Google Statistics on the Edition Wars

Kaelik · July 02, 2012, 10:38:27 AM

Quote from: Bloody Stupid Johnson;555603On the line chart, I'm trying to figure out/remember what was happening mid-2009; both Pathfinder and 3.5 activity seem to simultaneous step up a notch about halfway through the year there (June or July at a guess).

4e released Eberron right then, but I can't think of anything particularly 3.5/Pathfinder related in that time. (Obviously whatever caused 3.5 to jump, it didn't have to do with new 3.5 content.)

EDIT: On further review, Duh, not sure how I missed that. August 2009 was the actual release date of Pathfinder.

So that's probably the cause.

Kaldric · July 02, 2012, 10:42:42 AM

It's one year after the release of 4E. It's about when I realized I was going to abandon 4E when the campaign I was running ended. I'd been playing for 9 months, played for another 9. I switched to AD&D instead of going back to 3E, perhaps others were starting to come to the realization that, after playing for a while, it just wasn't performing like they wanted.

thedungeondelver · July 02, 2012, 11:17:54 AM

Quote from: Teazia;555560This data proves absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt that 1e was the least popular edition by far, far, far:

How about that?!? What, crickets?

Nah, we're just not scared and uncertain about rules, unlike some fans of 2e, and a shitload of 3e, pathfinder and 4e fans!

jadrax · July 02, 2012, 11:19:05 AM

Their was also a D&D Insider 20% price rise in June 2009. That may have contributed to people switching back.

Dimitrios · July 02, 2012, 11:47:11 AM

Regarding the low search volume for 1e & 2e, I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that much of the online enthusiasm for pre-WotC D&D has been absorbed by the OSR and retroclones.

Kaldric · July 02, 2012, 11:56:51 AM

There's that, and people who had been playing AD&D for 20 years either had their online resources bookmarked by 2004, or simply didn't need external sources by that point.

Silverlion · July 02, 2012, 05:39:00 PM

Quote from: Kaldric;555630There's that, and people who had been playing AD&D for 20 years either had their online resources bookmarked by 2004, or simply didn't need external sources by that point.

I know that a significant portion of the gamers I play with don't bother with online materials at all. However, I don't think there are enough of them to nudge the graphs either.

Bloody Stupid Johnson · July 02, 2012, 06:05:10 PM

Quote from: Kaelik;5556134e released Eberron right then, but I can't think of anything particularly 3.5/Pathfinder related in that time. (Obviously whatever caused 3.5 to jump, it didn't have to do with new 3.5 content.)

EDIT: On further review, Duh, not sure how I missed that. August 2009 was the actual release date of Pathfinder.

So that's probably the cause.

D'oh, can't believe I missed that either! OK, thanks.

Marleycat · July 02, 2012, 08:42:40 PM

Quote from: Dimitrios;555628Regarding the low search volume for 1e & 2e, I wonder how much of that is due to the fact that much of the online enthusiasm for pre-WotC D&D has been absorbed by the OSR and retroclones.

No Delver is right pre 3x you were expected to houserule alot and the need for unified rules was far less because RPGA just isn't a factor.

Black Vulmea · July 02, 2012, 09:15:15 PM

Quote from: Silverlion;555744However, I don't think there are enough [1e players] to nudge the graphs either.

Yeah, I think the idea that there are all these 1e groups out there playing away at their original campaigns, oblivious of the intrewebs, like some sort of lost tribes in the deepest Amazon still lving in the Stone Age, is a bit of wishful thinking.

Aos · July 02, 2012, 09:19:21 PM

Quote from: Black Vulmea;555812Yeah, I think the idea that there are all these 1e groups out there playing away at their original campaigns, oblivious of the intrewebs, like some sort of lost tribes in the deepest Amazon still lving in the Stone Age, is a bit of wishful thinking.

I could go either way on this, I mean those 1e guys are so fucked up and strange, who the fuck knows what they're doing aside from trying to find 8-track player replacement parts and worshiping Satan.

Black Vulmea · July 02, 2012, 09:32:39 PM

Quote from: Gib;555813I could go either way on this, I mean those 1e guys are so fucked up and strange, who the fuck knows what they're doing aside from trying to find 8-track player replacement parts and worshiping Satan.

I swear by my Dark Lord, you will die by fire.

Novastar · July 02, 2012, 09:45:57 PM

Quote from: Marleycat;555799No Delver is right pre 3x you were expected to houserule alot and the need for unified rules was far less because RPGA just isn't a factor.

I really didn't realize that the RPGA was that much of a factor, to be honest.

Oh, and I like your cat avatar better MC, but that's probably because it looks like my Bombay kitty.

EDIT: and I'll only change my avatar if the moderation specifically asks; I rather like my "merc with a mouth" (Deadpool).

Aos · July 02, 2012, 09:47:17 PM

Quote from: Black Vulmea;555817I swear by my Dark Lord, you will die by fire.

People keep saying that to me; it's so weird.

Lynn · July 02, 2012, 09:49:45 PM

Couldn't a lot of people also be searching for D&D modules to download for free?

Also, are any of these numbers by way of mechanical searches? Meaning, sites that scrape other sites. You see that alot from various "libraries" linking up to files stored on 4shared and the torrent sites.