Basic D&D Next

My other hobby, music, has been keeping me really really busy. I recorded an album a couple weeks ago, and now I'm working on mixing it. I've also been practicing a lot with my second band, as we have a series of shows booked for June. While I haven't had the time to post recently, I've been keeping up with the blogs I'm following.  Seems like there's been some renewed discussion surrounding D&D next/5e now that they are doing the open playtests.  I read a lot of things pro and con, and some details about the rules, but I haven't read
them personally.  I think the success of this edition will have a lot less to do with the rules and more to do with how they package and market it.

The one thing I take away from OSR blogosphere is a renewed respect for the Moldvay D&D Basic set.  The Basic and Expert rules were a fairly complete game if you have a good DM. I wasn't really a fan of the other sets that comprise the BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia, I instead moved to AD&D.  Of course as the 2 games weren't 100% compatible I felt a little confused. That's been a recurring problem with the D&D franchise; a basic game that isn't compatible with the Advanced or normal version.

While planning the release of D&D next/5e, WotC should plan to launch a boxed, basic version of the game that is 100% compatible with the full version.  For between $30 and $50, they could put together a box similar to the Pathfinder box set. Then they can leverage Hasbro's power to get these sets on the shelves at big retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.  I'm seeing Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan there, so why not D&D.  My first basic set was a gift from my grandmother.  I'd like to see more people get into the hobby in a similar manner.  That won't happen unless you have a complete and easy to understand game in 1 package that can be easily purchased from normal retailers.