Time to change the supplement-driven business model for D&D (and other RPGs)?

[billd91]

Of course they were. They were amongst a dozen or so gamers that you knew personally. The rumblings between 3e and 4E were between a million gamers with keyboards and broadband!

Don't forget the Dragon Magazine Forum, college gaming organizations, Gen Con...

 

[Morrus]

Don't forget the Dragon Magazine Forum, college gaming organizations, Gen Con...

No matter how many things we add in, it's impossible for an individual to be exposed pre-internet to even a fraction of those we're exposed to now. That makes comparing the two time periods outside of personal anecdotal experiences very difficult indeed, if not impossible.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm not convinced that this is really important. This site has a whole lot of long-time gamers. And sure, they'd love to see continuity. But, I'm not sure they are a large enough segment of the market for this strategy to be crucial.

As a gaming vet who mostly games with other vets- but with some newbies, too- continuity is vitally important to me. Conceptual and flavor continuity mattered most, not neccisarily mechanical continuity.

(Avoiding nitpicky/EdWar details...)

If nothing else, it makes me more willing and able to pass along my enjoyment of the game by initiating others into the hobby.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

What's the alternative model? The boardgame approach isn't particularly viable -- do you go the "collectible" approach where you buy a "random" set of rules (feats, spells, classes, etc) and need to keep buying if you want access to everything? Or do you give the core rules away in the hope of making your money on supplements (kind of the reverse-3.0 approach)?

 

[TarionzCousin]

Has anyone mentioned video games yet?

In my experience, video games are much more popular than tabletop RPG's. With my friends' kids, they are often brought into RPG's through videogaming, as in "Oh, D&D is like World of Warcraft?"

So I am interested in seeing how making MMO's of existing RPG's has worked (D&D Online) or is going to work (Paizo's MMO). I think that integration between tabletop and videogame is more likely to be a model of the future.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

With my friends' kids, they are often brought into RPG's through videogaming, as in "Oh, D&D is like World of Warcraft?"

Well, isn't that special? Kids these days.

D&D could use another great video game series, but that seems very unlikely. I don't think either MMOs or consoles capture D&D well.

 

[Hussar]

Well, isn't that special? Kids these days.

D&D could use another great video game series, but that seems very unlikely. I don't think either MMOs or consoles capture D&D well.

Wow, that's pretty condescending.

Considering that video gamers outnumber table top RPG gamers by an order of magnitude, it's not really surprising that the next generation of gamers would come to RPG's from video games.

 

[Hussar]

snip double post.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Wow, that's pretty condescending.

I see how my remark could be taken that way. In a bit more verbose form: I find it both amusing and ironic how many people not only do not know that RPGs preceded RPG-like video games, but that D&D itself inspired the growth of both pen-and-paper RPGs as well as the entire CRPG genre. A comment like "D&D -- is that like World of Warcraft?" is a perfect opening to inform and educate people about the history of both gaming genres.

Considering that video gamers outnumber table top RPG gamers by an order of magnitude, it's not really surprising that the next generation of gamers would come to RPG's from video games.

No argument here.

 

[Hussar]

Ahh, sorry for that. Yeah, totally agree.