So I did read your article. It's a slow Thursday at work before a long weekend and I don't feel like cutting any purchase orders at the moment, plus it's not all that long. I appreciate it. A lot of blogs end up as novellas.
EDIT This is a funny statement considering how long my dumb response ended up being.
The severity of this disruption feels engineered – just different enough to render your old books obsolete, but not different enough to offer a truly revolutionary gameplay experience. This bears an uncanny resemblance to the music industry’s shift from cassettes to CDs, a move widely seen as a cash grab disguised as technological advancement.
This is silly. I'm 31, so I'm just old enough that I got to live through the Cassette, to CD, to MP3, to streaming transition. CDs are so much better. Being able to skip forwards, backwards, start an album over instantly after it ends. Then MP3s were even better still. I could go on, but I won't for brevity.
What's the alternative? If there is a genuine technological advancement, should companies be required by law to continue to support the outgoing tech? If so, for how long? I mean, they still make CDs, I haven't bought one since Weezer's White Album, but I know my girlfriend gets Kpop albums on CD all the time.
Were cars a cash grab? Weren't horses good enough?
Proponents of new editions tout a surge in content creation.
What are you suggesting by this? People defend new editions by saying it makes for content creation? I've never seen that argument, but I guess I see it. New books means new book reviews. It means the Dungeon Dudes can rank the new subclasses, and Ginny D can make a new cosplay for the best one, and then Diversity and Dungeons can make a video being mad at her for being a girl.
There's certainly room to discuss issues around the content mill, and clickbait, and these things.. But I don't think we can blame a new edition for that.
Yes, there’s a flood of new official supplements and third-party products, but is this organic growth or forced consumption? Players who want to continue their adventures are strong-armed into buying a new core rulebook, monster manual, and setting guide.
Come on.. Forced Consumption? Strong-Arming? There's no coercion here. Maybe your group wants to move to a new edition, and you don't and you're upset about that.. But that's a group problem. What if they found a different game? Is that a problem too? Should no other RPGs exist, because people who play D&D might find them and want to play those, forcing their group to change systems?
When 4E came out we jumped ship. We found it wasn't our cup of tea, and went back to 3.5E. No Wizards Gestapo showed up to throw us in the Gulags for not conforming to the edition.
One could argue that new D&D editions, by fracturing the player base, indirectly benefit niche TTRPGs. Disgruntled players, turned off by the changes, might explore alternative systems. However, the constant churn of D&D editions can also discourage players from ever venturing outside the familiar brand, hindering the overall growth of the TTRPG market. New players, confused by the ever-changing D&D landscape, might be less likely to take a chance on a completely different game system.
I really don't even know what you're trying to argue here. Some people may not like the changes, so they'll play other games.. But other people might not like the changes so they won't play other games?
The release of a new D&D edition is a gamble. It has the potential to re-energize the community and introduce new players to the hobby.
This might be one of the only things I agree with here. It is a gamble. WoTC is in a position where growth is slowing, and they need to keep feeding the never satisfied monster that are it's shareholders.
The game is also aging. It's got a lot of cracks, and you can find any number of posts on here, Reddit, FaceBook, or anywhere else talking about the issues with 5E.
This provides an opportunity. In a perfect world the new edition will strike a perfect balance. People currently happy with 5E will find the changes interesting, and meaningful enough to purchase new books, and adopt them into their games. People currently unhappy with 5E will find the changes fix many of their complaints, and adopt 5.5E as their new game of choice. People unfamiliar with the hobby will find 5.5E as a smooth gateway into the hobby and become new players. And then hopefully all this comes together and makes WoTC a boatload of money so Chris Cocks can buy a new yacht incase he gets bored of the other one.
In a perfect world it'll be a symbiotic relationship.
The cash grab is going to be Baldur's Gate 4, made by EA, where you'll be able to use your credit card to buy additional short rests, and unlock new romance options along with a slew of other micro-transactions.
