You guys haven't changed in your marketing and presentation of information...
I know pretty much everything about D&D and still can't easily find information about 5th ed on your own freakin' website...
So much crap to wade through...
Nobody new is going to put up with this crap...
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/RPG.aspx seems to be full of information about 5e. There's a big "DOWNLOAD NOW" button for the Basic Rules as well as infoboxes about the upcoming product releases and a variety of articles discussing 5th edition.
JC999 wrote:
The only issue I've had is that, since the forum reboot, the community page still wants to take me to the DnD Next fora, but it's a dead link. I hope they fix that before too long, but there's a little button at the bottom so I think D&D is just slightly inconvenient at present rather than DOOMED!
kill_the_wiz_first wrote:
DnD is certainly not doomed.
But these forums are still terrible, the website is horrible, and judging from Wizards' track record with technology, I have no faith the new tools suite is going to be very good.
DOOMED!!!!
Hurin88 wrote:
With even more O's.
DOOOOOOMED!!!
rookrock wrote:
I am not so sure. I mean who the heck searches on a web site these days.
Type dungeonsanddragons.com in your browser and see what happens.... Or just D&D and click first link.
I am not so sure. I mean who the heck searches on a web site these days.
Type dungeonsanddragons.com in your browser and see what happens.... Or just D&D and click first link.
mellored wrote:
OrionStyles wrote:
I get the impression that D&D is under-staffed. That is, they have just enough people to put out the tabletop game but not quite enough to worry about stuff like 'multi-media' like a new website design to promote the new game (with new forums and the like). I personally expected a bigger ta-do about D&D 40th anniversary this year.
They simply get by with what's already here. Update a few links (miss some others), re-boot the forums (but nothing changes). It's all rather haphazard, and I think it has a lot to do with staffing levels.
Is D&D doomed? Nah. Rough roads ahead though, if money is as tight as I think it is.
Orethalion wrote:
RustedKitsune wrote:
Eerongal wrote:
OrionStyles wrote:
It was my inderstanding that the guys at Trapdoor approached WotC, not the other way around. Everything I've read so far seems to suggest that they are D&D fans who care quite a bit.
smacintush wrote:
Now we just need a polyhedral verson of Dice+. Of course it would cost $300 so whatever.
This thread was an emotional rollercoaster, I laughed, I cried, in the end i was entertained.
+1
JC999 wrote:
Eh. Their site has never been that great. It's their marketing (or lack thereof) that really needs work
I am worried about the website lack of promotion of 5e. Three clicks before getting to the rules download. It would be best if that was on the first page.
There seems to be a complete lack of advertising (I don't even see targeted banner pop ups), on the east side of denver the few game stores around here aren't interested in putting d&d on their shelves.
wotc sells magic cards at kids r' us d&d should be sold there too.
when search google for d&d the wizards website isn't always the first on top.
None of the Denver rpg meetups are running 5e, if they are even running d&d.
That is just my area, 5e seems to be rolling out in the Denver area with all the noise of a church mouse.
I wish they could afford d to advertise on cartoon network, or call up Comcast Spotlight for those annoying adds that pop up on the television during a show.
As much as I think the title and OP are engaging in hyperbole, I have to agree on one point: this site is atrocious and always has been. Whenever they go through the process of upgrading it I always groan with agony because I know it will just get worse and not better. The current incarnation is an abomination to all things holy in web design. Whoever they're hiring for these jobs needs to stop designing websites and go work in a supermarket as a packing boy. And the search features are so abhorrent that I seriously have to wonder if the people responsible for implementing it were on a cocktail of acid, ecstasy, cocaine and meth... in large doses.
Artifact wrote:
Teggerdine wrote:
OrionStyles wrote:
RustedKitsune wrote:
OrionStyles wrote:
emwasick wrote:
Teggerdine wrote:
Well, maybe someday soon, some crazy person (or dragon) will eat their lunch.
Well, as to the actual topic title my response is
mmmmmaybe??????????????? 
But I find the actual problem you have posted as not high on the list of what might cause "doom". There's a link to the basic rules right on the main page right below "new to D&D" which has lots of info. I'm just not sure about this complaint.
Could it be better? Sure! But I'm not aware of anything specific to suggest and I really don't see any positive suggestions in the OP.
Rhenny wrote:
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Oulak wrote:
The_White_Sorcerer wrote:
Teggerdine wrote:
Being a survivor of the Cold War, the Greenhouse effect, the year 2K-bug, at least three biblical End of Days and the end of the Mayan calender, I tend to not take doomsayers all that serious anymore.
The game is doomed to utter failure because Mike Mearls serves Ranch Dressing instead of Bleu Cheese with his Buffalo Wings. He's a witch!
Razintarr wrote:
Artifact wrote:
Tony_Vargas wrote:
We’ve removed content from this thread because of a violation of the Code of Conduct.
You can review the Code here: http://company.wizards.com/conduct
Please keep your posts polite, on-topic, and refrain from making personal attacks. You are welcome to disagree with one another but please do so respectfully and constructively.
Remember, a community is a joint effort of all those involved, and while we want intelligent meaningful and productive banter to ensue we also need it to be polite and considerate of others.
Thank you for your time and support as we continue to try and make a great community for everyone.
If 5e had an old s hool healing system and a true vancian wizard I might accept the shot across the bow argument. With 5e, if they are shooting, it's at everyone.
Emerikol. wrote:
So we could say we are 16 days into 5e, or just 24 hours, depending on how you want to look at it. Here's my concern about what's lacking. So the basic rules were released, that's cool. If you were lucky, your local rpg shop had an early copy of the starter set. But July 15th is technically the launch day of 5e and there was no D&D daily article, or any indication on the site that the Starter Set was out and 5e is now live. So this is essentially a miscue in the marketing department. Wizards has failed to properly support their product. Waiting for the main books to be released for the fanfare is counter intuitive to their goal of brining in new players. The starter set, and the hype and fanfare for it, should be a huge focus for the company to get new players to excited to purchase the PHB on release day or pre-order.
I will agree with the OP that the curent webpages, from the splash-page through the fora, are some of the worst of any commercial website I've encountered. Dead links, looping links, multiple buttons or drop-downs that go to the same place, other buttons that use three words to refer to the same function...it's terrible. They need to scrap the whole thing and start from scratch.
That said, this is hardly the "doooooooom" of D&D.
The doom of D&D will rest on one factor, and one factor alone: how well is the product marketed to people who have never played it, and do not yet think they have any reason to even seek the product out. If the Hasbro marketing team can make the Starter Box the go-to present for the Christmas 2014 season, D&D lives. If they can't, and they just depend on word-of-mouth from grognards to do their work for them, the line is going to be in trouble.
professordaddy wrote:
Chakravant wrote:
Emerikol. wrote: