How about the D&D Brand Homepage (and how depressing is it that D&D is a "brand")? Well, if you wait long enough, the main graphic will rotate in a link so you can "Sign Up Today and Be a Part of Gaming History". Clicking that put's you on a page for the WotC mailing list for the 5e play test info. But wait, on the left side there is a small caption about Charting the Course of D&D! Whee! We found our link!
These are the fucktards that are going to make D&D viable in the eyes of Hasbro? They can't even post the announcement on their site the right way.
Wait a second? Didn't we just get D&D Essentials, the "essential" way to play 4e. Oh, and when I say we, I don't mean me, as I don't play 4e, I mean "we" as in "you".
Not that this announcement is all that surprising. Ever since Monte returned ("All Hail Monte, Lord of 3e and in turn, the trickle down known as The OSR") to WotC we (now I mean "me", but probably "you" too) knew that 5e was coming sooner then later.
So, 4e has run it's course. Stick a fork it it and the abysmal GSL. Game over Johnny. Now, obviously they talk their parents at Hasbro that 2012 was going to be a wash for the D&D Brand, and they were saving all their pennies for the launch of 5e and the return of Wizards to a viable component of Hasbro. Either that or we get the D&D RPG shelved for a few years, it whatever iteration it ends at.
What is 5e supposed to accomplish (besides making money for WotC / Hasbro in a shrinking market)? Apparently they want to bring all the disillusioned D&D / Pathfinder / OSR / OGL gamers back into the fold. Because then they might actually have a market sizable enough to keep the brand afloat. Good luck with that one lads. You fucked with a lot of gamers' (and publishers') goodwill when you released a Dungeons & Dragons game barely recognizable to it's long term fans, with a screwed up licensing scheme on top of that. You think many will trust you this time?
Maybe that's part of the reason for bringing back Monte Cook. He makes the newest, latest edition possibly redeemable. He's also a face and a name that the 3e generation know and respect. Monte's got impossible job if it's to integrate players from 0e to 4e, and all the "E's" between.
Me? I hope they can accomplish 10% of what they hope for, as that will still be 100% more then 4e added to my gaming enjoyment. Maybe I'll be surprised. I'm certain this is far from the last I'll be posting on this.
How do you feel about 5e's announcement?
They detail at great length how they are going to achieve unity with all rpg gamers by introducing more division.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, no one can find the article. ;]
I hope it all works out and the game is really awesome.
ReplyDeleteI hope it is awesome too.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations are, however, significantly lower ;)
Join the boycott. Vote NO to D&D 5e.
ReplyDeleteI think 5 e is going to be more like a simplified 3e, at least initially. Followed by 2e splatbooks ;)
ReplyDeleteNo need to boycott. Success can only bring new people into the hobby. Failure... failure probably means the brand is shelved for a few years.
Sorry man, I have disagree. I think they have done more to push people out of the hobby. I know everyone likes to blame computer games and console games for the loss of players but I'm in the process of dumping my entire (almost) videogame collection and have spent more money in the last 2 months on analog gaming than I have in years (and I mean new, shrink wrapped, whatever...new).
ReplyDeleteAnd the quote I read from Ryan Dancey today shows just how far out of touch he is with TRPG when he said we have been in a steady decline since 2003 when sales numbers actually show that TRPG is growing larger since 2004 while video games topped in 2005 and have been declining in sales ever since. I hope he doesn't screw the Pathfinder MMO up. I have never played one and was looking forward to it.I don't think he realizes he didn't screw up gaming with the OGL, he saved it. But he doesn't seem to know what the hell he's talking about these days.
I couldn't care less.
ReplyDelete@ADD Grognard - I think it's hard to actually "push" people out of the hobby. If folks that played 3x didn't want to move on to 4e, they didn't have to. OGL choices and all that.
ReplyDeleteAs for Ryan, sometimes I wonder if he's off his meds these days, because he seems to be talking out of both sides of his face these days and neither side makes sense.
And as for Video Game systems, they will bump up when the next gen systems start hitting
I agree with you, took me forever to find the 'news'. I ended up finding the link to the New York Times article, which then led me to the WotC page. Sad...
ReplyDeletePersonally I am for a new edition. (Can't be any worse than 4th right?) If they achieve their goals of it essentially being D&D's Greatest Hits, then bring it on!
ReplyDeleteAnd if they do achieve those goals, I suggest it be called D&D Ultimate Edition.
I think the idea of calling it "D&D Next" is pretty dumb, because it implies that it's just another in a series, reminding people about how much money they blew on 4E, and about how much they really want to wear an "I got punked by WotC" T-shirt at the next gaming convention. Mike Mearls has already stated more than once that he's trying to create a new universal system. So why not just call it "D&D Universal"? If it lives up to that, Mike, then you're a hero. If you blow it then Paizo buys the entire franchise from Hasbro at 10 cents on the dollar. Grab a d20 and roll your save, Mike. Oh, and roll high.
ReplyDelete