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God, I hope this is not true.
The News section at ENworld says:
(...)"On a more serious note ... it is ironic that even yesterday I got some major scoops about the future of D&D. It is sounding like some of our most paranoid fears are in fact in the works.
-4E already in the works? Check.
-Even more miniatures-centric? Check.
-Much smaller bundles of game info, packaged and sold separately? Check.
-A plan to possibly sell off RPGs entirely? Check. (Apparently only miniatures and Magic are making any money for WotC).
(...)
What do you guys think of this - or does everybody already know about 4E and I am again too late to realize it... ;)
-4E already in the works? Check.
No big surprise there. I figured it would only be a matter of time.
-Even more miniatures-centric? Check.
The game is already pretty tied to the miniatures, almost as much so as I can imagine it being and still be and RPG... unless they are planning on doing something like Heroclix where your character's abilities are on a dial or something. Instead of creating your character, you have to buy the figure and its interchangeable cards in the base to cover 20 levels or something?
Instead of a monster manual they just have miniatures. Instead of adventures and maps you just use game boards. Instead of a DM you just randomly draw cards from a deck to see what happens next. Hasbro, just doesn't get it do they? They can't wrap their mind around a game that does't use a board or cards, so they're going to try and shoe horn D&D into a board game. What next? D&D action figures and playsets...
OK, that would actually be cool.
-Much smaller bundles of game info, packaged and sold separately? Check.
A book with just classes and a book with just feats an so on? If the price was right, that might not be too bad, then people who don't care for spellcasters don't have to pick those up.
Or maybe each class will have its own book, fighters get all the relevant feats and weapons and such, clerics get all the spells they can cast, turning information and the like. I could see the apeal of that.
-A plan to possibly sell off RPGs entirely? Check. (Apparently only miniatures and Magic are making any money for WotC).
Now here's an interesting thought... Paizo, here's your chance, for God's sake move on this if it happens. Heck, why wait, start securing funds and make an offer now, before this D&Dclix abomination comes to pass.
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I read about this too, but I don't really know what to think about this. It has about no real information. Everybody knows that there'll be a 4th edition some day and to me it seems obvious that they'll continue and expand on sucessful additions to 3rd like miniatures...
There're discussions on ENworld that speculate that 4th will have drastic changes like getting rid of DMs, but I can't really imagine this.
And I'm not really looking forward to a 4th edition. 3.5 is, at the moment, the perfect system for me and my needs. Everything I can imagine for an adventure can be done with d20 rules and whenever I'm getting bored with certain rules, I'll replace them with variants from UA or other scources before I'll consider buying a whole new system.
I'm curious about what the 4th will have in store for us, but do I need it? Probably not...
-4E already in the works? Check.
Say it ain't so! I mean, we all new it would happen sooner or later, but c'mon! Is 3.5 so overloaded already that we need to start all over again?!
-A plan to possibly sell off RPGs entirely? Check. (Apparently only miniatures and Magic are making any money for WotC).Now here's an interesting thought... Paizo, here's your chance, for God's sake move on this if it happens. Heck, why wait, start securing funds and make an offer now, before this D&Dclix abomination comes to pass.
No way... That would be too perfect a solution. Game geeks in charge of our beloved game? The gods in charge of What Is are much too cruel to ever let that come to pass.
http://www.montecook.com/cgi-bin/page.cgi?mc_los_155
Above is a link to Monte Cook's thoughts on the subject, among other things.
Basicly the question is: Do we need another version?
I for one don't think so but I am notorious for being a "late adapter", I still play 3e, never saw the need to upgrade to 3.5 and the rest of my gaming group never mentioned anything about it either.
Another question: What is wrong with 3e and or 3.5?
Nothing is wrong with 3.0/3.5, but books are a durable good that does not need replacing often. Basically the antithesis of what a good consumer product should be. Ergo you get a big initial buy that encourages further investment, but then it tapers off. Accountants and stock analystst only want to see stable, constant profits, preferably steadily increasing profits, as do investors. When you don't get that, people sell your stock and put it into other products. Nature of the beast I'm afraid.
I won't change anytime soon. I can;t see a new edition this soon as being anything other than an evolutionary change, rather than the revolutionary chnage of 2nd ed to 3rd. YMMV.
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I hope this thread can be closed after this information and actually I am feeling sick to falling victim to just another rumour...
