The market dying?

[eyebeams]

For many people this is not a secret. There are large numbers of people who play OOP RPGs -- they never bothered to 'upgrade' out of AD&D 1e, RC D&D, Runequest 2e, or whatever.

I'll go further and say that there is now a significant group who roleplay with no rules whatsoever, usually on MUDs or fora. They use GM moderation and the "rules" of whatever book/comic/anime world they're playing in. There's no Harry Potter RPG, but a huge Potter roleplaying community.

 

[mearls]

So, if Mearls had come in gushing with love for how well the brand was doing, would people have treated THAT as an honest accounting?

God, I can't even begin to imagine what would happen. "Things are fine" was incendiary enough.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

As Akrasia has noted, D&D is far from its glory days, even while it is not yet taken to its sick bed.

Um...what?!

Does anyone not remember that D&D 3e has been doing the BEST of any edition? Not only that, but last year(2004) was the best year for D&D ever! And we're far from the glory days? Things have been declining since '82?!

I'm sorry but...what the hell?!

Those don't mesh at ALL.

But wait! I forgot! WotC was the one who told us how great last year was! We can't trust them, nooo! So, obviously, they're lying to us and we can't believe them at all. Yes, decline. Of course. Far from our glory days. Yep.

 

[eyebeams]

Um...what?!

Does anyone not remember that D&D 3e has been doing the BEST of any edition? Not only that, but last year(2004) was the best year for D&D ever! And we're far from the glory days? Things have been declining since '82?!

I'm sorry but...what the hell?!

Those don't mesh at ALL.

That must explain the thriving D&D toy line, cartoon and all the commercials you see for D&D on TV these days.

 

[Akrasia]

Um...what?!

Does anyone not remember that D&D 3e has been doing the BEST of any edition? Not only that, but last year(2004) was the best year for D&D ever! And we're far from the glory days? Things have been declining since '82?!

I'm sorry but...what the hell?!

Those don't mesh at ALL.

But wait! I forgot! WotC was the one who told us how great last year was! We can't trust them, nooo! So, obviously, they're lying to us and we can't believe them at all. Yes, decline. Of course. Far from our glory days. Yep.

It's not a case of 'lying'. The data from the 1980s is pretty sketchy. There are estimates that 4-5 million people were playing RPGs in the early-mid 1980s. There is no way that WotC would claim that that many people are playing D&D now.

It seems obvious that the high point of RPGs was the early-mid 1980s. That is not incompatible with WotC claiming that, based on reliable data that they have, last year was the 'best' year for D&D. But that's just because the data from the 1980s is so sketchy.

 

[Numion]

That must explain the thriving D&D toy line, cartoon and all the commercials you see for D&D on TV these days.

Well there are two movies, however bad they are, but the cartoon wasn't a winner exactly, either

I'd think that the sales of the core books are a better indicator of the games 'health' than the D&D Monopoly games and toy lines. In that regard, wasn't 3E more succesful than any other edition?

Anyhoo, this, right now, is a great time to be a D&D player! There are more great products than ever on the market (Shackled City, WLD, Necromancer Games adventures), more coming up, EN world is as nice as ever, my new campaign is picking up soon .. if this is the decline, bring it on.

 

[JoeGKushner]

That must explain the thriving D&D toy line, cartoon and all the commercials you see for D&D on TV these days.

Do novels count?

D&D miniatures?

Computer games?

Console games?

Movies in the theater and DVD?

Official soundtracks?

 

[Turjan]

It's not a case of 'lying'. The data from the 1980s is pretty sketchy. There are estimates that 4-5 million people were playing RPGs in the early-mid 1980s. There is no way that WotC would claim that that many people are playing D&D now.

That's right. They're claiming 6 million .

 

[Akrasia]

That's right. They're claiming 6 million .

I assume that you're joking, right? The estimates I've heard range around 1.7 million.

 

[eyebeams]

Do novels count?

D&D miniatures?

Computer games?

Console games?

Movies in the theater and DVD?

Official soundtracks?

Would you believe that there's a precise answer for this?

Computer games, console games and films don't count. WotC no longer has software licensing rights and never had film rights (TSR sold those).

Miniatures apparently don't figure into the "best year ever," claim, according to Charles Ryan. That leaves books, some of which do extraordinarily well.