D&D General TSR D&D sales numbers compiled by Benjamin Riggs

D&D historian Ben Riggs--author of the upcoming Slaying the Dragon, which is a history of TSR-era (not that TSR, the real one) D&D--compiled some sales figures of AD&D 1st Edition's Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide from 1979-1990.

Behold! Some actual D&D sales numbers!

While working on my book #SlayingtheDragon I got a ton of primary source documents containing sales data for D&D. With the book coming out, I've been looking for a way to get that data out into the wide world. I'm going to start making charts, and simply posting them. If people want the raw data, I can post that too, but obviously, charts are prettier.

I'm starting with AD&D 1st ed Players Handbook and Dungeon Masters Guide. You'll notice a crash in the mid-80s, and then the sales peter out with the release of 2nd edition.

The sales point to a fact that I believe hasn't been given enough play in our hobby. Namely, TSR was in a tight spot when Lorraine Williams took over the company from Gary Gygax. If it weren't for Lorraine, D&D may have died in the mid-80s.

Just an idea for your consideration...

Oh, and if you haven't preordered my book on D&D history yet, I'll put a link in the comments.

Go get his book! It’s going to be interesting!

Slaying the Dragon - Macmillan

The secret and untold story of how TSR, the company that created Dungeons & Dragons, was driven into ruin by disastrous management decisions, then ...

read.macmillan.com

 

[Parmandur]

Yea. A “starter set” for AD&D would have been a better idea. Except it kinda worked that way for us and I am very glad that we got a different game from AD&D.

Mike Mearls used to say that if Basic-Expert was just D&D, with no AD&D style, TSR probably could have just iterated on it forever.

The only numbers I can find for the 5E starter Set are a bit old, from before the Essentials Kit and variant Starter Sets:

The Rise of the Professional Dungeon Master

Nerd culture, Stranger Things, and the gig economy have created a world where Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts host games for $500.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Parmandur]

It is, but that has to do with thr growth of the marketplace more than anything else.

After all, the 2nd best selling edition of DnD was 4e!

Followed by 3.5, then 3e, ect.

No, that was initial sales: 3E and 4E dropped very quickly after the initial super burst.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I take exception to almost your entire post. 4e outsold 3 in its first month but that’s all the info we have, atiak.

take exception all you want the ONLY data we have is it outselling every previous edition

 

[GMforPowergamers]

No, that was initial sales: 3E and 4E dropped very quickly after the initial super burst.

source of 4e sales data?

 

[Deekin]

I take exception to almost your entire post. 4e outsold 3 in its first month but that’s all the info we have.

Sadly, the same announcement for 4e was part of DnD insider, and vanished into ether with its deletion.

 

[Parmandur]

source of 4e sales data?

Well, here's some old analysis:

Ingram Sales Numbers of D&D 4th Edition Books

Real Numbers Analysis and the Book Industry As I was reviewing the lawsuit information it states that they have sold hundreds of thousand of "Core Books" If you go to Wizards website and look at their product list almost every "Core" book is included with the exception of Forgotten Realms...

www.enworld.org

I remember loads and loads of unsold books at Half-Price Books, and nobody ever reporting finding a second printing of the PHB.

 

[Parmandur]

Sadly, the same announcement for 4e was part of DnD insider, and vanished into ether with its deletion.

Crazy to think that there have been 6 solid years of consistently strong sales since we had confirmation that 5E already outdid every prior WotC edition's lifetime PHB sales.

Based on the Bloomburg numbers, it seems sales accelerated after that point, it wasn't even the peak yet.

 

[darjr]

Wow, that’s right, 5e PHB lifetime outsoles 3, 3.5, and 4 by 2016.

And it’s sales rank has remained very high ever since.

And Mr Riggs May provide us with Basic and 2e numbers in his book or in the promotion leading up to it.

What world is this?

 

[Nikosandros]

Basic + Advanced might actually be pretty close...making them separate games in the eraly 80's was just such a bad, bad idea...

Well, if it was a marketing mistake, I'm personally very grateful that they committed it...

 

[Parmandur]

Well, if it was a marketing mistake, I'm personally very grateful that they committed it...

Well, it made some games that people really loved: but it also probably is one of the key mistakes that made TSR non-viable in the longrun. And it may have been better for players if one game was supported coherently over the longterm.