PHB2 comes in at number 28 on USA Today top 150 list

[I'm A Banana]

Interpretation #6: Six hyper-intelligent squirrels wearing a robe and bearing a series of different masks have, financed by an eccentric millionaire, bought all the copies, aside from the five or ten people who actually like 4e.

Interpretation #7: After a few months with no great D&D product, people who play the game are eager for a new release.

Interpretation #8: Everyone whose internet connection was down bought a copy instead of pirating it.

Interpretation #9: A wizard did it.

Interpretation #10: Penny Arcade's audience are sycophantically following their dorky overlords in picking up a game of D&D.

Interpretation #11: Wacky fundamentalist types bought them for the express purpose of burning them.

Interpretation #12: Weather Balloon.

Speculation is fun and all, but I fail to see how this little datapoint does anything to sway the great Edition Warz one way or the other. It's far too nebulous for the fanboys to claim true victory, or for the haters to claim propaganda. Attempts to appropriate this are maddening, and cases built on it are like building your house on sand -- it's not a foundation that is secure for any real solid speculation.

Just let it friggin' BE already!

 

[Gothmog]

Interpretation 5: Book sales have an initial spike due to a group of hardcore 4e fanboys possessed of their own brand of pro-4e nerd rage which motivates them to go out and buy the books the moment they hit the shelf. That subpopulation aside, the sales quickly drop down after one or two weeks, with little staying power among the normal gaming public.

Of course it's only a possibility, and there's really no way to prove any interpretation without seeing the sales figures that none of us not bound by NDAs have any access too. Very little can be taken from this all, save that the PHB2 in this case sold well its first week relative to the other books in the marketplace.

Methinks the nerdrage is strong in this one.

I know some of the diehard 3e fans are desperately hoping and praying for 4e to fail, but come on...isn't this a little out there? How are the 4e book sales any different than 3e book sales when a new major supplement came out? Right, its not...3e fans went out and bought new 3e books within a week or two of when they were released as well, with an initial spike in sales that drops off after a month or so. Thats not a conspiracy or "pro 4e nerdrage", this pattern of sales is the nature of the beast in the RPG hobby (for any book, not just D&D- ask any gamestore owner or distributer). What is telling is the ranking PHB2 is getting on the USA and NY Times lists- #28 and #4 respectively is VERY impressive for the PHB2, and something 3e never accomplished to my knowledge. In addition, the 4e core 3 books (PHB, MM, and DMG) still have good sales ratings on Amazon even after almost a year, and it tells us 4e is here to stay. That, and the fact that I have seen at least 50 people in my hometown FLGS who had left D&D or never played in the first place playing 4e and having a great time, and most of the local 3e players converting over to 4e with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Heck, I even got three die-hard 3e fans who swore they hated 4e (without having ever played it) to try 4e in my campaign, and now they are both 4e AND 3e fans. Everybody wins!

You also need to remember that in reality, there is no major divide between 3e and 4e fans as a whole. Yes, really- and I've asked people in my FLGS or Barnes & Noble who I've seen looking at 4e or 3e books. The only people aware of this schism are ones that frequent boards like this. And lets be honest....we're not exactly representative of MOST gamers. We are extremists, who really get into our hobby. Most folks who game don't have any idea there are some folks pitching a hissy fit about the existence of 4e (or pro-4e evangelists), and could care less that there are. Most folks are just buying books and playing a game they enjoy, whether they are buying and playing D&D 4e, 3e, Pathfinder, nWoD, Savage Worlds, etc. In the end, it doesn't matter- play what you like, and don't get so worked up over A GAME.

So how about we go with interpretation #6:

4e is selling well despite the downturn in the economy, and while we don't know total unit sales, its high enough to be on several bestseller lists, and is very likely highly profitable for WotC.

(Yeah, I know its not as fun without a conspiracy, but I really don't see THAT many gamers acting as a coherent mass unit to get ANYTHING done. Organizing gamers to do something coherent is like herding cats).

 

[Jack99]

Interpretation 5: Book sales have an initial spike due to a group of hardcore 4e fanboys possessed of their own brand of pro-4e nerd rage which motivates them to go out and buy the books the moment they hit the shelf. That subpopulation aside, the sales quickly drop down after one or two weeks, with little staying power among the normal gaming public.

Of course it's only a possibility, and there's really no way to prove any interpretation without seeing the sales figures that none of us not bound by NDAs have any access too. Very little can be taken from this all, save that the PHB2 in this case sold well its first week relative to the other books in the marketplace.

Methinks the nerdrage is strong in this one.

I know some of the diehard 3e fans are desperately hoping ... (cut to save server place)

XP sent your way, Gothmog. Just because you are right.

 

[ScottS]

(Please note I didn't start the list to make any kind of edition-wars-y point for or against 4e, although I don't personally like the new edition. I was implicitly asking the question, "How could D&D not be getting crushed by the recession?" Would anyone care to address that issue in a non-partisan manner?)

 

[Dannager]

(Please note I didn't start the list to make any kind of edition-wars-y point for or against 4e, although I don't personally like the new edition. I was implicitly asking the question, "How could D&D not be getting crushed by the recession?" Would anyone care to address that issue in a non-partisan manner?)

History demonstrates that when the economy suffers, families cut back on disconnected activities and spend more time at home, engaging in family activities. Board game sales typically have risen during times of economic stress. In addition, D&D is a phenomenally cheap hobby. $60 buys you and five friends countless hours of entertainment. If buying a $300 video game console and $60 video game for each person is made prohibitively expensive, turning to a source of entertainment like D&D can become a really attractive alternative.

D&D is a great hobby to have in a recession.

 

[Nymrohd]

Ninja'd

 

[Bacons]

History demonstrates that when the economy suffers, families cut back on disconnected activities and spend more time at home, engaging in family activities. Board game sales typically have risen during times of economic stress. In addition, D&D is a phenomenally cheap hobby. $60 buys you and five friends countless hours of entertainment. If buying a $300 video game console and $60 video game for each person is made prohibitively expensive, turning to a source of entertainment like D&D can become a really attractive alternative.

And it's worth noting that people still WILL shell out for a console and games in recession time and that, although the video game industry has flagged somewhat, it has done remarkably well compared to other retail sectors. Entertainment is an area in which people will spend up during hard times.

The RPG market can be compared to both the market in board games and in video games more usefully than to the general publishing industry, and these comparisons are hopeful in terms of a sector sustaining itself despite recession.

 

[Hussar]

Just to add to the chorus of "D&D does well in a recession" let's not forget that in 1982, we were facing a pretty serious recession as well. And that's when D&D was at it's height. So, there's certainly a fair bit of history to suggest that our hobby is fairly recession proof as much as anything can be anyway.

 

[Mr. Wilson]

WTB DnD thread that does not devolve into a thread war, pst.

/grats on the book, I bought it and really enjoyed it
//waiting eagerly for the designer's take on Expertise
///slashies r kool

 

[Nikosandros]

I've read the first book in the Twilight series and I've found it boring and poorly written. Therefore, I shall endeavor to post as often as I can that the series has actually been a commercial failure. Anything you read to the contrary is actually a skillful campaign of media manipulation waged by the publisher.