A Subtle Change...

[SageSTL]

Just happened to read the back cover of “Beyond the Vault of Souls,” and noticed a subtle change… Where the back cover of older products used to read that the modules were compatible with the "3.5 edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game," the new book says the "3.5 edition of the world's oldest roleplaying game." This must be in preparation for Pathfinder's inevitable ascendancy to the top of the heap... :)

[Zootcat]

It's probably because the world's most popular RPG is now 4th edition, which is NOT compatible with Pathfinder or any 3rd edition product.

[Mairkurion {tm}]

Maybe the world's most popular RPG is about to change?

[Turin the Mad]

I rather prefer the oldest term to "most popular". It appeals to the grognard in me. ^_^

[Wolfthulhu]

Why would any company call IP owned by their competitors as 'the most popular' anything?

Besides The World's Oldest Roleplaying Game sounds more dignified.

[Ryan. Costello]

Zootcat wrote:

It's probably because the world's most popular RPG is now 4th edition, which is NOT compatible with Pathfinder or any 3rd edition product.

So those books would be "compatible with the 3.5 edition of 4th edition"?

[Snorter]

Surely, the world's oldest role-playing game, was performed by cavemen preparing for the hunt?

"Thog see mammut"

"Thog KILL mammut"

"Mammut good"

[James Jacobs]

I've deleted a post. Please don't use this thread (or any other thread at paizo.com) to fan the flames of edition wars. Paizo.com is better than that, I'd like to hope.

[doppelganger]

Darkwolf wrote:

Why would any company call IP owned by their competitors as 'the most popular' anything?

Besides The World's Oldest Roleplaying Game sounds more dignified.

I'm not sure about the dignity. It sounds too much like 'the world's oldest profession' to me to be dignified.

[Matthew Morris]

Snorter wrote:

Surely, the world's oldest role-playing game, was performed by cavemen preparing for the hunt?

"Thog see mammut"

"Thog KILL mammut"

"Mammut good"

No it would be "Thog will be Mammut, kids try to kill mammut as practice. Thog not think this through..."

[Dryder]

Ryan. Costello wrote:

Zootcat wrote:

It's probably because the world's most popular RPG is now 4th edition, which is NOT compatible with Pathfinder or any 3rd edition product.

So those books would be "compatible with the 3.5 edition of 4th edition"?

Maybe Paizo has to pay (or have a license) to write exactly "D&D" on/in one of their products... That's probably all. Calling it "the most popular", or "the oldest" might be ok than, which both hits the truth fairly well, in my opinion!

[Wolfthulhu]

Dryder wrote:

Maybe Paizo has to pay (or have a license) to write exactly "D&D" on/in one of their products... That's probably all. Calling it "the most popular", or "the oldest" might be ok than, which both hits the truth fairly well, in my opinion!

As for using 'D&D' on products, no one can do that unless they are using the GSL, which is of course 4e exclusive. So anyone publishing 3.5 material from 2008 onwards must refer to the game without naming it.

The phrase, 'Compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game' as I recall, and this by no means is complete though it is correct to the best of my knowledge, was thought up by some 3rd party (Paizo?) around the time that everyone realized the OGL was going away. I know I have seen it on many later 3.5 books.

Changing it to the 'oldest' makes perfect sense for the reason I mentioned up-thread.

IMO, YMMV, blah blah blah...