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<blockquote data-quote="RyanD" data-source="post: 3294042" data-attributes="member: 3312">Basic D&amp;D as a product was always a good seller for TSR, but after its initial peak, it never represented a competitor to AD&amp;D in terms of unit sales -- just comparing sales of the PHB to the various D&amp;D products, the AD&amp;D PHB consistently outsold them.&nbsp; Sales of D&amp;D products tended downward and by the mid 1990s, they were unimportant in the grand scheme of TSR's sales.&nbsp; Even the D&amp;D Cyclopedia was never a great unit volume driver.We had a theory that the &quot;D&amp;D&quot; products were often bought as gifts for someone who wanted AD&amp;D products.&nbsp; The idea that &quot;D&amp;D&quot; and &quot;AD&amp;D&quot; were really two different games was just beyond anything that made sense to the larger market.&nbsp; I'm certain that a lot of parents/uncles/siblings, etc. bought the &quot;Basic D&amp;D&quot; product believing that it was the introduction product to the &quot;Advanced Dungeons &amp; Dragons Game&quot;.&nbsp; So D&amp;D sales are not an indicator of the success or market interest in &quot;D&amp;D&quot; per se, but are mingled with, and in fact may mostly represent, gift giving activities targeting AD&amp;D players or potential AD&amp;D players.Ryan</blockquote>

[QUOTE="RyanD, post: 3294042, member: 3312"] Basic D&D as a product was always a good seller for TSR, but after its initial peak, it never represented a competitor to AD&D in terms of unit sales -- just comparing sales of the PHB to the various D&D products, the AD&D PHB consistently outsold them. Sales of D&D products tended downward and by the mid 1990s, they were unimportant in the grand scheme of TSR's sales. Even the D&D Cyclopedia was never a great unit volume driver. We had a theory that the "D&D" products were often bought as gifts for someone who wanted AD&D products. The idea that "D&D" and "AD&D" were really two different games was just beyond anything that made sense to the larger market. I'm certain that a lot of parents/uncles/siblings, etc. bought the "Basic D&D" product believing that it was the introduction product to the "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Game". So D&D sales are not an indicator of the success or market interest in "D&D" per se, but are mingled with, and in fact may mostly represent, gift giving activities targeting AD&D players or potential AD&D players. Ryan [/QUOTE]

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