Will there ever be new editions of the major systems?

[Jahydin]

Do I understand this correctly and the WotC years were the deviation and 6e will get closer to 1e/2e again? I thought 5e was already the step back towards the original design, just without abandoning everything they learned in the meantime. Not really expecting them to get much closer to 1e/2e than that

AD&D/BX to me is the heart and soul of D&D (and I feel there should still be two versions of D&D, storytelling focused and a tactical focused IMO). The deviation started with 2e and really got away when the "2.5e" material started to come out. It cycled back with 3e; the slogan even being "Back to the Dungeon!". 4e was the deviation, then cycled back with 5e. After about 5 years, the game began to deviate again. With 5.24e, the game is wildly different (especially aesthetically).

As to whether there will be a new edition, there always was one after sales slumped, I don’t think this cycle will end and I don’t think sales will never slow down either. Forever is a long time

Which leads to "6e". I think the smartest move would be a "return to form" again. How much so? That I'm not sure, but I'd like to think closer to AD&D then even 5e was. Any evidence? Nope, just gut feeling. It's fun to speculate though and I'm okay with being wrong!

BTW, none of this is coming from a place of nostalgia as I didn't really dig into AD&D until I had time during COVID!

 

[Jahydin]

To those of us who come of age in the TTRPG market of the '90s, it's pretty wild that White Wolf went from one of the two main branches of RPGs to an afterthought in less than a decade, but that's exactly what happened.

Any idea as to why?

For me, it was the drop in quality of the books. Those WoD era books were spectacular. I bought them just for the art and still have them on my shelf.

 

[Jahydin]

Like TSR in the 1970s, White Wolf had lightning in a bottle with Vampire. It was the right game, at the right time, in the right place. It's the only RPG I can think of other than D&D that's ever really become known in wider popular culture. But the World of Darkness just screams 1990s to me in a way that most fantasy settings don't scream 1970s or 80s to me. Even when taking account the hair on Elmore's fantasy art. Maybe being set a faux medieval setting makes for a somewhat timeless gaming experience.

Perfectly said! I think it really goes to show the benefit of drawing from outside experiences to create art rather than just drawing from preexisting products and ideas.

Something the anime industry could really benefit from...