This is from www.enworld.org and is a rectification (as of today) of the above quoted news:
D&D 4th Edition News*
As a followup to the recent 4th Edition rumours - WotC has emailed Eric Noah, directly contradicting his info. EN World member "RigaMortus2" was able to provide some more info; like Eric's original rumour, this is from "a friend who knows some people at WotC", and so should, as always, be treated as unverified.It should be noted that when Charles Ryan ran the D&D brand, he said that WotC would give at least a full year's warning regarding 4E; however, Charles Ryan is no longer with WotC.
So, at present (and unless WotC says something directly), it's still all speculation and rumour! For those interested, it might be worth reminding yourself of Monte Cook's opinions regarding the future of the Open Gaming License and the D&D brand:
"Let me preface this by saying that nothing I'll write here on the subject of 4th Edition is based on any kind of direct knowledge. No one's told me a thing. But I did work at Wizards for years, and I knew the original plans. Moreover, I know the kinds of products that you release before a new edition, and the kinds of things you post to the Internet and say at conventions when you're working on a new edition. And so based on all that, my wild guess is 2008, with an announcement in 2007. That said, I think it maybe could come as early as 2007, with an announcement this year. If that were to happen, however, and I was working on D&D at Wizards, I'd polish up my resume, because a release that soon would seem to indicate that Hasbro was forcing the issue; it would suggest the corporation wants squeeze the game for what it was worth and then dump it, because the timing would be wrong for optimal success. It would indicate that they (Hasbro) just didn't care. To be blunt, 2007 would be too early--sales would not be as good, and the finished game would likely have been rushed. It would be very bad news for the game, for people working on the game, and likely for the rpg hobby as a whole (remember, so goes Wizards...)"Of course, I could be completely wrong. Maybe it will be farther off. Like I said, I have no special knowledge."
3.5 books will get cheaper, so I can finish up my collection without having to spend too much money...."always look on the bright side of life....{whistles}...."
Getting rid of DMs altogether to make the game more miniatures and map based, drawing cards for "events"....that would make a good alternative game for times when the DM doesn't want to DM...the players could still play their characters, going through a "structured" adventure that's more like a board game and still get XP....the DM could pick it up when he/she feels like DMing again. I don't think that would be too bad of an idea at all. I've toyed with a similar idea before, but I never found a way to make it work right.
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3.5 books will get cheaper, so I can finish up my collection without having to spend too much money...."always look on the bright side of life....{whistles}...."
On that note, I just saw a HUGE chunk of Forgotten Realms campaign sourcebook material at 1/2 Price Books last night.
Not Realms bashing or anything...I have a lot of Realms stuff; I bought it up until 2-3 years ago when the belt needed tightening.
If they get rid of the DM then you may as well play DDO - its the DM that makes the difference between computer games and PnP.
They have the very Basic game that uses cards already, but that even requires a DM. How would they do it without any DM? Would all the encounters be random, or would you buy a box without any synopsis (so no one knows the story) and you just turn cards and read bits as you go. Sounds like them Ian Livinston books - Deathtrap Dungeon and stuff.
And that's when I am finally freed of the need to buy new books, because I am probably not going to switch to a new edition, especially one without DMs. I will continue playing a perfectly serviceable, functional D&D 3.5 to my dying day if the above info is correct about 4e. Screw you, Hasbro!
And that's when I am finally freed of the need to buy new books, because I am probably not going to switch to a new edition, especially one without DMs. I will continue playing a perfectly serviceable, functional D&D 3.5 to my dying day if the above info is correct about 4e. Screw you, Hasbro!
That's what I said about 2nd edition.....realistically, I'll probably get into 4th edition about 5 years after it comes out. I just switched to 3.5 in late 2004, so I need to give it a go for at least 8-10 years before I"m mentally ready for a new edition. There are so many concepts about 3.5 that really work well, 4th edition has got to be pretty spectacular to draw me in any quicker than that.
As far as the no DM thing...if there is a designer at Wizards that can make no DM D&D work in any way at all, even as an entertaining board game or side game, I'd be very surprised. I've run this thought through my brain many times and I could never make it work out well, so if they've got someone THAT good on their design team, then bring on 4th edition and let me take a look at it.
If they get rid of DMs, then D&D is dead to me.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Hmmm...bubbly champagne...
Interesting rumor. On the one hand, I could see why a 4e based more heavily around minatures makes sense. Minatures have a lower price point and a large number are generally needed. They have a collectibility factor that books lack (even if the minatures are not randomly distributed). They appeal to people who may not play D&D. In short, having more minatures means having a more regular revenue stream. Having a more regular revenue stream is, generally, a Good Thing for D&D (assuming the resulting product is sufficiently like the D&D we know and love to be worth supporting.)
