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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 3:35PM
#1
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Did WotC ever say why they are making a new edition rather than just updating 4e? Just curious. 
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 3:44PM
#2
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Not entirely sure what your asking here. Where do you see this as a 4e update?
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 3:44PM
#3
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Date Joined:
May 27, 2012
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I'm pretty sure that it was because it was performing so poorly (by whatever metrics) that they deemed it unsalvageable. I guess that's just speculation on my part, though.
I mean, wasn't Essentials the 4E update?
The metagame is not the game.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 3:48PM
#4
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1) Pathfinders is popular and WoTC does not profit from this. 2) 4e book sales and D&D Insider account subscriptions are likely down from 24-36 months ago. 3) The player fanbase was split on 4e with many grognards lamenting the changes (hence 1) 4) WoTC wants to unify the fanbase with a 3.5/4e hybrid and bring back the Pathfinders players 5) WoTC wants to invigorate its D&D fanbase into a new round of purchasing. In short. $$$. The same motivation most businesses have to do anything. If there is a question about a business's behavior for better or worse, the answer is almost always $$$. Note that this isn't a bad thing...it's why they exist 
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 3:51PM
#5
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Elephant in the room...I see what you did there.
My two copper.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 3:52PM
#6
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1) Pathfinders is popular and WoTC does not profit from this.
2) 4e book sales and D&D Insider account subscriptions are likely down from 24-36 months ago.
3) The player fanbase was split on 4e with many grognards lamenting the changes (hence 1)
4) WoTC wants to unify the fanbase with a 3.5/4e hybrid and bring back the Pathfinders players
5) WoTC wants to invigorate its D&D fanbase into a new round of purchasing.
In short. $$$. The same motivation most businesses have to do anything. If there is a question about a business's behavior for better or worse, the answer is almost always $$$. Note that this isn't a bad thing...it's why they exist
Thank you for this. I guess if that's the point, why don't they just come out and say it then? It would alleviate a lot of flame wars that fire up here I would think. I just feel by throwing it to the community, there's outrage and chaos every time they put something out. Mainly because we don't have an idea about where their head space is at.
I mean I would of understood it better if I had known before that Pathfinder is the #1 selling RPG right now in the world.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 4:03PM
#7
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Date Joined:
May 25, 2012
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Thank you for this. I guess if that's the point, why don't they just come out and say it then?
They have. Multiple times:
"4e was broken as a game and business and it needs to go away....The audience is fractured among a few D&D systems, the GSL did not accomplish what it was supposed to do (create broad 3pp support for the system), the designs has evolved over time (class changes, monsters etc), Essentials was/is confusing to new(er) players and veterans. If 4e was healthy we would not be talking about 5e right now."
- Scott Rouse, WotC Brand Manager
Still doesn't stop the flamewars. Now let's move on and make DDN great, m'kay?
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 4:04PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Jul 19, 2012
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I think they could have eliminated a lot of flame wars by not saying that they want to make a new version of D&D that embodies the essence of D&D and asking what we thought that looked like then giving us a forum to go wild in.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 4:06PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Mar 29, 2005
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I think they could have eliminated a lot of flame wars by not saying that they want to make a new version of D&D that embodies the essence of D&D and asking what we thought that looked like then giving us a forum to go wild in.
WotC can't eliminate flame wars. No matter what they do or don't do, people will hate them for it, and do so loudly.
Ever feel like people on these forums can't possibly understand how wrong they are? Feeling trolled? Don't get mad. Report Post.
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6 months ago ::
Dec 04, 2012 - 4:06PM
#10
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Date Joined:
Apr 16, 2009
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They have. Multiple times:
"4e was broken as a game and business and it needs to go away....The audience is fractured among a few D&D systems, the GSL did not accomplish what it was supposed to do (create broad 3pp support for the system), the designs has evolved over time (class changes, monsters etc), Essentials was/is confusing to new(er) players and veterans. If 4e was healthy we would not be talking about 5e right now."
- Scott Rouse, WotC Brand Manager
Oh, I see. 5E is a second try at what they tried to do with Essentials.
"The world does not work the way you have been taught it does. We are not real as such; we exist within The Story. Unfortunately for you, you have inherited a condition from your mother known as Primary Protagonist Syndrome, which means The Story is interested in you. It will find you, and if you are not ready for the narrative strands it will throw at you..." - from Footloose
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