D&D 4E Well, Its Official. 4E is Going Online


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Not exactly news, given that several EN Worlders are Beta testers. The only thing we don't know is when they'll start selling it to the general public.

I expect folks are going to want to be hyperbolic, snarky, sarcastic, or mean in this thread. Kindly resist the temptation, please and thank you.
 

Cards on the table:
  1. I don't like 4Ed as a substitute for 3.5, but I think its a decent FRPG.
  2. I have virtually zero interest in purely electronic gaming material, for a variety of reasons

That said, I can see certain crafty retailers leveraging WotC's digital offerings.

Some very good stores I know of have LANs set up for all kinds of gaming, including online stuff. I could very easily see them setting up DDI (and other) accounts on their machines- especially after their next hardware upgrades. By doing so, they let gamers get a taste of the online offerings. They may even be the sole supplier of DDI stuff for some players, depending on the rates they charge for LAN access.

And statistics say that the longer those guys stay in the store, the more they buy.
 

FWIW I'd argue that Amazon did more to hurt game stores than the VT ever will.

I'm interested in seeing what they produce, but I've been using d20 Pro for months, so it's not exactly anything I've been missing. I have a DDI subscription, but if they require my players to buy one, I can tell you right now my group won't use it.

I probably would have continued with my DDi subscription if this had been in place, but only if I could buy a "group licence" to DDi.
If, as a GM, I decide that we are going digital, then I also see it as my responsibility to ensure that everyone of my players can afford going digital with me.
 

I look forward to the day I can buy a ticket to play in a celebrity DM event one night, and round up a groups of friends to play another night (even if those friends are in other states).

I don't know how it will all play out, but I'm fairly certain that 'how' we play the game will change. That doesn't mean no one will sit around a table to play anymore; it means more people can/will leverage technology to make the game easier to access, easier to play, and improve the experience in ways hard to imagine right now.

Change is gonna happen.
 


I'd argue that game stores did more to hurt game stores than Amazon ever did and VT ever will.
LOL!

Brings back painful memories of the game store that kept all the 2e books behind the counter where you were certainly welcome to browse through them AFTER you bought them. The only difference between him and the comic book store guy on The Simpsons is that the comic book guy on The Simpsons had a much more tolerant personality. (also, the comic book guy didn't go out of business after 6 months.) Oh, and he had game tables setup, but you were only allowed to use them for up to 2 hours. After that you had to leave the store. Obviously a guy unclear on the whole gaming thing concept.
 


Funny enough, I'd say WotC is distinctly more FLGS friendly then most other companies.

Consider the recent push at card-based mechanics. Nothing - and I mean nothing - fueled the FLGS business like cards did when the MtG boom hit.
 

*Looks in back of PHB*

The VTT came out when 4e was launched, didn't it?

:p



EDIT: On a more serious note, I'd love to see a seemless VTT. My group wants to get some online gaming up again, and I just haven't been happy with what's currently out there.
 
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