WotC's New Player Strategies - Thoughts?

[MerricB]

I find it interesting that the basic set - targeted at new players - will include 16 mini's. On the one hand, this means new gamers should have everything they need to start play, and mini's can be a good addition to a game session.

Actually, one really good reason to include miniatures is because they look better than tokens!

Consider what the D&D Basic game is up against - computer games, board games, war games, card games, and more computer games - and you see that the production levels are pretty high.

Miniatures are so much more impressive than tokens, that I think they've made the right call.

Plus, if something is too cheap, people ignore it. "It can't be good."

Cheers!

 

[Dragonblade]

The MTV crowd thrive on stereotypes and cool factor. You can emphasize all the positive aspects of D&D all you want but if its perceived as nerdy, no one will play it.

Movies like "Bring it On", or "You Got Served", portray the kind of in your face, confrontational cool factor that D&D needs to attract the MTV crowd.

Otherwise you are wasting your money by advertising on MTV.

 

[Mark]

Actually, one really good reason to include miniatures is because...

Isn't this meant as a cross-promotional introduction? I just assumed the box was going to include rules for both the RPG and the Minis game.

 

[MerricB]

Isn't this meant as a cross-promotional introduction? I just assumed the box was going to include rules for both the RPG and the Minis game.

Nope. It'll be just the D&D rules (though simplified, I expect). Of course, the mini rules are simplified as well, but you won't have any mention of "factions", "commanders", "morale" or similar. Oh, and you'll likely roll dice for damage, unlike the miniature game.

The D&D Miniature game is introduced through the D&D Miniatures Entry Packs.

However, it is cross-promotional, because they'll get the minis and be directed to both the RPG and the Miniatures game.

Cheers!

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

OTOH, it raises the price of the basic set to $24.95. Take out the mini's, and the price could probably drop to the $9.95 - $12.95 range, which is easier for kids/teens to afford. Also, while many players in a group will want to have the rules, not every player needs the mini's. I suspect a lot of buyers will copy the short rulebooks at Kinko's, rather than buy multiple copies of the basic set.

There's a lot of marketing research out there that points out that quite a few kids and teens have significant disposable incomes. I know when I was in high school I could afford things like this on my allowance and tutoring income; I purchased a great many Battletech, Shadowrun, and GURPS books with my own money back then. Of course, I also wasn't buying my own clothes or shoes or other things, but we each make our own choices. (And I realize that not every kid does have that kind of income...but not every one doesn't!)

Brad

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

I have a G.I. Joe comic from the early 90's with an ad for "Dungeons and Dragons"...along with ads for Megaman III...

Bringing us full circle, G.I. Joe was the first comic book advertised on TV.

I remember the D&D ads running in the Marvel Star Wars series; those kind of made me want to play, and I remember distinctly enjoying reading the MM entries on dinosaurs in Kay-Bee Toys.

Brad

 

[Wolfspirit]

As long as they do it well, it'd be cool. Barring something major happening in the fantasy market, now is probably one of the best times to cash in on the popularity of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter (Less so on the latter, that probably would have been a year or two ago).

I just hope they make them better than the Magic commercials I saw once. Ok, cool, art. Give people some reason to actually play

Oh, and I don't think that it's so much as giving D&D "exposure" per se, yeah, everyone's heard of D&D one way or another by this point. On the other hand, I've met a surprising number of people that are completely clueless about what it actually *is*, let alone why they should be playing it.

 

[mmadsen]

OTOH, it raises the price of the basic set to $24.95. Take out the mini's, and the price could probably drop to the $9.95 - $12.95 range, which is easier for kids/teens to afford.

From It Doesn’t Grow on Trees:

In 2002, teens accounted for more than $170 billion in spending, an increase of 38 percent from five years ago. Teens spend an average of $92 per week, and most receive money on an as-needed basis from their parents as opposed to getting a strict, defined allowance.
[...]
Allowances have been rising at nearly twice the rate of inflation with the average allowance for a child today being $11.79 per week.

Also, $12 in 1982 (the cost of the old red-box Basic Set) is equivalent to $23 in 2002. (Try out this inflation calculator).

 

[Mark]

From It Doesn’t Grow on Trees

Startling figures...and promising, too.

 

[Creamsteak]

Wow... I never had money till I had a job...

I sorta envy the people that get what they want on an "as needed" basis, but then again I don't...