Proof D&D is in serious decline

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

(So, for edit 1, I wonder why D&D is so much higher? MMO?)

Because it's a brand name with a 40 year history. Pathfinder was introduced at a time when new RPG brands were getting little notice by the public -- I don't recall even Traveller, Runequest or Call of Cthulhu breaking out into the public consciousness back in the day -- and unless you go hunting for information about RPGs (or, now, sites about MMOs, although it's barely a blip there), you're not going to hear about it.

Popular entertainment and news about it have both splintered into a million different directions since the 1970s. It's possible to live your whole life without being aware of who the "biggest" names in pop music are, and listen to a whole bunch of vibrant music in an entirely different genre that the "pop music" folks won't ever have heard of. (The fact that both of your musical tastes will actually sound pretty similar to a third party just underscores the level of fragmentation.)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=world of warcraft, &cmpt=q

http://users.telenet.be/mmodata/Charts/Subs-1.png

I'm pretty sure Google searches are not directly proportional to number of active players.

They're almost certainly suggestive about the future of the brand and industry, though. (The OP's original point.)

 

[Stormonu]

Sorry, I was musing on the big jump between searchs for dungeons and dragons/d&d vs. dungeons and dragons rpg/d&d rpg, not d&d vs. pathfinder.

 

[Ysgarran]

Just playing around with that graph, and some interesting trends:

http://www.google.com/trends/explor..., Pathfinder, d20, Magic the gathering&cmpt=q

As a whole, looks like queries for D&D and D&D-like products are on the decline. Comparatively, looks like M:tG has been on a search decline as well. "Pathfinder" must be picking up a lot of buzz for the non-D&D association (Pathfinder trucks, movie, military group, etc.), or it's been surprisingly a steady searched-for game.

<EDIT> Yeah, ignore the Pathfinder. After some investigation, it looks like it's mostly picking up "nissan Pathfinder" (oddly enough, which I drive).

You can add a -Nissan to get slight more accurate results.