On the other hand, I wonder if the rumor is about a new spin-off type game incorporating minatures and no DM. If the D&D line could be spun out into further products, and yet we retain a product like D&D (including a DM), that would be an even Better Thing. Yeah, the game wouldn't be D&D as we know it, but it might coexist alongside D&D (like the SAGA system...oh wait...never mind that analogy...)
As for spinning off the RPG unit, that would be interesting. WotC/Hasbro would certainly want to retain the D&D brand. It contains a lot of value outside the core tabletop games (video games, movies, novels, other licensing, etc). It would be cool if the RPG license got spun off, assuming a first shelf company like Paizo was the recipient thereof. Keep in mind that 3e was forged in a similar change in control, in which the true geeks in control of WotC bought out TSR and ressurected the game we currently know and love.
The biggest problem with 4e is the quality of 3e. 2e desperately needed a serious revision - I find it hard to make that argument about 3e. That being said, I would still like to see a 4e that has gone through a design and development cycle akin to what has been happening for the last sets of 3e books. I think that 4e should be to 3e what 2e was to 1e - a compilation of the best rules. Let's have substitution levels in the core rules! Let's have the warlock replace the sorcerer! Let's bring magic items down a notch! Let's incorporate all the cool feat trees from the various complete books into the phb! I am sick of lugging around 10-15 books, I want all the good stuff boiled down into a few core volumes.
(Of course, if the rumor that the rules will be parceled out in small sets is true, the above is probably not going to happen. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we had a large number of smaller books priced in the $10 to $20 range instead of numerous hard cover books priced in the $25 to $50 range. Then D&D would follow a model similar to Magic, where the rules are bundled and distributed individually for use on a modular basis.)
Exciting stuff.
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Maybe the problem with a 4e is merely semantic. The scope of the revisions 3.5 made to 3.0 was not all that different than the revisions 2e made to 1e. Almost everyone who bought 3.0 bought 3.5 and then proceeded to purchase new 3.5 books because their old 3.0 books were obsolete (Sword and Fist => Complete Warrior, Psionics Handbook => Expanded Psionics Handbook, and, of course, the really big ones, PHB => 3.5 PHB, DMG => 3.5 DMG, MM => 3.5 MM). Why was everyone okay making that transition, "wasting" that money, and yet spurns the idea of 4e? Maybe the problem is that everyone expects 4e to be as drastic of a change as 3e was to 2e. I don't think that will be the case, as I've said above.
My suggestion to WotC: don't call it 4e. Call it 3.75 or revised 3.5 or 3.5 beta or 3.5 plus. Gaming consumers have already shown they will buy a new edition if you tart it up as a revision.
Very interesting thoughts, Sebastian. I know you've often said you wouldn't mind seeing a 4th edition. Speaking of "buy as you want or need" rule bundles in the $10-$20 range does sound like a pretty good idea.
Very interesting thoughts, Sebastian. I know you've often said you wouldn't mind seeing a 4th edition. Speaking of "buy as you want or need" rule bundles in the $10-$20 range does sound like a pretty good idea.
Good for WoTC, as "but as you want or need" usually means buy it all for most of us.
Very interesting thoughts, Sebastian. I know you've often said you wouldn't mind seeing a 4th edition. Speaking of "buy as you want or need" rule bundles in the $10-$20 range does sound like a pretty good idea.Good for WoTC, as "but as you want or need" usually means buy it all for most of us.
I guess I didn't think about that. The only edition I bought ALL the rule books for was 1st edition AD&D. I gave up on keeping up in the early 90's with 2nd edition and the thought of buying all the 3.5 books (at full price anyway) never even entered my mind. There are 3 times as many 3rd edition rule books out as I actually own. If 4th edition comes out and I can get the throwaway 3.5 leftovers on e-bay for $10 apiece, I might consider buying them all.
Anyway, stick with an older edition if you don't want to feel compelled to buy all the bundles. I probably will.
Model similar to Magic?
Like in that Order of the Stick comic with the spells in random packs?
"Aw, geez. I got two common Ranger class chapters and an uncommon Sorcerer class? I need to trade for the rare Equipment chapter of the PHB!".
(Of course, if the rumor that the rules will be parceled out in small sets is true, the above is probably not going to happen. Then again, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if we had a large number of smaller books priced in the $10 to $20 range instead of numerous hard cover books priced in the $25 to $50 range. Then D&D would follow a model similar to Magic, where the rules are bundled and distributed individually for use on a modular basis.)
