Most people have as well. They tried that for sure. There was a small spell where VCR games were a small thing. Obviously it had its limitations. But even when DVDs came out, which eliminated those complications, they still didn't do much better.
They definitely changed it. I would say 3.0/3.5 was a "good" product in the sense that it turned the game into a more tactical wargame(1" = 5' and all that) and did so in an excellent format...the production value was excellent. 4th edition was an obvious attempt to cash in on the World of Warcraft craze and didn't transfer well, it alienated their base and didn't grab enough new players to support the game. 5th edition is just recycled 3.5 with Advantage and added death saves. I ran a 3.5 game for some 5E players and they literally didn't know the difference. The game as it currently stands is a far cry from the B/X & AD&D that we all grew up with. Moral/reaction rolls and 1 GP = 1 XP were the most elegant mechanics in any game up to this point and it's too bad a Band-Aid like Advantage is the new hotness. Question...how often do you see anyone using DISadvantage? Kinda makes Advantage a bit broken doesn't it?
While WotC did improve the game, making it more streamlined, they completely failed to make D&D more flexible outside the typical "D&D fantasy". Guns still don't work right, you can't make characters that survive by avoiding damage rather than soaking it up, the limitations of the system also means that PCs can't be giants or pixies or any creature other than a roughly 5' tall humanoid. And the magic is nothing like current-day fantasy magic as seen in video games, anime, or Harry Potter. So, just like the game's current artwork, WotC has prevented D&D from reflecting the current times and has made D&D it's own thing, completely divorced from modern fantasy in look and function. While that's great for Hasbro's IP protection, it means that D&D isn't really improving in any significant way. As for marketing, I don't think your comparison of Hasbro and TSR is really fair given the size differences in both companies. TSR brought D&D to its height of popularity while WotC is mainly interested in growing D&D by attacking the previous editions (and this is true even in the 4rth edition days). Wizard's biggest marketing coups, Stranger Things, only came about because the show was set in the 80s and everyone associates the 80s with D&D thanks to TSR.
I think there might be something to be said about keeping it generic as a standard and unique rather than having to adapt. I do understand the desire to use the same system for other things, but perhaps that it is good thing that it cannot.
When WotC took over, 2e was a fantastic product, and the Realms were flourishing. WotC hasn't improved the game. The user base has NOT DOUBLED every 13 years (a mere 4% gross profit increase. Even with a huge broad-based platform, users don't play their TTRPG nor their online game to any exponential degree. It is not Mineceaft. It is not Candy Crush or Angry Birds. And it certainly doesn't have the appeal of any number of FPS games on the market, domestically or worldwide. . It is a stable but somewhat bluechip of a game - like Monopoly or Chess. Is that something? Not really. TSR made it today's grandchild. WotC merely gave it a place to roost, with infrequent upkeep.
Dang, I forgot about those VHS products!
Most people have as well. They tried that for sure. There was a small spell where VCR games were a small thing. Obviously it had its limitations. But even when DVDs came out, which eliminated those complications, they still didn't do much better.
They definitely changed it. I would say 3.0/3.5 was a "good" product in the sense that it turned the game into a more tactical wargame(1" = 5' and all that) and did so in an excellent format...the production value was excellent. 4th edition was an obvious attempt to cash in on the World of Warcraft craze and didn't transfer well, it alienated their base and didn't grab enough new players to support the game. 5th edition is just recycled 3.5 with Advantage and added death saves. I ran a 3.5 game for some 5E players and they literally didn't know the difference. The game as it currently stands is a far cry from the B/X & AD&D that we all grew up with. Moral/reaction rolls and 1 GP = 1 XP were the most elegant mechanics in any game up to this point and it's too bad a Band-Aid like Advantage is the new hotness. Question...how often do you see anyone using DISadvantage? Kinda makes Advantage a bit broken doesn't it?
While WotC did improve the game, making it more streamlined, they completely failed to make D&D more flexible outside the typical "D&D fantasy". Guns still don't work right, you can't make characters that survive by avoiding damage rather than soaking it up, the limitations of the system also means that PCs can't be giants or pixies or any creature other than a roughly 5' tall humanoid. And the magic is nothing like current-day fantasy magic as seen in video games, anime, or Harry Potter.
So, just like the game's current artwork, WotC has prevented D&D from reflecting the current times and has made D&D it's own thing, completely divorced from modern fantasy in look and function. While that's great for Hasbro's IP protection, it means that D&D isn't really improving in any significant way.
As for marketing, I don't think your comparison of Hasbro and TSR is really fair given the size differences in both companies. TSR brought D&D to its height of popularity while WotC is mainly interested in growing D&D by attacking the previous editions (and this is true even in the 4rth edition days). Wizard's biggest marketing coups, Stranger Things, only came about because the show was set in the 80s and everyone associates the 80s with D&D thanks to TSR.
I think there might be something to be said about keeping it generic as a standard and unique rather than having to adapt. I do understand the desire to use the same system for other things, but perhaps that it is good thing that it cannot.
When WotC took over, 2e was a fantastic product, and the Realms were flourishing. WotC hasn't improved the game. The user base has NOT DOUBLED every 13 years (a mere 4% gross profit increase. Even with a huge broad-based platform, users don't play their TTRPG nor their online game to any exponential degree. It is not Mineceaft. It is not Candy Crush or Angry Birds. And it certainly doesn't have the appeal of any number of FPS games on the market, domestically or worldwide.
.
It is a stable but somewhat bluechip of a game - like Monopoly or Chess. Is that something? Not really. TSR made it today's grandchild. WotC merely gave it a place to roost, with infrequent upkeep.
Not really...just my opinion...
Anything specifically? Or just general vibe?