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<blockquote data-quote="Jeff Carlsen" data-source="post: 6237200" data-attributes="member: 61749">The reason a shelf full of hardcovers is intimidating is that a hardcover rulebook implies a lot of complexity and required reading. You and I know that a D&amp;D book is more encyclopedia than rulebook, but we're talking about new players. Game boxes simply don't give the same impression.Book prices have continued to rise. A $39.95 MSRP is hardly out of the question. You're right that some places will sell below that, mostly online store, but many people will be looking at the product in a brick and mortar store at the full price. I don't know. But anecdote and conjecture are good enough for the purposes of this discussion. I can say that a search on Amazon or Barnes &amp; Noble for &quot;Dungeons and Dragons&quot; should have the entry product as the top result. Amazon does alright (the starter box is #1; PHB is #4), but B&amp;N fails the test spectacularly. And neither of these searches make it clear that you actually need three books to play.You're right, for a new player joining an existing group. But not for the new player looking to start a group.My argument isn't that a game can't be a success with the three book model. This forum wouldn't exist if that were the case. But I do believe that the three book model has prevented some people from becoming D&amp;D players, and that a single core product will make for a more successful entry point.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jeff Carlsen, post: 6237200, member: 61749"] The reason a shelf full of hardcovers is intimidating is that a hardcover rulebook implies a lot of complexity and required reading. You and I know that a D&D book is more encyclopedia than rulebook, but we're talking about new players. Game boxes simply don't give the same impression. Book prices have continued to rise. A $39.95 MSRP is hardly out of the question. You're right that some places will sell below that, mostly online store, but many people will be looking at the product in a brick and mortar store at the full price. I don't know. But anecdote and conjecture are good enough for the purposes of this discussion. I can say that a search on Amazon or Barnes & Noble for "Dungeons and Dragons" should have the entry product as the top result. Amazon does alright (the starter box is #1; PHB is #4), but B&N fails the test spectacularly. And neither of these searches make it clear that you actually need three books to play. You're right, for a new player joining an existing group. But not for the new player looking to start a group. My argument isn't that a game can't be a success with the three book model. This forum wouldn't exist if that were the case. But I do believe that the three book model has prevented some people from becoming D&D players, and that a single core product will make for a more successful entry point. [/QUOTE]

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