D&D 5E The cost of D&D 5E (it ain't so bad!)

[SavageCole]

Just an observation ...

Complaining about the MSRP (which nobody is actually paying) for the books (which nobody's actually seen yet) seems to be an American phenomenon.

Is the "Overseas" market unphased by the pricing or disinterested in the product?

 

[Morrus]

Just an observation ...

Complaining about the MSRP (which nobody is actually paying) for the books (which nobody's actually seen yet) seems to be an American phenomenon.

Is the "Overseas" market unphased by the pricing or disinterested in the product?

They always cost tons more over here. The starter set is twice the price, for example. We're used to it.

 

[Cyberen]

As far as I can tell, Basic will cost *at least 3 times* as much on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Shocking !

 

[SavageCole]

It's cool. You still have free healthcare.

As a Call of Cthulhu player, we English speakers look with envy at beautiful CoC materials that German, French, and Spanish publishers produce because players in those markets will pay for them. The argument is that English-speaking gamers (and usually people single out the Americans) are too cheap to pay for quality print materials.

This thread tells me there might be some merit in their argument.

 

[fantasmamore]

Please, don't judge a book by the number of pages or words that it contains. It may have big white spaces on every page, titles with big fonts and full-page illustrations, I actually prefer it this way, ala 4e style. Because every book has only one purpose in this world. To be read. If it's easier to read, it accomplices it's purpose better.
If I think that $150 is a large amount of money for a game? Yes.
If it's comparable to other types of entertainment? No.
If I am willing to pay more for a book printed in the U.S. (which means that - hopefully - the salary of the people that work for it, is a more logic one than the slaves in China)? Yes.
Same thing for the artists and the designers.
Because, you see, when you buy the product of mind labor and artistic creativity, you just can't count the words to see if the price is right. It's not a kg of oranges. The only factor that you should take into account, is the quality.
So, I 'll have to wait and see if the quality justifies the price...

 

[samursus]

I think today's announcement may take a bit of the steam out of this thread

 

[sunshadow21]

The announcement is a good start, only time will tell if they can build on it.

 

[Mistwell]

This is true, and I have seriously misunderstood Mearls when 1-2 years ago he said something like "we're not making a teaser / introductory product but a full-game product with the Basic rules and call it D&D".

I thought he meant that alongside the 3 core books, there was going to be a single book or box which covered the full 20 levels range, so that people owning that product would have been able to play at the same table with those owning the 3 core books. Only that such product was going to be limited in the amount of material: no subclasses, no feats, not every spell and perhaps not even all the classes and races. Something "vertically complete" but "horizontally limited", resulting in maybe a 100-pages or 150-pages book for 1/3 or 1/2 the price.

Maybe I didn't misunderstand the original message, but WotC changed their plans?

This Starter Set is just the usual box which is a teaser of the whole game. I don't think that's wrong at all, and at that price it's absolutely great for newcomers! But it's just not IMO what Mearls said a year ago that they were going to make.

No you were correct...it just wasn't the Starter set he meant...and you even used the right word...Basic.

 

[pickin_grinnin]

I think today's announcement may take a bit of the steam out of this thread

What announcement?

 

[pickin_grinnin]

Sustainability will be the real question though.
<snip>

They still have a solid brand, but I think the assumption that people will flock back to it because it's D&D is going to turn out badly for them; an initial spike and than a 4E like fall off is far more likely. Outside of the remaining core group, it's going to be hard to convince people to drop everything else and return to the D&D fold on a full time basis, and putting that high of a price on not just the core books, but the adventures, and presumably, later products as well, is going to limit those that are willing to pick it up as a part time campaign. The price by itself will not be a killer, but unless it's coupled with a system that has every aspect completely blow it's competition out of the water, something highly unlikely, it's not going to help win back lost supporters and restrengthen the brand, and that is where WotC is going to run into trouble, not the people that plan out trips to Gen Con a year in advance.

Well said.