Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Why TSR-era D&D Will Always Be D&D
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Aldarc" data-source="post: 8637438" data-attributes="member: 5142"><p>I wasn't aware that I was debating this idea. However, I would prefer not to equate the health of the TTRPG field in crudely capitalistic senses of wealth and money: this is to say, I'm resistant against the idea that we should measure the health of the hobby based on the fact that the corporate lion is raking in bigger profits, even if I understand that people like to see money as a measure of success or health, even if it disproportionately is in the hands of a few. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Correlation is not causation. This is to say that I don't think that we can attribute any ill health of the TTRPG field to TSR's woes or D&D "sneezing." If the TTRPG marketed "cratered" in the '90s, which I'm somewhat skeptical of, it probably had more to do with larger concurrent market factors, namely the meteoric rise of other hobby games. The '90s, for example, saw the birth and explosion of MtG and collectible card games into the market, which was a huge money-maker. This was where WotC big money to even buy TSR came from. Concurrently, there was a <em>massive</em> rise in PC gaming on a scale that absolutely dwarfs D&D and the entire TTRPG hobby scene. Conversely, during the time 3e D&D, no one would really argue that D&D sneezed - many considered it healthy and hale - but it saw the rise of the d20 System, which experienced what felt a lot like the Dot Com Bubble. There is a lot of survivor bias surrounding the TTRPG companies that rose and fell during this time. By a number of accounts, it wasn't a good time for brick and mortar stores despite the relative health and good standing of D&D. None of these market shifts require creating narratives of D&D sneezing and the TTRPG field catching a cold.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Aldarc, post: 8637438, member: 5142"] I wasn't aware that I was debating this idea. However, I would prefer not to equate the health of the TTRPG field in crudely capitalistic senses of wealth and money: this is to say, I'm resistant against the idea that we should measure the health of the hobby based on the fact that the corporate lion is raking in bigger profits, even if I understand that people like to see money as a measure of success or health, even if it disproportionately is in the hands of a few. Correlation is not causation. This is to say that I don't think that we can attribute any ill health of the TTRPG field to TSR's woes or D&D "sneezing." If the TTRPG marketed "cratered" in the '90s, which I'm somewhat skeptical of, it probably had more to do with larger concurrent market factors, namely the meteoric rise of other hobby games. The '90s, for example, saw the birth and explosion of MtG and collectible card games into the market, which was a huge money-maker. This was where WotC big money to even buy TSR came from. Concurrently, there was a [I]massive[/I] rise in PC gaming on a scale that absolutely dwarfs D&D and the entire TTRPG hobby scene. Conversely, during the time 3e D&D, no one would really argue that D&D sneezed - many considered it healthy and hale - but it saw the rise of the d20 System, which experienced what felt a lot like the Dot Com Bubble. There is a lot of survivor bias surrounding the TTRPG companies that rose and fell during this time. By a number of accounts, it wasn't a good time for brick and mortar stores despite the relative health and good standing of D&D. None of these market shifts require creating narratives of D&D sneezing and the TTRPG field catching a cold. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
Why TSR-era D&D Will Always Be D&D
Top