My first thought: Don't panic.
I recall when WotC bought TSR back in the late 90s. There was this huge uproar about how they were going to turn D&D into a card game, and how Magic was going ot absorb D&D. Doomsayers went crazy. And I would say the WotC ended up saving D&D.
So don't get all excited until anything official comes out.
To speak of these rumors, though:
-I think 4e is unneeded right now. When 2nd Ed was tossed and 3e put in, it was neccessary. 2e was a lumbering, ridiculous beast, a hybrid of 1e and some good intentions. 3e was a great leap forward, and 3.5 made it super. In my mind, there is very little about 3.5 that could be improved on, at this point. But I am open to ideas.
-If a 4e DOES come out, I reserve judgment until it appears. I know a goodly number of folks who were fearful of 3e and then liked it. If they can improve on it, super. If not, I don't know what I will do. But I'll wait and see.
-More minatures? I don't know that it could get anymore miniatures-centralized. This is about as good as it gets.
-No DM? Ridiculous. I discount that, entirely. It seems so patently ridiculous as to be without merit.
-Smaller supplements? Might be better. WotC rushed out a bunch of big, all-kinds-of-stuff books for high prices, and some people shied away. A smaller supplement, more focused, and cheaper, might be the way to go.
Either way, remember that 2e lasted about 10 years, as did 1e. So if 3.5 has the same shelf life, we have until about 2009 to hear anything. But I could be wrong.
And that's when I am finally freed of the need to buy new books, because I am probably not going to switch to a new edition, especially one without DMs. I will continue playing a perfectly serviceable, functional D&D 3.5 to my dying day if the above info is correct about 4e. Screw you, Hasbro!
I heard this kind of ranting when 3rd edition was rumored to come out.
For my self I was glad to see 3.x come when it did, 2nd edition got to unweildy with all the expansion rules of the late period 2nd edition.
A lot of other roleplaying games seem to produce 3 or four editions and revisions in the time it takes for a new D&D edition to come out.
At the moment I am not ready for a new edition. Maybe by 2008. Maybe
It's kind of an interesting paralel.
In the old days you had TSR, run by gamers who loved the game, the game made money, and greedy non-gamers (cough-Lorraine Williams-cough) swooped in, took over, created a new edition, and drove D&D in to the ground, allowing gamers who love the game to take over, the game made money, and and greedy non-gamers (cough-Hasbro-cough) swooped in, took over, plotted to create a new edition, and drive D&D in to the ground, then sell it off to some gamers who love the game...
I predict Paizo (hopefully) will come to the resuce after Hasrbo dumps 4E D&D like a pimp dumping a girl who isn't making him enough money anymore, get her some counseling, nurse her back to health, make a pile of money on 5E, then Big Tobacco or a pharmaceutical giant or Walmart will notice money being made that they aren't getting a piece of, and take over, create a new edition... you get the idea.
Maybe we gamers are doomed to endure the cycle eternally.
I heard it too. A really good friend of mine works for Hasbro, and he shared with me some of the things he heard at the Divisional meeting he attended, where Corporate makes the decisions they will pass on down to each Division. WotC is a division of Hasbro.
Here's the plan:
Get rid of PrCs and most of the base classes.
Instead, there will be three classes:
Warrior
Caster
Rogue
No sub-divided spell lists. One set for everyone.
And spell points.
Throw in Feats and Skills to build the character you want. At each "level" you get to pick more Feats or Skills or improve existing ones. There is no more "class level progression".
Armor will reduce the amount of damage you take from a hit.
If you've read this far, please know the above is a load of crap, regardless of how true or false it might eventually be.
I recall when WotC bought TSR back in the late 90s. There was this huge uproar about how they were going to turn D&D into a card game,
http://paizo.com/store/paizo/gameMastery/itemPacks
You were saying? I jest, of course, because this is one rare aspect of 'turning D&D into a card game' I happen to approve of, since I think this idea helps DMs, and since I just bought 4 packs myself.
As I mentioned over on my blog, it's really only a matter of time before we see a new edition of the game; it's only a matter of when, and how good it will be.
A lot of people are worried that the next edition of the game will suck, since Hasbro is a corporation after all and profit, not quality, is their #1 goal. However, consider this - with the OGL allowing third parties to keep the engine running, the only thing that can really kill third edition is a superior, excellent fourth edition.
