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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ariosto" data-source="post: 4836740" data-attributes="member: 80487">As I wrote earlier, I have seen the comparison made mainly by people with little interest in (and hence little knowledge of) 4E or WoW. I really do not think it is meant literally, but stems from such a reaction as Hereticus has described.I'm not claiming that this is any more than anecdotal experience. I think I can see, though, some hints as to how the response arose at least in those cases.The roll-out -- with "4dventure" ("Wasn't that a Chevy?") and "D&D Sizzle" ("Who exactly is that YouTube video supposed to appeal to?" "Francophiles with laptops, I guess.") -- did not help.Cue Magic: the Gathering, Pokemon, Everquest, and WoW references like Pavlov inducing dogs to salivate. "Trying to compete head-to-head with World of Warcraft is stupid for Wizards of the Coast." But what was the basis of the assumption that WotC was doing so? Was it just a joke that outlived the punchline?The semi-joke goes back to 3E, which to the traditionalists was already edging into Rifts and SenZar territory. No, those are not (as far as I know) computer games. But they do deal in bigger numbers than AD&D, and so does 3E (as an orc with an ax quickly demonstrated), and so do some computer games. Some folks, especially of a certain age, tend to find that sort of thing funny. It may have to do with long association with the phrase "Dungeons and Beavers".So, along comes this new game with even bigger numbers, "healing surges", wizards casting Magic Missile (or Ray of Frost, etc.) at will, even more wuxia/ shonen / something-sounding jargon, and ... lots of buzz about great new online features. "So, will the 4E PHB come with controllers, or will they be sold separately?"As far as I can tell, this was all a priori and ad hominem. It Came From Wizards, and so did 3E -- and many of the same folks had been saying similar things about that.It's not that they actually knew much about anime, MMORPGs, or 4E. The common element was that they did not want to get acquainted with any of those.</blockquote>

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