So you agree this boxed set is geared towards people who have played D&D, and not necessarily towards new blood. If so then maybe it should be judged on the merits of whether it will convince current players and lapsed players to dish out for it?
It's not an "either or" argument. It's both. It's geared towards new players with elements that are attractive to old hats as well.
Which is great as long as they have internet access, a netbook or computer along with the game... but not much of an argument for the product that is actually being sold... (I'm also wondering that since this set doesn't appear to have full PC creation rules... how feasible is using the character generator to advance the characters you can create with this set.)
My guess is they are assuming most of their current customers will have some form of internet access. Just as most video game manufacturers these days seem to assume we have the console hooked up to the net.
If you check out D&D Insider you get a free level to play. A bonus and just a little taste of what "insiders" get. Same way they market video games with talk about online content.
It's the way of the world these days.
Since they talk about going directly from this boxed set into the other essentials products, I'm sure the CB will integrate just fine.
Well the "Black Dragon" 3.5 set came with painted minis, numerous reversible tiles (not a poster map), dice, pre-gens, character creation rules, an adventure, rules for 3 levels, monster cards, and so on... if anything this seems like a stepback as opposed to a step forward in basic set design.
It was also more expensive.
Do we know if it worked well to bring in new gamers?
How well did it tie in with the existing game? IE was there an easy way to go from this into the full game?
With this red-box it's tied into their essentials line, so you also have to factor that into the product. This plus essentials makes it easy, and the path clear to new players.
Again, I feel that the one thing WotC won't experiment with is expanding the levels of play to give these basic/starter sets more re-play value. I mean allthe cool gidgets and gadgets in the world don't make a good rpg game...
Sure, but they're part of the game, so not having everything you need to play when you get a starter set would be a real turn off for a lot of potential players, and the person purchasing the product for them. "Batteries not included?!?!?!"
All those things add cost though.
With this product, all you need to do is give them a low cost (all things considered) entry into the game.
20 bux to start. Then if you enjoy the experience, you move on to either the players essentials, or the dm essentials depending on what you want to do.
Again you have to remember this red-box isn't a stand alone product. It's part of a larger scale plan for easing entry into the hobby.
With the previous begginer set, it felt like 'Hey wanna try D&D here's an intro... like it? Buy the real game!"
With the new set + essentials it's more like like it? Here's how to continue into the game.
only a good DM with a good adventure and players can do that... It is my oppinion that 2 levels really isn't enough (in the modern incarnation(s) of D&D) to give the average brand new DM or Players a chance to get over their growing pains with the game and get into a rhythm with the game. Again, all IMO.
Well, you're perfectly welcome to your opinions, but I disagree.
Honestly I think most potential players will form an opinion within the first couple of play experiences. (Just like the game demos you get for say xbox... Most people form an opinion pretty quickly, and either decide they want the full game, or move on.)
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