In other words, fourth edition has to be good, and it has to satisfy us, or else nobody will jump ship from third edition.
However, consider this - with the OGL allowing third parties to keep the engine running, the only thing that can really kill third edition is a superior, excellent fourth edition.
So, do you think that those folks who crafted the OGL years ago were far-sighted enough to realize that by doing so it would unleash a torrent of products (in varying degrees of quality of course) from so many 3rd parties that 3.xE is now too ingrained to be upstaged by the inevitable, but possibly "rushed-to-market" 4e?
In the immortal words of Ryan Dancey:
In the absence of any kind of confirmation from any of my inside sources, I want to put the 4E conversation on hold until such time as there is a more formal announcement, or a better stream of rumors, regarding how it will relate to D20 and the OGL. At this point, I suspect that the project, if it exists, is not imminent.
Nothing is wrong with 3.0/3.5, but books are a durable good that does not need replacing often.
If you have young kids - books are not a durable good - I have to go replace my PHB now. GRRRR.
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These messageboards help to calm down sometimes!
Now I am much easier on this topic.
Anyway - One of the above posters is right: With all those OGL-Companies providing stuff, 4E has to be great to have any success at all.
PAIZO taking over the RPG part from Hasbro/WotC (or whoever)?! That would be a dream come true for most of us D&D-Gamers.
An RPG without a DM?! No way for me! If some game will be released without the need of a DM than it might just be a nice diversion. DMs make our game DIFFERENT. Play one adventure with two different DMs and you will have two totally variing experiences...
I love to be DM, and I always learn more from other DMs (sometimes from my players). I would'nt miss that!
Oneuncomfortable feeling stays though: What if the OGL will be canceled???
There have been threads about the impending publishing of 4E on ENworld since the day 3.5 was released. There is a new threat at least every week about the coiming of 4E or what is going to be in 4E. It annoys me to no end.
I'd rather not start havbing every other thread on THIS board be devoted to ponderings over whether 4E is goiung to be released for the Holidays or not.
Until I hear WotC officially announce 4E, no other source wil convince me.
And when 4E does come out, I will not be changing to it. I like 3.5, If has its faults but I am not going to spend thundreds of dollars to replace all my RP supplies just because a new Edition comes out.
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You mean like you did when 3.5 came out?
And when 4E does come out, I will not be changing to it. I like 3.5, If has its faults but I am not going to spend thundreds of dollars to replace all my RP supplies just because a new Edition comes out.
Yeah. Just like when 3.5 came out, essentially, for me any way.
I'm hoping my personal "time of troubles" will be over before the new edition....If not, I'm gonna buy the core three or whatever passes for the core three and make up the rest.
I hope your Will save is high, Heathansson
I think the problem will be in official support of the new edition, particularly in the form of our beloved Dungeon and Dragon magazines. Does everyone remember the howls of protest that went up when Dragon switched over to full-time 3rd edition format? As Monte Cook pointed out, the OGL may very well mean continued support for 3.0/3.5 if a sub-standard 4th edition comes out. Paizo, on the other hand, would be forced to "toe the party line." I hope it doesn't come down to that. I'd hate to cancel my subscription (13 years! so far) due to an unpopular and unwanted edition change.
If fourth edition sucks, I won't buy it. Hey?!
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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If fourth edition sucks, I won't buy it. Hey?!
Yay for rationale thought!
All I know is that when 4e comes out, I'm going to enjoy a big slice of I-told-you-so pie when the great majority of people crying "I'll never convert!" do convert. I'll even tell you how it will happen.
First, WotC will release previews. They'll change some things you didn't particularly like about 3.5. You'll think to yourself, "ooh, that's a good idea." They'll tell you about some new cool features of the game. More feats. More modular classes. You'll think "huh. That's pretty cool. Maybe I'll just buy the phb."
Then they'll start putting up art and showing off the new look. You'll complain that it's too pokemon-esque. You'll say that it makes the game look childish. But deep down, you'll feel your inner fanboy reacting. You'll start thinking (secretly) that it's pretty cool.
Finally, swept up in the excitement of the release, you'll go out and purchase the 4e core rules. You'll complain about some minor things ("half-orcs are broken! I hate how the mechanics are intuitive and work well!"), but you'll be very happy about a few others.
Once the first non-core book is released, you'll think, "what the heck, the core rules were good. I'll give this supplement a try." And you'll like that too. And before you know it, you'll be playing 4e.
