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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ron" data-source="post: 5706894" data-attributes="member: 1020">In regard to the eventual loss of customers with a new edition, I don't think WotC is too much worried about it. In every single transition, there were a loss, especially when the editions were significantly different, such as from 2nd to 3rd and from 3rd to 4th. As such, WotC is expecting that many 4th edition fans will refuse to make the jump to 5th edition, fragmenting the market even more.However, this may not be the main market WotC is looking for. Ryan Dancey clearly stated that among all books sold from the AD&D line, the Players Handbook was the most successful, perhaps the only profitable one -- although I dispute this later idea because of the sales synergy of the remaining of the line, not to include the need of taking shell space at stores to help the sales of their best selling product.I strongly suspect the reason why the PHB sold so well was the flux of new customers to the hobby. If my own experience is common, most people would try out D&D for a few sessions and then give up the experience. Only a few would turn into aficionados. If this is right, it is quite possible the PHB sales were driven not only from gamers but also from people that flirted with the hobby and then left. As much as it is controversial about the degree of complexity of AD&D, it is clear that to a newcomer it is very easy to create a character and play the game without any knowledge of the rules, as long as he or she is being tutored by an experienced DM. The same cannot be said about newer editions as the number of options during character generation and actual playing are quite difficult to an unexperienced player.Considering this, I don't think WotC is trying to get back the old customers by offering a complexity dial. I believe they are trying to make D&D accessible to newcomers. By offering simpler character generation and straightforward gameplay, 5th edition could emulate the easiness of play of former editions whereas the more complex options could attract veteran players.Fans of older editions, for most part, will probably keep playing their stuff but I guess WotC is more interested in bringing more people to the hobby. During the 80s, D&D and AD&D was great introductory games, something that was lost during 3rd edition. Although many people claim 3rd edition brought new blood to the game, my personal experience was very different. I noticed a lot of gamers moved from their games back to D&D, but hardly any new gamer joined the ranks through 3rd edition. If anything, it seemed that WotC, with 3rd and 4th edition, aimed at the sophisticated players that enjoyed very complex games, such as GURPS, and forgot that this is a niche market. Hopefully, by making 5th edition an accessible game, many more people will try out roleplaying games and we will see a few more new faces around.</blockquote>

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