Last week word reportedly leaked out
through a pre-order page on Barnes & Noble’s website that
Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro’s next iteration of Dungeons &
Dragons – tentatively called “D&D Next” in its
seemingly lengthy design and playtesting phase – would cost $50 for
the Players Handbook. Assuming this leak contained any degree
truth, this presumably means the other two books in the D&D
rules “trilogy,” the Dungeon Masters Guide and the Monster
Manual, would also come with a similar price tag, theoretically
bringing the overall price for all components necessary to play the
game to $150.
The pre-order page has since been
withdrawn. Was it a legitimate mistake on Barnes & Noble’s
part? Was it a clever test to gauge reaction to a $50 price? No doubt
the adventure gaming population has been following and discussing
this development, eagerly awaiting more official details hopefully
justifying the cost, particularly page count and contents. One
assumes in today’s roleplaying game publishing market the books
will all release as full-color hardcovers, though the page count
remains to be seen and, no doubt, judged in relation to the $50
price.
(As a side-note, yet more relevant to
my own intetests, the next edition D&D Starter Set faces
similar uncertainty, with a $19.95 price tag for contents unknown at
the time, though such an “introductory” price isn’t as much of
an issue.)
Members of the adventure gaming hobby
have long waged the debate over what’s a reasonable “buy-in”
for games of all kinds, from roleplaying and board games to
traditional and miniature wargames. While perusing one of the
numerous online gaming community forums I noted someone’s comment
that $50 seems the pretty standard minimum buy-in price for any
adventure gaming hobby these days. They’re probably right, but
that’s $50 for enough of a game to get started and have at least
some time for a satisfying game experience before buying supplemental
material to fuel the game.
What’s a reasonable buy-in price for
the next edition of the game that gave birth to an entire roleplaying
game industry, a game with once-infamous brand recognition that still
defines the hobby?
Overcoming
Obstacles
D&D Next, whatever the
price, must overcome several obstacles to attract customers (and
players) to pay whatever buy-in Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro finally
chooses: a price tag commensurate with similar games with the
hardcover, full-color production standard; the requirement
(presumably) of three books to purchase at that price to fully enjoy
the game; a plethora of competing games offering a similar play
experience for a lower price; and gamers’ usual wide spectrum of
preferences for particular game mechanics and play style, which this
game may not satisfy.
Hardcover, full-color core rulebooks
remain the standard in the adventure gaming hobby today. For
instance, Monte Cook’s fantastic Numenera cost me $60
through the Kickstarter campaign to get the physical book – a
hardcover volume filled with an extravaganza of inspiring artwork and
relatively intuitive and helpful layout – though this also came
with a plethora of similarly high-production-value PDF supplements
and extras. Even rulebooks for some of the more popular miniature
wargaming systems maintain these high production standards with the
associated price tag. D&D Next must justify any comparable
price with a high perceived value of its contents.
Since its birth the Dungeons &
Dragons game has adhered to a multi-book presentation. It quickly
solidified around the three core aspects of the game: a book for
players, one for gamemasters, and one packed with monsters. Although
some roleplaying games have since adopted this multi-book approach,
many focus on a single, high-quality core rulebook with an
appropriately high price tag. Theoretically, as with most roleplaying
games, a game group only needs one copy of each tome, primarily for
the gamemaster’s use, with the books passing from one player to the
next for reference or character development ideas. From a practical
standpoint, many gamers prefer to own the rules of games in which
they’re involved.
Since the Open Game License enabled
publishers and fans to release their own games based on many elements
of the groundbreaking third edition of D&D in 2000, the
adventure gaming hobby has seen a flood of d20-related
product. Consumers helped sift out what many considered the dreck and
propelled several lines into immense popularity. The release of
fourth edition D&D in 2008 came without an Open Game
License to permit such independent creative efforts. It so
significantly restructured the game that a rift formed between fans
of the latest two editions. Capitalizing on this schism and the
privileges of the Open Game License, Paizo Publishing developed the
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, offering a similar third-edition
experience to gamers who felt fourth edition did not meet their needs
and tastes. (Paizo previously released D&D third edition
materials under license from Wizards of the Coast, including Dragon
and Dungeon magazines, and retained a number of former Wizards
staff who were instrumental in the third edition development.) It
became so immensely popular that some claim Pathfinder has in
recent years equaled or even exceeded sales of D&D
products.
