Time for WotC to start officially supporting older editions?

[Keith Robinson]

So many new editions these days, I'm not surprised the d&d market has fragmented. It's not like even 3ed feels old yet, but we're already moving onto number 5.

WotC obviously need to operate a company that makes money, but I'm not sure that simply releasing a new ruleset every 5 years will achieve anything other than a short boost to the coffers. Such is the framgmentation of d&d atm, I really think it's time that as part of a new strategy they start to support the older editions of the game, as well as the new edition. There are so many players still playing these older editions, I think it would help keep the coffers ticking over, while new editions would act as a brief flood. It would also maintain the contentment with d&der's of whatever edition they play and also help, from WotC's pov, keep them under their umbrella.

Without doing something like this, I think the margins will just get tighter, as what it means to play d&d will mean so many different things, depending on who you ask and what version of d&d they play.

 

[Desdichado]

Except that doing so will decrease the margins. Profit margins are the differences between cost to produce and sale price, which will include some fixed cost and some variable cost.

While there's no doubt that this can drive sales, it's unclear if it can drive profits because the margins on creating all these variant versions of each book, or creating books for systems that are obsolete are probably nonexistant to even negative.

As much as I like the idea as a customer, I can't think that it's likely to be viable for WotC as a business.

 

[TerraDave]

Yes, if they could actually rally (a good fraction of) fans of assorted editions around 5E, that would be profitable. Trying to produce all those separate products probably wouldn't be.

They could start selling PDFs/ebooks of the older stuff again. That would be nice.

 

[gamerprinter]

Only thing I would prefer, is if WotC loosened their hands around the previous editions. IOW, make the previous edition materials available in PDF format again, or at least some other format so those wanting to play the older editions can, without going to piracy to do so.

Then WotC wouldn't have to dedicate a dollar towards their support, just create some kind of OGL equivalent, to allow 3pp's to create the support content exclusively.

Since I was still playing 2e, half way into the life 3x (even after 3.5 came into existence), I don't have a particular attachment to WotC, so when they decided to go to 4e, I was not compelled to follow. When Pathfinder came into existence it was closer to my expectations and preferences, so that's the game I play now.

When I think of D&D, I think of TSR, not WotC.

 

[Keith Robinson]

Except that doing so will decrease the margins. Profit margins are the differences between cost to produce and sale price, which will include some fixed cost and some variable cost.

But with so many players now playing different editions, I wonder how true this argument remains? Perhaps the player bases are significant enough to justify an official product or two for each edition each year?

They could start selling PDFs/ebooks of the older stuff again. That would be nice.

My thoughts exactly. this would be the perfect place to start.

 

[El Mahdi]

New products for older editions? No

Return of pdf's? Absolutely.

DDI support? Not only Yes, but I think this is a necessity. DDI is the future for sustained revenue.

 

[Keith Robinson]

Then WotC wouldn't have to dedicate a dollar towards their support, just create some kind of OGL equivalent, to allow 3pp's to create the support content exclusively.

Well, with the OGL and OSRIC, 3pp can already do this (though I'm not sure what is going to happen to 4ed), but I guess what I was arguing was that the point of releasing new material would be for WotC to generate constant income from older editions.

 

[Imperialus]

But what would supporting an old edition entail? Would they reprint the core books and keep them in print? I could see that being useful with 1st edition or the Rules Cyclopedia/BECMI but how about 2nd edition? Are the Skills and Powers books core? How about the complete series? The campaign settings? How large of print runs would these books need to meet demand? What prevents WoTC from turning into late 90's TSR with warehouses full of unsold merchandise? How about Adventures? Would you buy a reprint of Keep on the Borderlands? Would enough people buy it to make it worthwhile to reprint?

All of that is before we even start looking at the splatbook morass that was 3.X. Do they reprint the softcover "complete" books from 3.0? Do they just focus on 3.5? How do they prevent confusion between the two brands? How many of the monsterous manuals are they going to reprint?

I could see them doing a reprint of the 1st ed PHB DMG and MM in another 2 years for D&D's 40th anniversary. I think that would be cool, and I'd probably even pay a premium if it meant I could get a 'collecters edition' of the 1st ed core books.

 

[Keith Robinson]

New products for older editions? No

But why not? What are your objections to it?

 

[Reynard]

It is long past time, so much so that I would guess it is too late. There was a time at the dawn of the OSR movement that WotC could have capitalized on it. they could have re-issued the old core sets in a "classics" line, added some DDI support and then provided some sort of licenses for semi-official adventures and products. I am sure companies like Necromancer and Goodman would have jumped on support for 1E and OD&D.

Instead, WotC handed it to the OSR and companies like Goblinoid have been reeping the benefits. The fact is there is a sizable fan community out there willing to not only play but financially support older editions of the game. But in their fervor to make 4E the only game in town, they cut loose all the fans of the previous editions. it is most pronounced with pathfinder, of course, but every dollar Goblinoid made with Labrynth Lord is probably $5 WotC didn't make with a B/X or BECM re-issue.