I'm sure some of you will stick to your guns. The poor, the cheap, the people that clung to 2e with desperation. But within a year or two, most everyone will come over. You'll convert. Just like you saw the prequel Star Wars movies knowing they sucked, you'll buy into 4e despite all your ranting and raving and best intents to show those bastards at Hasbro that you won't just buy any old crap.
And somewhere, out in the ether, will be this post on this thread, presaging your eventual caving in.
And I will be wiping off the crumbs of I-told-you-so pie.
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Thass it! All I had to do was find the eye of the tiger!
I can skip 4e for no other reason than to deny the pie!
Deny Sebastian the pie!
That'll be my motto.
The 3 cores and that's all.
Hey...that adventure looks cool.
I wonder what the wizard class book has in it.
Deny the pie! Deny the pie!
Must deny the pie!
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Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Yeah. While I scream.
Aw, c'mon HH. You fall into the rationale camp that will consider 4e. You're just on the fence a little. My post isn't aimed at people like you. It's my typical reactionary anti-reactionary type post for the sake of inflaming gamer rage. Don't take it personally. Have some pie with me!
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Interesting.
I posted the rumour planter's and WotC's official dementi of this rumour, and yet everyone bubbles on...
WotC officially called it wrong,
enworld instantly posted the dementi and additionally quoted Monte Cook who doesn't expect 4th edition before 2007 or more probably 2008.
Eric Noah who spread the rumour, hung his head in shame...
Did anyone read this?
Apparently not.
Happy discussing and guessing,
Günther
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If fourth edition sucks, I won't buy it. Hey?!Yay for rationale thought!
All I know is that when 4e comes out, I'm going to enjoy a big slice of I-told-you-so pie when the great majority of people crying "I'll never convert!" do convert. I'll even tell you how it will happen.
First, WotC will release previews. They'll change some things you didn't particularly like about 3.5. You'll think to yourself, "ooh, that's a good idea." They'll tell you about some new cool features of the game. More feats. More modular classes. You'll think "huh. That's pretty cool. Maybe I'll just buy the phb."
Then they'll start putting up art and showing off the new look. You'll complain that it's too pokemon-esque. You'll say that it makes the game look childish. But deep down, you'll feel your inner fanboy reacting. You'll start thinking (secretly) that it's pretty cool.
Finally, swept up in the excitement of the release, you'll go out and purchase the 4e core rules. You'll complain about some minor things ("half-orcs are broken! I hate how the mechanics are intuitive and work well!"), but you'll be very happy about a few others.
Once the first non-core book is released, you'll think, "what the heck, the core rules were good. I'll give this supplement a try." And you'll like that too. And before you know it, you'll be playing 4e.
I'm sure some of you will stick to your guns. The poor, the cheap, the people that clung to 2e with desperation. But within a year or two, most everyone will come over. You'll convert. Just like you saw the prequel Star Wars movies knowing they sucked, you'll buy into 4e despite all your ranting and raving and best intents to show those bastards at Hasbro that you won't just buy any old crap.
And somewhere, out in the ether, will be this post on this thread, presaging your eventual caving in.
And I will be wiping off the crumbs of I-told-you-so pie.
Ok. Still one more comment of mine about any (whichever) kind of 4th edition:
Nice speech, Sebastian. ;-)
I won't convert, though. You were quite accurate in describing how I was converted to 3rd edition (and I still prefer 2nd edition art over 3rd edition's look :-p).
In the meantime my stakes in a "soon to be outdated edition" grew considerably, though. I owned some supplements for 2nd edition, I do own a huge amount of 3rd edtion supplements by now.
I DM a group that was barely convinced to switch from 3rd ed to 3.5. They would never convert to a new edition.
You have to accept that there are players out there who don't share the zeal for D&D most readers of this forum feel. For my players the only thing about core rules that matters is that they work as they got used to.
So my personal D&D core rules life cycle will end with the advent of 4th edition. If rule compatibility is as high as between first and second edition I might keep on buying campaign supplements. I won't have any reason for buying 4th edition rule books, though.
Greetings,
Günther
P.S.
Be careful about which details you describe. ;-)
Otherwise you might be quoted as the next 4th ed. inisder due to your knowledge about the new art, the new feats, new modular classes etc. ...
I heard that in 4E, they're going to publish a GH hardcover.... I heard that from a friend whose cousin's roommate is the janitor at Hasbro...okay, actually the Applebees near Hasbro's HQ where they gather every Friday for happy hour and think of all their evil, profit making schemes ;)