D&D 5E Reasons Why My Interest in 5e is Waning

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I've decided to stop worrying about WotC's release schedule. I'll just skip 2015 entirely and come back in 2016 to see if there's anything interesting on the horizon.

I don't see much point in worrying about it. If you are having fun with 5e I'd say worry about the game you are playing with it. If you aren't having fun there are many options out there to fit ones needs better.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Again, that's not the whole of the story. WotC printed the 3E Core Rulebooks at a loss and sold them below cost because they were more than making up for it with sales of M:tG; trying to grow the D&D market over the long-term was something that the then-heads of WotC felt very strongly about. However, Hasbro put a stop to that strategy when it split the D&D and Magic divisions of WotC into different areas of responsibility. With D&D no longer being supported by Magic, then they had to kick-start a new "edition" in order to make up the difference - it had nothing to do with sales suddenly worsening.

And, in the 4e->5e interregnum, Hasbro changed policies, again, and started counting WotC as a single unit. So WotC's leadership (or not) in the ~15 million RPG market is really not that significant to the bottom line compared to leadership of the 450 million CCG market. And, I'm sure WotC is still looking enviously at the 11 billion MMO market.

No matter how passionate we may be about our little hobby, it's just not that significant to a big company, or even a medium sized one. It's small businesses, like Paizo and privately owned hobby shops - or individuals launching kickstarters - who care about the kind of revenue stream (trickle? capillary?) TTRPGs represent.

 

[Alzrius]

And, in the 4e->5e interregnum, Hasbro changed policies, again, and started counting WotC as a single unit.

Now that's something I hadn't heard; certainly, it would explain some things. Can you cite more information on this?

 

[Shasarak]

If that's true, then why bother with supplements at all? Just bang out a new core set every 3-5 years and save your cash.

Because the Core is never complete.

 

[Kramodlog]

You're still thinking of WotC as "a publisher who sells D&D books".

In reality, it's closer to "the owners of the D&D IP, who will make their money off of novels, board games, video games, and movies, and who maintain a token pen-and-paper RPG line the sales of which they are mostly indifferent to after the core books have made a profit."

More like I'm not convinced that ignoring the RPG is a profitable endeavor that will ensure the survivability of the brand.

 

[Fildrigar]

More like I'm not convinced that ignoring the RPG is a profitable endeavor that will ensure the survivability of the brand.

But coming in here and going on and on and on about it will? Do you really think all of the complaining will suddenly result in the outcome you want? All that the complaining is doing is making the atmosphere here unwelcoming.

Newsflash: Wizards doesn't care about forum complaints.

 

[Manchu]

More like I'm not convinced that ignoring the RPG is a profitable endeavor that will ensure the survivability of the brand.

Brand consciousness is an issue of the widest demographic. If anything, the successful debut of 5E after two years of D&D being effectively OOP demonstrates the brand is well-established. (Arguably, WotC waited for the anniversary year to synergize their marketing with press coverage.) What 5E does even at this very minimal release level is maintain market presence so that the widest demographic keeps referring to RPGs generally as D&D just like people call a tissue a kleenex. The every-edition D&D nuts (us) are pretty much left out of this picture. Only smaller, RPG-focused companies care about us as a demographic.

 

[Kramodlog]

But coming in here and going on and on and on about it will? Do you really think all of the complaining will suddenly result in the outcome you want? All that the complaining is doing is making the atmosphere here unwelcoming.

Newsflash: Wizards doesn't care about forum complaints.

Heh. Of course WotC cares what the community thinks. An example of this is how they changed Magic Missile in 4e after enough people said they were disatisfied with it. Heck, the whole Essential line is a result of community disatisfaction. Another example is Mearls trying, and falling, to explain the cancellation of the splatbook.

WotC listens. Unfortunately it doesn't mean they make the right decisions with the info from the public.

If you do not like it, no one is forcing you to come here.

 

[Shasarak]

More like I'm not convinced that ignoring the RPG is a profitable endeavor that will ensure the survivability of the brand.

I agree. How much money is WotC expecting to make by licensing DnD lunchboxes?

 

[Kramodlog]

If anything, the successful debut of 5E after two years of D&D being effectively OOP demonstrates the brand is well-established.

Was it a successful launch? What metric do we have that says this? Amazon and ICv2 have limits. What where WotC/Hasbro'S targets and have they been met? The cancellation of the splatbook and the firing of two editors that worked directly on the RPG can be used to argue the opposite of success or a mixed success. The fact that we do not know if more books are coming out after PotA might mean they are waiting see how it does before announcing other books. If it was a success, would they need to wait? We could just have one book out this year.

As for brand consciousness, well, even if people know what D&D is, that doesn't mean they can get a steady stream of money from licensed products. Of course, time will tell.