D&D General Why Enworld should liberate D&D from Hasbro

[Zardnaar]

WotC, in the Hasbro financial statements and press releases has not confirmed the position you take from Bookscan data.

They have shown, to investors, that D&D sales continue to grow. They've also shown that Direct-to-Consumer is now 60% of their D&D game revenue (which puts to bed this concept that Bookscan matters at all).

Except they dont break down sales. Money is one thing. I believe financial statements from WoC they've been very coy with hard data or cherry picked numbers.

Its possible sales are down income is up. Because of Beyond.

Im not that interested in 5.5 sales as such. I expect them to be excellent first year.

The pattern/trajectory would be more interesting though. Do sales go up year on year or are they like every other edition and front loaded with decline over the years.

Whatever that pattern would be would cause tears on ENworld though. If its more typical the glazers fo 5E/wotc see would be crying, the boomers would be told you so. I would say as expected no big deal.

If it was like 5E pattern glazers would be I told you so and doormers would keep bitching. I would say were in for another longer cycle.

If sales fell off a cliff we would be getting 6E sooner rather than later. Then the cycle repeats with new doomers and glazers. If the editions good I buy 40× books if its bad I'll buy 3 books. One more bad edition i think I'll retire from D&D. I'll be approaching 60+ by then lol (47 now).

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Hasbro earns more money with Magic: the Gathering but D&D has got more potential brand power.

The glory days where the action figures were the stars of the toy-shops ended time ago, and Hasbro would rather to sell toys based in licences instead its own IPs but alpha line like Transformers. The action-live movie wasn't bad but it wasn't the blockbuster they wanted. Maybe the next year the action-live serie in Netflix could mean a new change

There are some retroclones in the market, and these are survived several years until now althought the no-English-speaker markets may be different. We can say the hobby enjoy good health.

The 5e was designed to be easy to be understood and learnt by the new generations of players and this has worked. Hasbro also wanted D&D showed a family-friendly image, and here one of the keys is to be a game where parents play with their own children. If the parents are the DMs then the possible preteen players don't need to understand all the rules. D&D is not only the biggest fish in the industry but also the "first love" for most of roleplayers.

 

[Older Beholder]

The most hardcore superfans seem to be the ones most interested in the romance angles, IME.

What's more important to creating a massive success? Hardcore superfans or the hordes of casuals?
I believe that people want more romance, (romance doesn't need to be adult in nature) and so do WotC:

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

What's more important to creating a massive success? Hardcore superfans or the hordes of casuals?
I believe that people want more romance, (romance doesn't need to be adult in nature) and so do WotC:

I'm not sure what we're supposed to be debating here.

The BG3 fans I know who were into the romance aspects definitely viewed the sex as a big part of it.

 

[Zardnaar]

What's more important to creating a massive success? Hardcore superfans or the hordes of casuals?
I believe that people want more romance, (romance doesn't need to be adult in nature) and so do WotC:

View attachment 420183

What is romance? We play D&D none of that around here!!!!

 

[môrgondír]

So the marketing strategy, in part, is that WotC wants players seeking out "romance adventures" to alight on D&D first, before they stumble across the likes of Monsterhearts, Thirsty Sword Lesbians, Alchemistresses, Scarlet Heroes, Star Crossed, or another one of what must surely be many others of that ilk currently in the marketplace.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Not sure if the OP is serious or a 3am post in the midst of a smoky haze while watching pine apple express movie, but the first 4 pages of comments I’ve read have been amusing.

I consider my posting a form of art. And art is suppose to disturb the comforted and comfort the disturbed.

 

[Zardnaar]

I consider my posting a form of art. And art is suppose to disturb the comforted and comfort the disturbed.

AITA though?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

About romance roleplay game I would advice to use some chatbot. There are webs of AI where you can create your own characters. And I don't advice to roleplay too intimancy scenes in front of other players.

 

[Jahydin]

@MichaelSomething
Robert J. Kuntz has your back!

"D&D has always been about participating in building and experiencing Fantasy and not "fantasies" or fantasizing. It's about the fear and wonder of the unknown and not socio-political, postmodern and nihilistic claptrap. It's about adventure and the parties-in-arms who excel in such quests and not paper mâché parties. Legends are born with the former while the latter produces, at best, gruel for the simple minded who have no anchorage to the myths, legends and stories that birthed the genre and its sub-genres. The latter's postmodern gobble-de-gook deconstructs the pillars of Fantasy and mocks untold years dedicated to its classical beginnings and the creativity, wit and imagination of its authors. It insults thousands of years of culture, literature and folk tales while while standing on their ashes like some uniformed, midget-minded arsonist. It is an affront to truth in all cases culturally & historically and unlike the target it aims to impugn, mock and destroy it itself will be consigned to the dustbin of history."