NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="sunshadow21" data-source="post: 6565552" data-attributes="member: 6667193">That used to be the case, but Paizo has really stepped up and is already changing that, though a full change will take a bit more time. At least for the direct hobby, D&D isn't actually as important as it used to be. Stores rely on Pathfinder sales as much as they do 5E (or 4E when it was out). Increasingly, even when people start playing, even if they still call it D&D, it's actually Pathfinder, and it's Paizo (or some other indy company), not WotC, that is getting the money and the fans and the support. The hobby will not die just because D&D is no longer the lead rpg. If it was going to die, it would have done so after the almost complete collapse of 4E. Instead, what we got was a period of transition that is already showing signs of recovering after the initial loss. Aside from Paizo, there are several companies viable enough to sustain the hobby as it works through the current challenges without any of them truly needing WotC. 5E, for all that it is helpful, has less of an impact on the rpg industry than any of it's predecessors. The limited release of materials is going to ensure that it's not going to have the long term benefits of a known brand name, and that most of any actual income made by it being on the shelf is just as likely to go to someone other than WotC. The fact that so few people make the distinction between D&D and rpgs may in the end help WotC in other markets, but it hurts them in the rpg market when others are putting out more material than they are. People will often start playing "D&D" not caring about what precise company they are supporting until they are already invested in that game, which is very likely not going to be the actual D&D game, at which point, they will be perfectly willing to do what a lot of existing gamers do, which is give their money to someone else while still using the D&D name in a way that doesn't particularly benefit WotC.</blockquote>

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