What if WotC just said "That's it."

[Cyronax]

I don't think WotC can ever just say 'we're done.'

They might go on a hiatus for awhile to let the demand build up for new 4e rulebooks.

2011 seems like it might be that kind of year, and frankly that would be a good thing. It would probably make it more likely for me to buy most of what they put out.

I bought a lot of 4e in 2008-2010, but there were a lot of chafe that I also avoided.

 

[Dioltach]

It wouldn't affect me at all, I reckon. I currently play 2E and 3E, and I have more stuff for both editions than I could ever use.

Plus, I have my own imagination. As long as I can keep the ideas coming somehow, I'll get by.

 

[amerigoV]

What if WotC, tomorrow, just up and said "That's it. We're freezing the D&D codebase. No new versions, no new editions. It's what we want, it sells, we'll write adventures and sell rulebooks. Enjoy!"

If they wrote great adventures, I might start buying from them again. I like giving my players the opportunity for a shared experience with the rest of the community.

At this stage in my gaming career, I am looking for interesting concepts that I can easily adapt and run. Going out and buying 10 books of crunch just to run the same old Orc and Pie adventure is not what I am looking for these days.

That said, while I do not play the current edition that does not mean I would view a freeze favorably. It is an entry drug into the hobby and bringing in new players to the hobby is important. The larger the D&D footprint (regardless of edition) = more potential players to convert to what I like (Savage Worlds).

 

[Dungeoneer]

People get bored, the game gets played out, and, with few exceptions, they move onto other things. If 0d&d had been the only version of d&d ever released, we'd have been playing it for 37 years at this point. You'd have to be a pretty hardcore fan to stick around that long. I know, I know, some of you have (but really? with no hiatuses and without trying other game systems?) but I'd think you're very much the exceptions.

I'm very happy with 4e right now and don't want a 5e. But realistically I know that that will change.

 

[Deuce Traveler]

When I first read this thread title I thought I was going to read a gamer's version of Atlas Shrugged.

At this point there are so many editions of DnD out that are inexpensive or outright free that I no longer see new editions as profitable for the company.

 

[Aus_Snow]

People get bored, the game gets played out, and, with few exceptions, they move onto other things. If 0d&d had been the only version of d&d ever released, we'd have been playing it for 37 years at this point. You'd have to be a pretty hardcore fan to stick around that long.

For those afflicted with a kind of "pseudo-ADD", that might be true.* "People get bored" is kind of an issue in and of itself, and probably warrants an entirely different discussion, but this is not the place for that...

* But yeah, otherwise, not at all.

I know, I know, some of you have (but really? with no hiatuses and without trying other game systems?) but I'd think you're very much the exceptions.

And it really doesn't have anything to do with not trying other game systems. There are thousands and thousands of game systems already, to admirably enable/support/encourage just about every possible style of play imaginable.

And considering even one RPG offers infinitely varying play, one wonders... but anyway, like I said, probably not the place.

 

[TheYeti1775]

I would just keep on playing.

A good enough group, you honestly don't need much past the core of any edition.

I would imagine 3PP sales would soar temporarily as folks turn to them.

But in reality, our hobby would become even more niche as those that require the latest and greatest move on to other avenues of hobbies.

For myself, the dead trees on my shelf still work. So not a major effect on me.

 

[scruffygrognard]

I'd continue to play my mashed together version of D&D and live happily ever after. I don't need new, official D&D content as I have plenty of AD&D and d20 D&D stuff in my library. Besides, I could always grab some retro-clone products if I wanted more stuff.
As it is, I've grown apathetic when it comes to anything published by WotC.

 

[UnknownAtThisTime]

As I have said before, I'd play 4E tomorrow just as I play it today (Except that for a time character creation would take 20% longer).

I already have far more options and tools at my disposal than I did when I played AD&D originally. I could subsist, indefinitely, on simply new adventures.

 

[Stormonu]

Well, this has already happened on at least three editions, I'm still playing, and I've got enough game systems on the bookshelves to last me through my retirement (and the great beyond). So, no effect to me.

I would miss new dungeon tiles and the occasional mini, though.