D&D 5E D&D Beyond: No More À La Carte Purchases But US Customers Can Buy Physical Books

WotC has announced some changes to D&D Beyond's marketplace. These include physical products (for US customers), the removal of à la carte purchases, and various navigational changes.

You can no longer buy individual feats, subclasses, etc. -- you'll need to buy the whole book. The full list of changes includes:

• US shoppers can now buy physical books
• More info on product listings, including previews
• UI improvements to makee finding your purchased content and redeeming keys easier
• No more à la carte purchases (though your previous ones still count)

 

[mamba]

not everyone has a local store, or wants to buy from Amazon.

if I have the choice of getting the book for $60 from WotC or $35 from Amazon, I must really hate Amazon to go with the former…

 

[Parmandur]

if I have the choice of getting the book for $60 from WotC or $35 from Amazon, I must really hate Amazon to go with the former…

I know more people who refuse to do business eith Amazon than WotC.

 

[Maxperson]

Sadly enough, not necessarily. Beyond and direct sales may reach more people than the FLGS could.

My belief is that most casual players don't do D&D Beyond and are home games. I don't think those folks will be driven online if their FLGS goes under.

 

[DarkCrisis]

Minor concessions?

For 6 bucks a month, not only me, but all of my players have access to all of D&D, all the time, anywhere, as long as we have a phone. I get the character builder. I get the encounter builder, which is BY FAR the most useful feature for me, saving me huge time every week in both planning and running encounters - it literally saves hours. I get all my stuff organized. I get integrated, easy to use battle maps.

For 6 bucks a month I can run a game of D&D anywhere, any time, as long as I have my phone. It's the best value in my entertainment budget by far. By FAR. I'm not looking to "fix" anyone. I put my money where the value is. No one else offers anything close to the same value. Well, except Demiplane, which is getting there.

Minor concessions. Okay. At this point, people who hate WotC should just accept that they won't be able to fix it, look for other companies to support, and stop posting about it incessantly.

Assuming the person paying the fee has bought the digital books, right?

 

[Nikosandros]

Assuming the person paying the fee has bought the digital books, right?

Not necessarily the same person, though. It can be two different participants in the same campaign. In the game in which I'm currently playing, I own the manuals, while the DM has a Master subscription with content sharing.

 

[Parmandur]

My belief is that most casual players don't do D&D Beyond and are home games. I don't think those folks will be driven online if their FLGS goes under.

D&D Beyond has something like over 12 million users, and I seriously doubt that most of them have any relationship with a FLGS at all. With how Beyond is pushed for free (to start) in social media and through school programs, they are going to be reaching a young audience that never darkens the door of hobby shops.

Already for Magic the Gathering, something like 80% of people who buy cards have never been to a FLGS, and Magic is way more tied to game store culture than D&D even is.

 

[Azzy]

D&D Beyond has something like over 12 million users, and I seriously doubt that most of them have any relationship with a FLGS at all. With how Beyond is pushed for free (to start) in social media and through school programs, they are going to be reaching a young audience that never darkens the door of hobby shops.

That's a sad notion.

 

[Parmandur]

That's a sad notion.

Yeah, and to be fair I do see kids at my FLGS...but FLGS goers are the hardcover crowd, nit the casual masses.

 

[Maxperson]

D&D Beyond has something like over 12 million users, and I seriously doubt that most of them have any relationship with a FLGS at all. With how Beyond is pushed for free (to start) in social media and through school programs, they are going to be reaching a young audience that never darkens the door of hobby shops.

Already for Magic the Gathering, something like 80% of people who buy cards have never been to a FLGS, and Magic is way more tied to game store culture than D&D even is.

12 million out of 50 million. That leaves 38 million offline and spending money, even if it's just casually. Killing the FLGS is going to be hurting the majority of players. Ultimately, this is destructive to Hasbro's bottom line. It's a pity that the current leadership seems intent on money now at the expense of money later. Their MTG strategy and recent D&D strategy show that to be the direction that they are headed.

 

[Parmandur]

12 million out of 50 million. That leaves 38 million offline and spending money, even if it's just casually. Killing the FLGS is going to be hurting the majority of players. Ultimately, this is destructive to Hasbro's bottom line. It's a pity that the current leadership seems intent on money now at the expense of money later. Their MTG strategy and recent D&D strategy show that to be the direction that they are headed.

I seriously doubt there are 38 million people shopping at hobbyist FLGS, nice as thst idea sounds. Casual customers are not usually going to be plugged into hobbyist venues, bit buying from Amazon, Target, WalMart, Barnes & Noble, or WotC directly.