D&D Goes 'all in on digital'

HASBRO CEO Chris Cocks says they are transitioning to a digital gaming company. That means the days of physical Dungeons & Dragons books are numbered. (Ep. 406)

PROFESSOR DM LIVE 2024:

[quizzitnizzpin]

And the quote of the year goes to: "Real dice are better than virtual dice, they got that klackity-klack..."

Truer words, Professor, truer words...

[jessehammil]

The reason I play tabletop games with my kids is to get away from screens and teach them how to have conversations face to face.

[scottwalker]

"Sorry Baby Dinosaur, but your next stop is the gas tank of my Nissan." Brilliant! :D

[vicentterraneo]

I'll be honest, I'm not too worried. We've still got Pathfinder, Kobald Press, Savage Worlds, and the whole OSR.

[waylonoconner]

"Everyone can do everything, everyone's all the same...."

This is the real death knell for me. Being able to shift your character, nearly at will, to any number of combinations, rips the guts out of the fun and people won't see it until it's too late.

I remember 3rd Edition and scanning through the PHB building my character. Using the class and race option weaknesses as backstory and RP opportunities. Multi-classing to get the skills and abilities I needed for the vision I had. All of which came at a cost.

Take out those negatives and you're left with a game that is positively lifeless.

[KarlKarsnark]

"Digital" means Corporate control and gatekeeping of your games, characters and creations. "You will own nothing and be Happy(tm)".

[graynanuuq]

Don't ever get tired of being right.

[stickjohnny]

"The secret we should never let the gamemasters know is that they don't need any rules.”

Gary Gygax

Edit: Chill out everyone. The best TTRPG is the one that gets a group of people together to have fun and roll dice. I'm that regard, every edition of dnd is great.

[nickstefanac]

You still have books, friends, minis, and an ever-expanding range of independent content creators. What you do in your own home with your friends will never change.

[dnaseb]

You made me emotional when you went into how goods go from quality to crap.
Bought tears to my eyes remembering how great the products used to be when they were built to last, vs now when they break if you look at them funny.
These people do see us as insects who deserve the lowest effort possible at the maximum price possible.

[RyanWBL]

The Gucci reference reminds me of the term enshittification; when product and service providers experience a decline in quality over time in favor of meeting short term profits for each quarter. I credit Sly Flourish for introducing the term to me and you do a great job here showing what is happening to products all over the world.

[JonnyMithrandir]

I just started DMing again for my family and I did it at home. All the kids (all adults) came in from near and far and nothing was digital.

[KyrndomWolf]

Hasbro throws Comic Book- tabletop stores under the bus.
Thank God for Inde developers like you and others that keep paper, pencil and dice rpg's alive.

[jason]

NOTHING will ever beat sitting at the table with a group of friends rolling dice and getting cheeto fingers

[JMcMillen]

Considering how many people I knew growing up that barely scraped together enough money to buy their own set of dice, it sounds like Hasbro doesn't want poor people playing DnD.
Digital books and monthly subscriptions would have kept them from ever wanting to play the game, especially as affordable RPG options were out there.

[terratorment]

One of the most critical assets DnD has is not the rules anymore, it is the name "Dungeons and Dragons." Normies know that name.

[UndeadFredl]

This guy gets it.
Everyone accuses you of crying the sky is falling, then when it falls everyone says "Duh anyone could of seen that coming a mile away"

[TheArcaneLibrary]

You honor me, Professor!

May the gaming halls always ring with the clackity clack of real dice and the tickety tick of good Swiss movements as the torch timer burns low!

[jonhowland]

Gaming in person at a table cannot be replaced by online imo. The experience is so much better live with folks' faces around you.

[thegoob]

I am a younger player and I am still very new to the scene. I have only been playing DnD for a little over a year. I am probably one of the only people in my group that prefers the books over the the Beyond application. I still use it for my character sheet, but don't like the limitations from pay walls when I already own the books that have the info I need. I was born into the digital age, but I believe there is too much dependence on technology and I do not like the fleeting nature of digital trends. The physical and analog will always have its place and I will support it where I can. I would like to spread out to try other, independent ttrpg games, but I don't think my current group is ready to stem out from base 5e DnD. Anyway, I've been watching your content for a few months now and I always find what you have to say to be insightful and intriguing. Keep up the good work.