"Come celebrate the release of the new D&D Essentials line of products and the new Dungeons & Dragons Fantasy Roleplaying Game with a classic-style adventure and a retro game experience!"
Really? A "Retro Game Experience"?
Cyclopeatron posted pics of the Bus, for those that haven't seen it.
Does this strike anyone else as downright, Orwellian? I mean, blatantly so? Retro Experience indeed! And who the hell do they think they're going to appeal to with their "retro" claims, anyway? Current gamers? Lapsed gamers, who haven't rolled a die in 20 years? Us? Is it possible that they actually believe that the resurgence in Old School gaming really is all about nostalgia and that if they wave a few familiar symbols under our nose, we'll give them our cash and play their game? If there were more of us, I'd say that was it. Maybe they think that those Lapsed Gamers have become sufficiently used to WoW that they'll love 4e if they can get them to try it.
They're just grasping at straws. The most probable expectation is that their crappy miniatures combat game needs to start selling enough to please their masters at Hasbro, and quickly.
ReplyDeleteWell, it is a cool bus.
ReplyDeleteIf they do get some attention from Lapsed Gamers, it's be the perfect time for an OSR advertising push.:) Thanks for stopping by, Will and K-Slacker.
ReplyDeleteD&D Red Box Game Day: September 11, 2010
ReplyDeleteHmm. I wonder if it's too late to get that nut-job in Florida to burn a bunch of these boxed sets tomorrow instead of the Kuran? He probably wouldn't know the difference.
We do not want to give anyone ideas about burning D&D!
ReplyDeleteI really do not know what to make of this; it's a very bizarre decision on WotC's part. Of course, I gave up trying to figure out what WotC was doing long ago.
ReplyDeleteYou know, if I hadn't just stopped taking my pain meds I would swear I was hallucinating the post with the bus. I am gobsmacked!
ReplyDeleteIt's just a shame it really isn't a full retro box. Talk about a sheep in wolf's clothing.
Admittedly, the errant spender in me wants to buy the red box, but I just feel I'd be unhappy with it.
...but that bus! Wow!
...and no burning D&D. Respect our religion, ok?
Ciao!
GW
Hi James M - Maybe they're using a Random Table to make their decisions...
ReplyDeleteHi Grendelwulf - I'd pay $20 for the Bus.
Seems desperate to me...
ReplyDelete9-11 for D&d Day? That turns me off more then trying to pass of the new box as D&D of old.
ReplyDeleteThe religion is the word, not the book, my friends. I learned that from the OGL, and a vast array of cookbooks. Besides, they can't burn my free, no-art pdfs anyway.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the actual 4e contents were garbage, I have found the new boxed set quite suitable for storing my collection of authentic old-school rulebooks.
ReplyDeleteA lot of the 4th ed designers claim to enjoy the older editions. Perhaps they are trying to appeal to themselves?
ReplyDeleteWizard, I've played D&D. I Knew D&D. D&D was a friend of mine. Wizard, you're no D&D.
ReplyDelete:)
I think you may be right with the lapsed gamer idea. Wizards may well be trying to catch the eye of that person who maybe gamed back in the day and then moved on to other things, and they now have children of their own and might see the box at the local Wal-Mart/Target/Toys R Us and say "Hey I remember playing this, it was fun, maybe I'll get for the kid or to play with the kid and so on.
ReplyDeleteDear WotC,
ReplyDeleteYou can't manufacture authenticity: it doesn't work that way. Likewise, there's nothing sadder than some fat old fart trying to squeeze back into an identity he adopted in his younger, wilder days.
Sincerely (etc.)
Bandwagon-hopping, barrel-scraping pile of *rse.
"There are plenty of people who are currently in the OSR who refuse to (or at least fuss a whole bunch) buy a new product unless it has a Pete Mullen cover"
ReplyDeletePete should quote you on his resume.:)
I like the BH WB cover better than the one by Pete on the old version. Granted, I like Pete's Core Rules cover best of all.
This is quite perplexing... Oh well I've still got my old books and my retro new books! WotC hasn't gotten any of my $$ in quite awhile and a fancy painted van while cool isn't going to change that.
ReplyDeleteI dislike 4e as about as much everyone else around here but I'm surprised to see so many here perplexed by this move.
ReplyDeleteTo me it seems as I said above, an attempt to capture the attention of someone who gamed back in the day but wasn't a hardcore gamer and moved on. And now as an adult with kids of their own they might see this familiar game buy it for their kids. Maybe they'll play it with their kids maybe not, in any case as casual gamers they are likely less invested in the game than we hardcore gamers are, so rules changes aren't going to as big a deal to them, or at least that's the idea. This is a basic set, they are trying to draw in new gamers, and the retro look is attempt to strike a cord with that more casual gamer.
It's no coincidence the red box art is from the time the game was its most popular. The rest is just tie ins to the margeting campaign.
Pretty typical marketing stuff really.
Crap! I didn't even see that tag-line. I'm convinced more than ever that they really don't know what the flip is going on. Or maybe they do and in that case it's downright manipulation. What a bunch of bozos.
ReplyDeleteTheir game isn't a "retro experience" at all.
Sad, so sad.
The thing I don't understand is that they own D&D, right? Maybe not all of the artwork over the years, but certainly all the words.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you just give people what they want? Print the White Box. Print AD&D 1e,etc.
Stop trying to emulate your own game and sell your own damn game you idiots! Obviously there are customers out here who want it. Do PDF. Do print on Demand.
There are lots of people contributing material. Make them a percentage deal and distribute it. Stop trying to dream up new version numbers and work with all of the great product you already have. Everybody gets what they want. Everybody wins.
You OWN the printing press to make money with. Why don't you?
Just my 2...
It very, very weird!
ReplyDelete