The trends of 2005

[diaglo]

for WotC/Hasbro:

i see a rise and fall of the minis game with each new release.

i see more stir around the Eberron setting. but not much interest in the novel development for it.

i see a continuation of a rerelease of older material(2edADnD stuff and 2000ed) being updated to 3.11ed for Workgroups.

i see more influence of the CCG as sales flag. Hasbro/WotC trying to recapture the market with using the tried and true that got them the top.

for the rest of the d02 third party crowd:

i see a lot of new entries and quick exits.

a few will linger on into the next year.

i see a few of the hangers on from the last couple years. fold too.

i see them trying to grab the ring by coming up with new ways to do old things. none of which will have enough impact nor great reviews to make a splash.

 

[Wraith Form]

it happened in the 2edADnD days. they just need to update it to the newer editions mechanically.

Yeah, sadly I know because sadly I have those boxed sets.

I just thought it was "inspired un-brilliance" that they copied real-world history to give them some more junk to sell us....and Maztica wasn't very good junk, really. Not horrible, but such a blatant rip-off of a place that actually exists that I felt it was weak.

When transplanted 'Coasters suddenly become puritanical and later begin a civil war, I'll stop buying....

 

[Mark]

....and Maztica wasn't very good junk, really. Not horrible, but such a blatant rip-off of a place that actually exists that I felt it was weak.

Maztica...? Maybe useful for something but I agree they were piling it on as thick as they could in those days. It's interesting to see that with so many of their previous products being resold now as ESD what makes the FREEbie list I have linked to.

 

[mhensley]

Castles & Crusades has had a much more enthusiastic reception here (and at rpg.net) than it has had at dragonsfoot.org

I don't think this is at all true. In the four months that the C&C forum has been active on DF, it has generated over 2500 posts. I really doubt that the few C&C threads here or on rpg.net have seen this heavy of a response. And most of the response that I have seen is positive.

Right now, the C&C forum at DF is the place to discuss C&C. The forums at TLG are pretty dead and mainly just a place to talk about playtesting.

 

[Knight Otu]

As for a 4th edition: I very much doubt that it will be announced in 2005. Here's the full quote from Charles Ryan:

The short answer: No immediate plans; don't lose any sleep over it.

The longer answer: It’s the nature of roleplaying game systems to evolve over time, as new and better ways of running the game are devised by its designers and players. Thirty years of history show that D&D is no exception, so it’s probably safe to say that D&D will, some day, see another new edition. However, we are very happy with the current edition (as, I'm guessing, you are too), and we’re not in a hurry to monkey with a game that is enjoying new heights of success every day. If or when we do plan a new edition, we’ll give everyone plenty of warning before its release—at least a year or two. So please don’t worry that we’re going to be changing the game any time soon; enjoy the current edition and expect continued support for it for years to come.

The quote is dated to November 16. To add that there are

• several lines which, if extended logically, provide material well into 2006, if not farther,
• WotC's new willingness to publish adventures,
• and the possibility of one-shots, cap-system products, campaign options (a la Ghostwalk) and the like,

I suspect that it would be announced in 2007 at the earliest. Only a drastic event will hasten the release of 4th edition before that point. But one thing is certain - it is inevitable that 4th edition will come.

What do I think will happen in 2005?

• I'd say that the Revised SRD will continue to be updated at an irregular pace, while the Modern SRD will be updated more regularly.
• Eberron and FR will continue to co-exist, with releases being at about the current pace.
• D20 Modern might be considered for a ".5" treatment.
• Star Wars D20 may take off with new and re-revised books again.
• Maybe WotC acquires some license to produce a new D20 game.
• There is an off-chance to see another Mature Line product, though I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[francisca]

While very likely true, this is a crying shame. Call of Cthulhu (and Delta Green in particular) really changed my life in many ways. I attempt to support Chaosium however and whenever I can, but they're hurtin' bad and I'm not enough.

*sob*

If Chaosium would reprint All the World's Monsters I and II, I'd probably shell out for them both.

 

[Ed Cha]

There might be a card/board game bubble bursting. I think we'll also see people trying out different styles of play as well as new systems.

Of course, Indie Press Revolution will be a huge success and people will flock there to get all the best in the indie press!

 

[Nisarg]

There have been a couple of people on this thread who seem to suggest that I am suggesting that Wizards would have to dump either Eberron or FR.

That's not what I said at all, I said that from a business perspective, unless Eberron is a massive success with sources outside the market share, it will make no sense to keep both Eberron and FR at the same rates of production.

So to clarify, here is my prediction: within a years time there will still be FR books published, and still be Eberron books published (unless Eberron is a truly catastrophic failure, and I think we'd have seen that by now).
However, when in December 2005 we are looking at Wizards' releases for 2006, we will notice that there will be many more books for one setting than for the other. I will not hazard to guess which, that will depend on whether the flashy new setting does better than the old setting with flashy new developments.

The only way that Eberron and FR books will continue on an equal release schedule will be if Eberron succeeds in bringing in lots of new gamers through either the novels or the MMORPG.

That is the prediction, feel free to check back with this thread in a year's time to see if I was right.

Nisarg