D&D 5E The Overwhelming Dominance of D&D is Bad for Everyone...

[MGibster]

Okay, maybe it's not bad for WotC or Hasbro. I think we're all in agreement here the role playing game industry, insofar as we can call it an industry, is overwhelmingly dominated by Dungeons & Dragons. It's the oldest, most recognizable property whose very name is synonomous with RPGs for much of the public. Telling a coworker I'm playing Pathfinder this weekend will elicit questions about what that is, whereas telling them I'm playing D&D will only elicit questions like, "Aren't you a little old for that?" I've been gaming for about 35 years now, and D&D is the only game I can think of where I could easily find players for no matter my location. And why is that? Because D&D, pretty much all versions, have been good games.

The recent leak of the alleged new OGL from WotC prompted me to question whether it was harmful for D&D to so utterly dominate the market. Yeah, I think it is. It's just not healthy for such a significant chunk of an industry to be so strongly affected by the actions of one company. It's not just a problem that WotC seems to want to change the OGL, it's a problem that it affects so many other publishers, some very seriously. I'm not really sure what, if anything can be done about this, but surly other people see D&D's overwhelming dominance as a bad thing, right? Or am I way off base here?

 

[Cadence]

If you'd asked me a few weeks ago, my thoughts would have been very different. It feels like what "D&D"is just got a lot smaller (as in a smaller tent) and the name means something different to me now.

 

[Zardnaar]

It's kinda dominant for a reason though.

We've had 4 decades for something to displace it.

 

[Ancalagon]

There is a lot of value in a "standard". Like the USB stick, or Facebook. They are sticking around due to inertia, because it's what people are used to.

But most gamers eventually try other systems. A lot of the 5e crowd are new, or new-ish. This could give them the incentive to try other systems. And there are many good choices.

 

[jmhimara]

But most gamers eventually try other systems.

It's definitely not most. Nevertheless, it'd be interesting if anyone could compile accurate statistics regarding what percentage of people who started on D&D have switched to other games, for how long, etc.

 

[Zardnaar]

It's definitely not most. Nevertheless, it'd be interesting if anyone could compile accurate statistics regarding what percentage of people who started on D&D have switched to other games, for how long, etc.

Well I've been lectured by try hard hipsters since about 1996 about why D&D sucks.

Their pet system is dead and buried for the most part while D&D endures.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Indeed, the dominance of D&D in the RPG market has been a known problem since the 80s at least. But it's a "what can we do about it?" thing. People are sheep, they always go where they see the other sheep going. I've played a good number of great RPGs since I started playing in the 80s.

And it is a problem for WotC too. Competition is needed to keep you sharp. And get too big and the sharks start to gather.


Personally, I'm planning on running Traveller when I finish Call of the Netherdeep. All my players are up for it, and I'm bored with fantasy.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I sell orders of magnitude more 5e D&D books than all other RPGs put together. Even including Pathfinder.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE for other RPGs to sell. It would absolutely be healthier for everyone (including my business) for other RPGs to sell well.

Even a DC to D&D's Marvel would be welcome (this only happened with 4e D&D and Pathfinder - though to be fair, the industry was NOT healthy then, so... hmm.)

 

[Zardnaar]

I sell orders of magnitude more 5e D&D books than all other RPGs put together. Even including Pathfinder.

I would LOVE LOVE LOVE for other RPGs to sell. It would absolutely be healthier for everyone (including my business) for other RPGs to sell well.

Even a DC to D&D's Marvel would be welcome (this only happened with 4e D&D and Pathfinder - though to be fair, the industry was NOT healthy then, so... hmm.)

Yup. Here other RPGs may as well not exist. You'll have to run it yourself and find the players for the most part.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There is a lot of value in a "standard". Like the USB stick, or Facebook. They are sticking around due to inertia, because it's what people are used to.

But most gamers eventually try other systems. A lot of the 5e crowd are new, or new-ish. This could give them the incentive to try other systems. And there are many good choices.

If 5e disappeared off the planet, I have no doubt many people, especially people on this board, would move on to other games. But that mass of new 5e fans would, IMO, be far more likely to move on to another hobby altogether. Those other games simply don't have any strong visibility to a casual gamer who's new to TTRPGs and has only played 5e. You need real motivation to learn a new system, to find enough players, etc.