The Open Game License also opened
subsequent editions of D&D to additional competition. A
host of fan game designers returned to the game’s roots in D&D’s
earliest editions in what came to be known as the “old school
renaissance” of “retro-clone” games which emulated that
cherished, earlier game experience. Many are available for free or
low-cost; they’ve since garnered a sizable, vocal, and creative
following of devotees who may not want to pay for the latest
iteration of a D&D they’ve tailored to their own tastes.
None of these developments with competing fantasy roleplaying games
bode well for D&D Next to make an overwhelming impact on
the market, particularly with the high price expected for a trio of
high-production-value rulebooks.
Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro hopes to
capitalize on brand loyalty, a nostalgic appeal, and the hopes of
some innovative game mechanics, all elements working in the new
edition’s favor. What will win out over the game’s final price
tag – and what impact D&D Next may have on the gaming
community and the corporate bottom line – only the future can tell.
I’m in no position to tell Wizards of the Coast/Hasbro how to run
their company, nor do I care to make predictions for a fluid future
for D&D based on a marketing strategy and the whims (and
budgets) of a mercurial gamer population. It’s worth watching how
this pricing drama unfolds so perhaps we as consumers – and others
as publishers – might learn something from this approach with a
brand that has long been the cornerstone of the adventure gaming
industry.
Will
I Buy It?
I doubt it. The possible $150 buy-in
price remains too high for me. My gaming tastes have changed away
from rulebook-heavy games to lighter fare. Don’t let my personal
preferences sway you, though – everyone’s mileage may vary –
but here are some insights on my decision.
I’m a gamer who’s proud of his
geeky involvement with D&D over the years. I began playing
D&D in the early 1980s, arguably the “Golden Age” of
roleplaying games. I still own my copies of the three first-edition
rulebooks with a host of supplements and modules, as well as my
cherished D&D Basic and Expert rules. Frequent
readers know I have a nostalgic spot for games I discovered during my
youth. Although I didn’t get involved in TSR’s second edition D&D
while I was distracted by college and early professional life, I
bought the D&D third edition books when they released for
a number of reasons: the $19.95 price tag for each was relatively
affordable; I had the possibility of doing some freelance writing for
the numerous Open Game License publishers; I had a nostalgic interest
to see where the game was going; and, I’ll admit that, like many
gamers at the time, I was curious how Wizards of the Coast would
advance the D&D brand and eager to try the next iteration
after so many years under second edition.
I rarely spend $50 on a single game
purchase these days, let alone $150. Perhaps my biggest single-game
purchase lately was the aforementioned Numenera, more for the
uniqueness of the setting and the promise of innovative game
mechanics (though the fantastic production values and host of PDF
supplements helped). If I want to engage in medieval fantasy
roleplaying games I have plenty to choose from that are probably more
to my taste these days: those geared for play with kids; systems I
know and love and can easily adapt to a fantasy setting; and a host
of mostly free old-school renaissance “retro-clones” which seek
to simulate or build upon the D&D Basic and Expert
games I preferred to the more official, “advanced” rules.
Few other games – quite possibly no
other games – approach the adventure gaming industry stature of
Dungeons & Dragons. It’s still a part of my gamer
identity and remains on my radar as a follower of the adventure
gaming hobby. I wrote about my interest in D&D Next news almost two years ago, when Wizards of the Coast announced the project
and put it into “open” development playtesting; re-reading that
missive I realize my views really haven’t changed. Like many fellow
gamers I’ll watch developments in Wizards of the Coast’s
re-launch of the most celebrated roleplaying game brand in the
industry.
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