WoTC has had to swallow a lot of pride. To announce a new edition so soon seems to be openly saying they take the view that 4e is a catastrophic failure. I don't take that view as pertains to the 4e play experience - I love playing 4e - but they must know much better than anyone else how 4e sales have been; apparently very much Not Good, at least as compares to their projections.
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Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException 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mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> I don’t think you have to use the words ”catastrophic failure”. 4E made money... initially. We all know that along the road since, things have not gone as well as they would have hoped. WotC gained lots of new fans with 4E – and it lost lots of old ones, too.
To be fairthough, 4E kept lots of old fans as well.
There is no argument that 4E hasn’t unspooled as well as WotC might have hoped, but “catastrophic failure” is a significant overstatement.
I think it is fair to view WotC’s “Hearts and Minds” announcement at face value: WotC would clearly prefer to be in a place where it can keep the new fans it made while enticing many of the old ones back in to the fold. That suits its economic interests and it MIGHT suit the interests of gamers, too. So, I’m willing to hear them out.
I’m not sure how they plan to build a Big Tent rules system for 5E or that it even can be successful in that goal – but I’m sure as hell willing to hear them out and judge the new edition on the quality of its rules and the rest of the material that supports it.
Seeing as I am certainly in the upper strata of “rabid Pathfinder fandom”, then I think that says a lot about WotC's potential for success. I think Monte Cook is a great designer and I am confident that he is well able to come up with a new iteration of the game that appeals to a broad swath of gamers.
So that’s all good and I look forward to buying 5E, reading it and playing it, too.
Now, that said, I’m not so sure that WotC is inclined to provide the ongoing game world and adventure material support that I have come to expect from Paizo and its material published for Golarion, its Adventure Paths and for Pathfinder Society. It isn’t that WotC can’t do it if it wanted to --- but I just don’t see that WotC is going to make that sort of ongoing support part of its core business anytime soon - or ever. Certainly, I have not seen any indication that they want to change their business approach and choose to make those kinds of products as part of their core business for the D&D brand.
On balance, that’s probably a deal breaker for me in terms of my “system of choice” – but it has nothing to do with the rules as such or with WotC.
Point is, I’m
quite interested in seeing what Monte Cook has in mind for 5<sup>th</sup> ed and I urge all of you to keep an open mind.