Why buy?

[Croesus]

This book will sell well.

Why?

It is the first true supplement to get released for MONTHs. 4e players have had nothing to buy for months, and this will naturally sell, because... what else are they going to buy?

The above quote is from a thread discussing Heroes of Shadow, coming out soon from WOTC. It immediately made me think of games like Civilization, with that addictive "just one more turn" quality. And yet, something seems wrong, or at least very silly, about the expectation that we'll buy something just because it's the only thing that's come out (for this game system) in a while.

Is the quote correct, and if so, why? Are we RPG'ers really that Pavlovian?

 

[nedjer]

Woof!

 

[TheAuldGrump]

1. Because supplements add to the game - new option for players and GMs can help keep the game fresh. It is nice sitting down with the APG and trying out a variant rogue, a new sorcerer bloodline, or try an alchemist. They add some new fun to the old fun.

2. Folks like to support their favorite games, and the best way to show that support is to buy.

And there are many many exceptions - not everyone buys every supplement. I don't buy every Pathfinder Chronicles book, and don't have every AP, either.

The Auld Grump

 

[Fifth Element]

I think there's some truth to it. Most gamers have a periodic budget (either a firm one or a vague mental one). If there are frequent supplements coming out, they have to decide which ones fit within that budget. Less frequent publications fit into the budget much more easily.

Obviously this doesn't apply to everyone, but I'm sure it does apply to some proportion of WotC's market.

 

[JohnRL]

Although it doesn't happen as often these days, back when D&D products were coming out thick and fast, I would have an internal tension.
On the one hand the sensible part of me would be asking "Do I need this? Does it fit into the games that I am playing, or hope to play? Can I afford it? Is it value for money?"
On the other hand there was an unnameable itch to get something new, something cool. And the itch would build up until I would scratch it by buying something - hopefully something that would meet the criteria set by the sensible part of me, but if that wasn't available, any old crud would do.
Not every RPGer has that itch, and not everyone who has it will give into it, but I suspect that this book will scratch quite a few folks' itches.

 

[JoeGKushner]

People are eager to see the new themes, an idea introduced in Dark Sun and this being the new hard cover with new information, is bound to have a lot of themes and probably ties into some Dragon online support for themes. After all, the point of online publishing is that you can quickly cater and change your publishing to meet the interest and changes of your game.

 

[Scurvy_Platypus]

Bluntly: People like to spend money. To consume. It's the major activity of most developed nations. It's not like gamers are somehow "special" or "pavlovian" in this respect.

*shrug*

Me, I don't care. I buy something here or there and otherwise I ignore it. I couldn't care less if WotC, Paizo, or anyone else is making money or not. They make money off my hobby and therefore they're beholden to my dollar. If they don't want it (by putting out product I'm not interested in), they don't get it.

Other folks have their reasons for buyin' stuff, it's mostly different than mine. If it bothers you, become a "considered consumer"; figure out exactly what you're buying and why. And then realize that other folks just aren't going to subscribe to your approach.

At the end of the day, it's their money. WotC caters to the folks spending money, so if it's a substandard product and lots of people buy it, they've only themselves to blame when more substandard product is put out. And if it's awesome, then more people will buy it and WotC will put out more awesome product.

It will only ever be an issue if A) Some person tries to insist that _you_ have to buy and/or use the product and B) If you actually let that person influence you.

Otherwise... who cares?

 

[Croesus]

Although it doesn't happen as often these days, back when D&D products were coming out thick and fast, I would have an internal tension.
On the one hand the sensible part of me would be asking "Do I need this? Does it fit into the games that I am playing, or hope to play? Can I afford it? Is it value for money?"
On the other hand there was an unnameable itch to get something new, something cool. And the itch would build up until I would scratch it by buying something - hopefully something that would meet the criteria set by the sensible part of me, but if that wasn't available, any old crud would do.
Not every RPGer has that itch, and not everyone who has it will give into it, but I suspect that this book will scratch quite a few folks' itches.

This most closely fits my own recollections of the 3E era. Looking back, I'm amazed at how much stuff I purchased, yet never used. Most of the material is good - but I had a limited amount of time for gaming, so only a limited amount of material could be used. After I had a certain amount of stuff, any further purchases really couldn't be justified on the grounds that I would get value out of them.

Part of the trouble, of course, is that a lot of good material does get released. And there is always the idea that I might use it someday, so why not get it now - it might be gone when I want it. Then I see the mounds of unused stuff and wonder what the heck I was thinking...

 

[TerraDave]

Given some of the early reactions, I am not sure how many will buy HoS...it is a niche product, maybe a big niche...we will see.

Still, I do think that a bunch of player support products do canabalize each other. If you get a race, or class, or something else from this, you have less need to get it from something else. And vice versa. Some people also just like to buy and read a game book once and a while, and again, if they don't have too many to buy...

BUT, I also think WotC is in a tough spot. You go into a game store, or look online, and you will see the ton of player stuff, and flavourfull DM stuff, already out for 4E. And if you are a player with the CB, you may have little reason to go into that store at all.

 

[cdrcjsn]

I just bought this book, mainly because I was at a game store 30 minutes early for a game and I wanted to read it and I wanted to support the game shop because it's been a few months since I bought anything there.

I sorta regret buying it now.

First of all, I got used to the digest version and was disappointed that it came in hardback.

Secondly, as I was reading it, I can't help but think that I'll never use 95% of this stuff...it's entertaining to read, but I would probably be better served spending that $30 to extend my DDI membership by several months or making any other purchase than buy this book.

On the funny side though, our table kept cracking jokes about 'romancing your nethers' all throughout the game. The nethermancer really is an unfortunate name for a class...