D&D 5E What happens if 5E fails to unite the base?
One way or another, I think Mearls is right. If 5E doesn't restore the brand to health, I very much doubt Hasbro is going to spring for a sixth edition any time soon. The RPG will be sidelined; they'll continue to print enough to keep up with what demand there is, and they'll keep running DDI, but there won't be any new content. Wizards will focus on board games and the like instead.
If the Wizards of the Coast fail to unite the base, darkness will fall across the land, and it will be up to you to travel the four corners of the known world to collect the long-lost Player Bases of the Four Editions and to bring them together into the One Player Base of Power and restore light and goodness to the land.
Aeolius
Adventurer
It would be interesting to look at past statistics of gamers who did or did not switch to newer editions shortly after the release of the newer edition.
I'm betting that as each new edition is released, fewer players of past editions adopt the new ruleset. I would also speculate that with each new edition, there are fewer total gamers remaining, the rest lost to video games and the like.
To be honest, I do not see a new edition reuniting the fan base any more than 4e did, unless the new game is radically different, had a strong online/electronic presence, and is heavily marketed.
I'm betting that as each new edition is released, fewer players of past editions adopt the new ruleset. I would also speculate that with each new edition, there are fewer total gamers remaining, the rest lost to video games and the like.
To be honest, I do not see a new edition reuniting the fan base any more than 4e did, unless the new game is radically different, had a strong online/electronic presence, and is heavily marketed.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
WotC would never, ever do such a thing either...
WotC to Release 1st Edition Premium Core Rulebooks Reprints
Oh, SNAP!
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
I just go back to K.I.S.S. in this regard.
Whether 5E "reunites" the player base or not... it doesn't matter. 6E will be released in 5 years time regardless.
Most of us gamers have disposable income. We will buy new games and new products just because we can. If a 6E is released in 5 years, many of us will buy the first three rulebooks just because. And those three rulebooks will probably still sell better than anything Wizards might've been able to release in Year 5 of D&DN. That's just the way it is.
And since it sure as heck isn't D&D (or more to the point, the TTRPG part of D&D) that keeps the lights on at WotC headquarters... in the long run it doesn't matter how good or bad D&DN sells... because WotC will continue to create new editions every five years just to keep the brand current. The cost to pay for a dozen designers to futz around for a few years and release a book that people will still pay for is small compared to gains they get from an active brand that will be used for more books, more computer games, and more licensing deals.
Whether 5E "reunites" the player base or not... it doesn't matter. 6E will be released in 5 years time regardless.
Most of us gamers have disposable income. We will buy new games and new products just because we can. If a 6E is released in 5 years, many of us will buy the first three rulebooks just because. And those three rulebooks will probably still sell better than anything Wizards might've been able to release in Year 5 of D&DN. That's just the way it is.
And since it sure as heck isn't D&D (or more to the point, the TTRPG part of D&D) that keeps the lights on at WotC headquarters... in the long run it doesn't matter how good or bad D&DN sells... because WotC will continue to create new editions every five years just to keep the brand current. The cost to pay for a dozen designers to futz around for a few years and release a book that people will still pay for is small compared to gains they get from an active brand that will be used for more books, more computer games, and more licensing deals.
ShinHakkaider
Adventurer
If it fails they will probably mothball D&D for a few years.
I really dont see a good way out of this for WOTC. If they lean to much toward the past they lose the players that hate the past editions. If they lean to much toward 4E things are pretty much going to remain the same as they are right now which kind of defeats the purpose of a new edition to begin with.
I suspect that upon initial release everyone will be touting that it's the best thing since..well...fourth edition. People will gush all over it. Everyone will be playing it and badmouthing 4E and Pathfinder at the same time. Then about a year in when the new car smell drops off of it we'll see how well the game is able to sustain itself. It will be a success if in 2-3 years a lot of people (not just the diehards) will still be crazy about it. If die hards from OTHER systems fall in love with it? Especially the OSR and Pathfinder fans? Then they'll really have nothing to worry about.
If they fail I honestly have no idea where they should go from there. I'm not invested in them as a company or a brand much anymore. If they fell off of the face of the earth tomorrow it wouldn't effect me or my games in the least.
CleverNickName
Limit Break Dancing
I doubt it will fail. And here's why: I don't think the base is as "divided" as some people think.
The theory is that the fan base is split into three groups: a large group of 4E players, a large group of 3.X/Pathfinder players, and a somewhat smaller group of earlier-edition players. But we are all tabletop RPG players, and there is a lot of overlap in our materials. A lot of people who play one edition also buy and adapt material from other editions to use in their game.
So as long as WotC focuses on QUALITY OF PRODUCT, they cannot fail. As long as the books are well-written, with imaginative adventures, clear rules, and quality artwork...we will buy them. We might buy them them because we are curious, we might buy them because we are switching to the new 5E, we might buy them to adapt them to our older system of choice...but if the quality is there, we will buy it.
The theory is that the fan base is split into three groups: a large group of 4E players, a large group of 3.X/Pathfinder players, and a somewhat smaller group of earlier-edition players. But we are all tabletop RPG players, and there is a lot of overlap in our materials. A lot of people who play one edition also buy and adapt material from other editions to use in their game.
So as long as WotC focuses on QUALITY OF PRODUCT, they cannot fail. As long as the books are well-written, with imaginative adventures, clear rules, and quality artwork...we will buy them. We might buy them them because we are curious, we might buy them because we are switching to the new 5E, we might buy them to adapt them to our older system of choice...but if the quality is there, we will buy it.
I don't think that is entirely true. After all, one could well argue that 4E was comprised of well written, imaginitaive, clear ruled and artistically high quality books, and yet it failed (by whatever metric leads to "we need a new edition"). I know I didn't buy any 4E books after the intial set so turned me off, and it didn't matter how high quality the production values were.
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