Will Essentials do well?

[WarlockLord]

The more I read on the internet, it seems 4ee won't catch on. According to the non-4e players thread (which, yes, I know it's just an EnWorld poll and not conclusive), 3.5ers aren't interested, and it seems to be fracturing the 4e community. It's a system reboot 2 years after 4e, which has ALREADY fractured the community in two, and I daresay isn't selling as well as 3.5. 4ee does not strike me as different enough to succeed, and I doubt WotC will actually attempt to mainstream the hobby. Thoughts?

 

[ggroy]

*** Looks into a crystal ball. ***

 

[Markn]

Your facts are far from correct.

1. Its not a system reboot.
2. Essentials has created a lot of discussion but I'd hardly call it fracturing the fanbase.
3. The old school feel of Essentials does indeed appeal to some non 4e fans so it continues to attract new players.
4. WotC continues to have the number 1 RPG out. I would daresay that 4e does outsell 3.5 (or Pathfinder if you prefer). It IS debateable whether it is as successful as WotC thought it would be. Without numbers everythign is just conjecture.
5. 4e has different design goals than those from Paizo's Pathfinder. There is room for both as they serve different players and markets.

Its fun to speculate, sure, but I would suggest waiting until Essentials comes out. That will give you a far better idea of what will happen.

IMO, once the dust settles, there will be more converts to 4e. It still won't be for everyone, but it will appeal to more people than 4e currently does - and that is what the Essentials design goals are.

 

[malraux]

I'll buy the rules compendium just to keep in my gaming box and to buy something in store from the gaming store I go to occasionally. I've also got the box set with the retro cover preordered just for the box.

I don't expect it to radically change my game. Hell, the recent stat block changes and monster math adjustments probably change my game more than the essentials will. The essentials will be just another option in the character builder.

 

[JoeGKushner]

My thoughts?

The Sky Is Falling!

Serioulsy, evertime someone starts talking about sales and 4.5 essentials and reboots, that's the post.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

I, for one, will say that despite not being attracted to 4e, I'm very tempted to try the Essentials line. At the very least, the basic red box and rules compendium (specially since the latter will be in digest format), with maybe the monster vault, seem like a worthwhile purchase for a compact, self-contained system. But maybe that's just me falling for marketing techniques

 

[SteveC]

I've looked into my crystal ball and say "signs point to yes."

I think that there will be a varied reception to the different products, but I think that if the Rules Compendium is really an up to date version of the 4X rules it will sell well with the existing fanbase who want an updated version of the rules.

The core class and monster books seem to be attracting a fair bit of interest from people who haven't adopted the system yet, so I think we'll see some market penetration there.

Beyond that, the tools and counters are a bit of a niche product, but they're also something you can enjoy with many different game systems, so I suspect they'll do well as well.

For me, it may be time to sell my core books and go with just the Rules Compendium... the rest is available online.

--Steve

 

[the Jester]

It's a system reboot

No it's not. Not anymore than Divine Power or Players Handbook 2 are system reboots.

 

[Argyle King]

I think just about anything with the name 'Dungeons & Dragons' on the cover will sell 'well' due to the recognition and value of the brand name. The better question is if it will sell well enough to meet the expectations of the bean counters.

 

[Keefe the Thief]

The more I read on the internet, it seems 4ee won't catch on. According to the non-4e players thread (which, yes, I know it's just an EnWorld poll and not conclusive), 3.5ers aren't interested, and it seems to be fracturing the 4e community. It's a system reboot 2 years after 4e, which has ALREADY fractured the community in two, and I daresay isn't selling as well as 3.5. 4ee does not strike me as different enough to succeed, and I doubt WotC will actually attempt to mainstream the hobby. Thoughts?

Your post is so full of yummy and tasty unfounded speculative stuff that i´m unable to answer because it´ll take hours to munch it down. Sorry.