While admittedly this means the graphics won't be as snazzy - the aps will run on any system that can run a flash 9 player. That's PC, Mac, Linux, multiple PDA's, iPhone and even the Nintendo Wii, xBox 360 and PS3 through their browsers.

 

[JVisgaitis]

This poll does not take into account how many people run more than one OS. How many Mac users also own a PC?

Hi Scott, this wasn't actually a poll. These are the statistics of the visitors that come to our company website, The Inner Circle. Being only a company site for d20, I think its safe to say that 99% of the people that visit our website are either d20 players or interested in RPGs. We track all of the visitors that come to our website using Google Analytics and that is what I used to compile this data.

As someone else mentioned, this certainly isn't a metric of the entire D&D audience and we only represent a tiny slice. Our site averages around 5,000 visitors a month although we have dropped off significantly in the past several months because of a lack of updates. Of these numbers, I really can't tell you how many people also have PCs or which of the computers (if they do have both OS's) they would rather use for the Digital Initiative. The fact that 1/4 of the people that visit our site are using a Mac is somewhat telling IMO though.

Admittedly, this is far less then perfect, but it is at least something to go from.

 

[cthulhu_duck]

This poll does not take into account how many people run more than one OS. How many Mac users also own a PC?

I would imagine that most of those people who run more than one OS are Mac and Linux users who also run windows - but only when they must.

I'm a Mac user. I've used virtual PC in the past - and even with the new technologies, I'd prefer to stay in the Mac OS and only have to use Windows software if I absolutely have to e.g. if I don't and there's another option like Maptool, I'll use that instead.

Of the Mac users I know personally, I'm the only one who also owns a PC. It's around 8 years old and is running Windows 2000. It also never gets connected to the Internet.

I don't have a new Intel based Mac. I'm not planning on buying a new computer (probably a Mac) until 2009.

So, come this time next year, I won't be checking out the DDI. As the only member of my group vaguely interested in 4E, this is disappointing.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

So, come this time next year, I won't be checking out the DDI. As the only member of my group vaguely interested in 4E, this is disappointing.

I will be checking DDI out, only to see if there is a payment level that excludes using a client app. If there is, meaning there would be just a browser-based level, then I'm probably all over it credit card in hand.

 

[Imp]

Personally I welcome WotC's decision - it opens up a niche I can exploit. I will be writing OGL tools for 4e using Actionscript 3. While admittedly this means the graphics won't be as snazzy - the aps will run on any system that can run a flash 9 player. That's PC, Mac, Linux, multiple PDA's, iPhone and even the Nintendo Wii, xBox 360 and PS3 through their browsers.

Dude! That's what I'm talkin' about.

I welcome your welcoming of WotC's decision. May all niches be exploited!