WotC's release schedule Jan - Apr ´08. 4th Edition?

[Glyfair]

Wasn't that how 1E was released?

Sort of. The time between the PHB & DMG was much further apart than the MM & PHB, as I remember it.

theredrobedwizard, could you fix your image so it doesn't screw with the pages format?

 

[Glyfair]

How about this for an alternate theory about the reduction in releases.

It is no secret the RPG market is shrinking (as much as some fight admitting it). Perhaps this in reaction to that. WotC is shrinking their releases because overall they aren't selling as well. They are going for a few releases they feel will do well.

If that's the case, this would be the worse time for 4E. Yes, they would get a big bump in sales when it's released. However, every new release alienates some part of the old guard and you lose them. That isn't a smart thing to do in a shrinking marketplace in the long term, unless 4E manages to bring in enough to replace them (whether returning players, or new players).

If 4E is released soon I am very likely not to buy it. If it's not very backward compatible with 3.5 then I'm very likely to not buy any future supplements (if it is then I'll likely continue to buy Eberron material).

So maybe WotC is just reducing their D&D output and not preparing for the imminent release of 4E.

 

[Doug McCrae]

theredrobedwizard, could you fix your image so it doesn't screw with the pages format?

As an aside, I've noticed that all the pages have been screwed on enworld recently (at least in Firefox). There's a little horizontal scroll which is a big no-no in website design. No idea what's causing it, perhaps the adverts at the top.

 

[Glyfair]

As an aside, I've noticed that all the pages have been screwed on enworld recently (at least in Firefox). There's a little horizontal scroll which is a big no-no in website design. No idea what's causing it, perhaps the adverts at the top.

I understand it's from the WotC ad at the top of the page. Apparently it messes with the page (but only sometimes). It doesn't show up in Firefox for some reason (I assume it's on one of Addblocks hot lists), but still plays with the formatting.

 

[Athenon]

For the record, I don't think the sky is falling. I'm intrigued to see what they do with 4E. I'm not convinced it's going to be great, but I'm also not convinced it won't. If I had it my way, I'd want them to release a truly great 4E at Gen Con 2008.

There's also been some speculation about the discontinuation of 4E OGL/d20 products from third party publishers. I don't think this will happen. The main reason being that starting a 4th edition without allowing at least a few of the better third parties (Paizo, Necromancer, Green Ronin and Goodman come to mind) could create a situation where those companies actually compete with the release. If the initial launch of 4E wasn't popular, continued 3.5 products from all those publishers would not help WotC.

 

[Eldragon]

1) It could be that the released schedule shown is incomplete.
2) Personally, I feel we have been flooded in Crunch for the last couple years. WotC could be taking a step back to figure out where to go next.They can't release new classes/feats forever.
3) Books that would normally be released during this time are getting held back so that they synch better with Gleemax. e.g. Put in a couple URLs in the text, and pack each book with a a CD containing electronic suppliments.
4) "D&D Saga Edition" is coming. Its 95% compatible with standard 3.5, So it would be D&D 3.75

 

[Snapdragyn]

I give up. Where the heck is the link to this catalog?

 

[Glyfair]

I give up. Where the heck is the link to this catalog?

There is this new concept where some companies actually print stuff on paper and send it to the retailers

Seriously, it's a catalog that WotC sends to retailers so they can know what is coming out and plan their purchases in advance. That allows them to let their distributor know how many they expect to order, their distributor then let's WotC know how much they expectd to order, and WotC can use that to determine print run and distribution decisions.

The catalog doesn't get put online, although the information eventually will be in the WotC product section.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

If that's the case, this would be the worse time for 4E. Yes, they would get a big bump in sales when it's released. However, every new release alienates some part of the old guard and you lose them. That isn't a smart thing to do in a shrinking marketplace in the long term, unless 4E manages to bring in enough to replace them (whether returning players, or new players)./QUOTE]

Well I would be one of the returning ones. I bought 1E, skipped 2E, came back for 3E, boycotted 3.5, and want to come back for 4E

 

[borc killer]

WotC has shown they can design a strictly-better d20 rulesset than 3.5 without making it incompatible with a majority of 3.5 crunch: Star Wars Saga. Heck, they managed to do that while going cross-genre and attempting (with a fair degree of success) to emulate source material outside their control - yet it's still THAT much better, and it's still at least 80-90% compatible with everything but the standard d20 magic system.

I was hoping they would work out the kinks of the great bugaboo of D&D, the magic system, in a d20 Modern Saga. However, if they want to take the plunge and risk of putting whatever fix they end up with directly into 4e, so be it. I trust their current design team to make a massive upgrade to the game.

Still, I'm not sure the release schedule means much.

I dont think it is possable for me to be in more agreement with you.