D&DTF, Part 2

"If you don't like it, you don't have to buy it."

When Dungeons and Dragons was upgraded to Third Edition, other argument about its value to the customer was eventually ended by that statement. You don't like what they're doing? Keep your old books, and play your old games. You can live without the future, and the future can survive without you.

The same argument returned during the great cash-grab that was Dungeons and Dragons Edition Three-Point-Five. Fourth Edition has been announced, and some people have taken offense to the fact that they're expected to replace all of their thirty dollar books after a mere five years of service.

But they don't have to join in, of course.

For fun, go to your local gaming store, and look at its role-playing section. The section is probably smaller now than it used to be, with spaces that formerly had first rate fanfiction now featuring box after box of miniatures instead. Now, examine how many of the books are part of Dungeons and Dragon's Edition 3.5.. Try to figure out how much those books must have cost the store.

In less than a year, fourth edition will come out and all of that merchandise will become nearly unsellable. This includes the new merchandise just added to their shelves, such as the Monstrous Manual V. And of course, this goes double for the near mint copy of The Complete Psionics Handbook for Second Edition that seems to linger in half of the game stores across the country. They stand as the least loved members of a bygone age, one where not buying the latest new thing just meant that you missed out on a box of ideas, instead of a new mathmatical formula that is required for the next five years.