Look, I showed up in 2005 and I just. never. left.
Couldn’t get my kid into it past 7yrs of age, tho’. I think that we’re just still playing, and kids (naturally and age appropriately) don’t want to do what Mom n Dad are doing for a time.
They’ll see the error of their ways and then begin the long grind. 
I agree, and I couldn’t be happier. I am not throwing rocks at any of these.
I am TOTALLY looking forward to a VtM game.
I am just saying that I don’t see very many younger people really getting into, I guess, the genre of a MMO/role play game. There just doesn’t seem to be interest in, I would put it as, playing a game that lives outside of yourself.
Well, maybe it’s the toxic community that thinks you can’t and shouldn’t game because you are younger. Just a thought.
Hope you are right, but I don’t see a robust community anymore. Even the few comic book shops that remain don’t have DnD nights anymore
I thought the toxic community was more like you shouldn’t game because you are older.
There are other options more marketed to young players… Did you literally make a thread asking a question with such an obvious answer?
Going to be forced to respond, as I see what others are saying in response. AD&D isn’t a thing anymore. The game which appealed to my generation has been changed to appeal to the new. Mind blown that someone on here remembers VtM. Magic the Gathering stopped being a thing around 4th edition (give another set or two). So WotC changed it to appeal to a new generation of players. WoW, I think, will do the same. As I find more and more folks from my generation(ish) unsubbing and looking for something more nostalgic (more like the old Vanilla WoW, or AD&D, VtM, etc).
Back in the day it was so much easier to troll people, huge mounts, locking down npc’s etc, today with changes these type of things are harder so no fun appeal.
And ^^^^^^.
This. Yes, this is a real thing.
It is really, really difficult for a truly new player to figure all of this out. The learning curve is really steep.
The play style of “start the game and just enjoy the whole leveling experience while you bond with your character and her new and improving abilities” seems to die after about 20 hours.
Well I don’t know as TTRPGs are ever going to be insanely popular among younger kids. It’s not like we were all playing DnD back when I was in high school in the mid 2000s either.
Though I’ve known a few people who got into it in their early 20s, myself included(though technically it was Pathfinder I played).
I do know a lot of it is online now(even before the pandemic). I play with a group entirely online that’s spread out across North America and we use Roll20. Half the people in the group have never played a tabletop game in person using physical dice before.
The toxicity is coming from older, more experienced players who see new players as defective human beings whose continued subscribing will be bad for the game. And might threaten their own entitlement to the best stuff and unlimited bad behavior with no consequences.
The older the game gets, the worse this will become. I suppose something might be done to encourage a positive community, but it appears that the devs are happy with the current situation.
And bless you for keeping the flame alive.
Old people play it. Therefore it is never going to be cool.
Also, the barrier of entry is pretty high, given the game cost + recurring sub + time investment. Meanwhile, there is an endless ocean of free or cheap games. It’s not going to attract people who do not have a lot of disposable income.
When we inevitably go F2P, you may see it skew a bit younger.
Word
Can you imagine trying to sell WoW to a new player?
Outdated graphics, outdated combat systems, outdated social systems, outdated payment models.
Especially the payment models. In a world where F2P + a cash shop in the normal model for almost every online multiplayer game, imagine a game having the audacity to charge full price then a subscription and THEN ontop of that, still have a cash shop.
If I didn’t know anyone or anything about WoW and someone tried to sell it to me, I’d laugh in their face.
Most older (experienced players) are butts. It’s that simple. They think because they have done something 100s of times everyone should have. I was in a group with someone that made the mistake saying they were new to wow and he/she was given all kinds of hell for making mistakes.
I don’t see what’s so hard about being patient with new people and helping them.
Then you are running with a-holes. My friends and I are happy to teach others. One of them thought I should do a video guide on critical thinking in WoW. But Alas, my sub runs out tonight. Heck, I’ve even tried to explain THac0 to some current DND players. Some get it. Others stare like I’m speaking a foreign language.
Judging from the amount of whining about loot, boomers want instant gratification as well.
Not long ago I actually looked through the AD&D2 player’s handbook and DM guide, not having ever actually played it outside of playing the video games based on it like Baldur’s Gate.
It was a night filled with me making the comment “Were they f***ing high when they wrote this?” a lot.
I get THAC0, but it’s so backwards and feels counter-intuitive.