D&D 5E Why not Alternity? (Or, will or how might WotC do SF?)

[Cadence]

There are books, an RPG and a well-received TV show. I'd say on the whole outside computer game fandom its at least as well known as the Witcher franchise.

Anything with a Lego video version was seen by a lot of kids. I assume anything that was in Fortnite has a lo of reach too.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

A fluke? That's an interesting characterization. Care to elaborate?

I think it's time for us to move on. Retreater is over here arguing that fantasy has more pop culture cache, meanwhile he's dismissing the most talked about TV show of the past couple years (Mandalorian) and managed to never hear about one of the most well-reviewed and beloved sci-fi shows of all time (the Expanse).

 

[Umbran]

The basic question for WotC and sci-fi games is really a simple one: Opportunity Cost.

What is likely to bring them greater value - putting resources on designing a new sci-fi game & setting(s), or spending those exact same resources on D&D or Magic?

At this time, when each D&D book seems to sell like gangbusters? Don't expect in investment in other games.

 

[Umbran]

Does sci-fi even have relevance in pop culture anymore? I can see supers, horror, and of course fantasy, but are there any big sci-fi franchises out these days?

Currently - Star Trek: Discovery. Picard. Lower Decks.
Upcoming - Section 31. Prodigy. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

 

[Umbran]

Sasquatch Games created the second edition of Alternity pretty recently.

Published it in 2017, to be exact.

 

[Lycurgon]

On the other hand an actual new game potentially opens up revenue streams that simply cranking out more 5E books doesn't. I have no clue where you get the idea that it would make less money either. That sounds like an opinion, but it's stated like a fact, a 'fact' I find somewhat dubious.

It is an opinion based on the fact that Sci-fi RPGs have historically and currently not sold anywhere near as well as Fantasy RPG games. Amazon's current list of best selling Fantasy Game Books has 1 TTRPG book that is not a Fantasy book (ignoring non TTRPG books like litRPG novels and Minecraft books), which is a Call of Cthulhu book at #100.

Last time I looked at VTT data it shows that most games other the D&D (around 50%) and Pathfinder (around 5-6%) and Call of Cthulhu (all editions adding to around 10%) are at or less than 1% of players.

Hasbro era WotC is a much more data driven company than TSR ever was and they will certainly know the numbers show that Sci-fi TTRPGs don't make as much money as D&D. So they will look at the data and know the facts that they can make a top 100 best selling RPG Book for D&D or they can spend more money developing a game that might get 1% of the gaming community interested in it if they are lucky. So I don't see them bothering.
They might licence some of there Sci-fi properties to other companies.

It would take a miracle for them to make anywhere as much money from another game than you can from D&D.

The closest I think they will get would be Spelljammer.

 

[Fenris-77]

Even a casual look at DTRPG on any given day will gove the lie to that little nugget.

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

The basic question for WotC and sci-fi games is really a simple one: Opportunity Cost.

What is likely to bring them greater value - putting resources on designing a new sci-fi game & setting(s), or spending those exact same resources on D&D or Magic?

At this time, when each D&D book seems to sell like gangbusters? Don't expect in investment in other games.

That's what ultimately did Alternity in, D&D level production costs and GURPS level sales.

 

[Thomas Shey]

While that's an argument I've seen before, I'd suggest its really an argument that everything has done poorly next to D&D. You can read it that D&D is fantasy, or read it that, as usual, the gravitational advantage D&D has had since day one makes everything else suffer. You'd need to compare non-D&D fantasy to SF games to find out whether the issue is genre or just that D&D has been an 800 lb. gorilla since at least 1978.

 

[Umbran]

That's what ultimately did Alternity in, D&D level production costs and GURPS level sales.

It doesn't have to cost any more to produce than any other game, really. But as folks have just noted, D&D is the 800 lb gorilla.

If you already own the gorilla, you feed the gorilla.