Campbell
Relaxed Intensity
I think it is fairly obvious when you look at the product design, pricing, and design philosophy of Pathfinder 2 that they are not targeting as broad of an audience as 5th Edition. It is definitely designed for a smaller, but more actively engaged audience. I'm not speaking just about mechanics here.
The initial product offerings suggest an audience that is just as invested in the lore of the game. Many classes have direct and detailed connections to the setting lore and fairly early in the life cycle of the new edition we are getting detailed write ups on individual deities with curses and blessings they can provide, organizations that PCs can possibly join, and regions they can come from.
The premium price point, detailed lore, high page counts, and lavish full page spreads of many of these books also suggest a strong collector audience to me. These are some incredibly beautiful books. They definitely want you to think about the game when you are not playing it.
I do not know if it will be successful enough or if there is enough of a market for a game that is meant to engage its audience this deeply. A lot depends on how it actually plays when people have had a chance to actually sit down and play it. If the game proves to be fun enough over the long term the audience should grow. Probably not to 5th Edition levels, but it is not really trying to be that game or compete with Wizards.
Much of the commentary here suggests that they should have tried to compete directly with Wizards. I think that would be a mistake. Paizo has always really excelled at catering to a devoted audience with detailed lore, extremely challenging adventures, and a game that allows you to build the character you want to play. It's their core competency.
I am also not certain that anyone could meaningfully compete with Wizards at what 5th Edition does best - a simple, undemanding game that can be picked up and played just about anywhere. No one else has their reach. Between Magic and Dungeons and Dragons they pretty much own the hobby market. Adventurer's League is tuned perfectly for pick up and play. You can play through fairly simple scenarios in just a couple hours.
Paizo's organized play program has always been more demanding and much of their core audience likes it that way. Pathfinder Society scenarios take about 4-5 hours to play out and are often deeply challenging and lore heavy. The efforts that they have taken to make the game more accessible are already fairly fraught. Fully embracing casual play would mean leaving most of that audience behind.
In summary I'm not sure if they have threaded the needle just right. Making the game more accessible while preserving depth of play, depth of lore, and character customization is deeply difficult. I think they have to try though because a differentiated strategy might work while directly competing with 5e would be certain to fail.
The initial product offerings suggest an audience that is just as invested in the lore of the game. Many classes have direct and detailed connections to the setting lore and fairly early in the life cycle of the new edition we are getting detailed write ups on individual deities with curses and blessings they can provide, organizations that PCs can possibly join, and regions they can come from.
The premium price point, detailed lore, high page counts, and lavish full page spreads of many of these books also suggest a strong collector audience to me. These are some incredibly beautiful books. They definitely want you to think about the game when you are not playing it.
I do not know if it will be successful enough or if there is enough of a market for a game that is meant to engage its audience this deeply. A lot depends on how it actually plays when people have had a chance to actually sit down and play it. If the game proves to be fun enough over the long term the audience should grow. Probably not to 5th Edition levels, but it is not really trying to be that game or compete with Wizards.
Much of the commentary here suggests that they should have tried to compete directly with Wizards. I think that would be a mistake. Paizo has always really excelled at catering to a devoted audience with detailed lore, extremely challenging adventures, and a game that allows you to build the character you want to play. It's their core competency.
I am also not certain that anyone could meaningfully compete with Wizards at what 5th Edition does best - a simple, undemanding game that can be picked up and played just about anywhere. No one else has their reach. Between Magic and Dungeons and Dragons they pretty much own the hobby market. Adventurer's League is tuned perfectly for pick up and play. You can play through fairly simple scenarios in just a couple hours.
Paizo's organized play program has always been more demanding and much of their core audience likes it that way. Pathfinder Society scenarios take about 4-5 hours to play out and are often deeply challenging and lore heavy. The efforts that they have taken to make the game more accessible are already fairly fraught. Fully embracing casual play would mean leaving most of that audience behind.
In summary I'm not sure if they have threaded the needle just right. Making the game more accessible while preserving depth of play, depth of lore, and character customization is deeply difficult. I think they have to try though because a differentiated strategy might work while directly competing with 5e would be certain to fail.
