Quote from: J ArcaneDon't mind him, he's just our resident eye-rollingly rabid D&D hater.

At least he's honest about it.

It's not rabies it's parinoid schitzophrenia and megalomania!

I go a little over the top because it's silly, but when it comes down to it what I'm really pissed about is that with such a perfect chance to give the industry a good, standard ruleset, they went with marketing concerns over game design and produced something that doesn't even do D&D well.

I don't think they're stupid, but like all corporations the directive is to plow any competition into the ground and suck every dime out of the customers they can get.

Online content, Dragonlance movie, non-open license 4th ed, and a new strategy on WotC's part to keep more of the money making in house.

In the end, probly better for D&D.Unless of course they do actually sell off D&D, then we would have to see who gets it.

Quote from: David JohansenIt's not rabies it's parinoid schitzophrenia and megalomania!

I go a little over the top because it's silly, but when it comes down to it what I'm really pissed about is that with such a perfect chance to give the industry a good, standard ruleset, they went with marketing concerns over game design and produced something that doesn't even do D&D well.

I don't think they're stupid, but like all corporations the directive is to plow any competition into the ground and suck every dime out of the customers they can get.

So he's not an eye-rollingly rabid D&D hater, just an eye-rollingly rabid (paranoid schizophrenic) corporation hater....

Quote from: James J SkachSo he's not an eye-rollingly rabid D&D hater, just an eye-rollingly rabid (paranoid schizophrenic) corporation hater....

that, i'm okay with.  stick it to the man!

Quote from: McrowOnline content, Dragonlance movie, non-open license 4th ed, and a new strategy on WotC's part to keep more of the money making in house.

Most likely.  I think management is feeling some real regret over Dancey's original SRD-direction with D&D and is shifting its strategy with a multi-media outlook toward the future.  One that's much more controlled and in-house.

Quote from: McrowIn the end, probly better for D&D.Unless of course they do actually sell off D&D, then we would have to see who gets it.

This I don't agree with.  They're stepping on a lot of toes, and they're going about a transition in all the wrong ways.  D&D customers aren't stupid, and WotC's trying its darnedest to make enemies out of them.

Quote from: beeberthat, i'm okay with.  stick it to the man!

I prefer the "Give my money to the man - then he makes me more money and I don't have to work" version of that - but at least we can agree on the thought, yeah?

What other major licenses are there, which WotC may not renew?

Regards,
David R

BTW - none of this should be seen as a support of WOTC.  The disagreement I have is that they are doing exactly what a corporation shouldn't do (what DJ seems to think they all do), and that is forget the customer in their grand plans.

Now maybe Hasbro is just too big and too different to understand the RPG side of things. Perhaps they understand this and are getting ready to escehw a property they don't particularly understand. which could be good for D&D, and serve the purpose of making the D&D consumer hold up their end of the bargain and buy things from the new company to prove money can be made by large RPG companies.*

Another possibility is that Hasbro has given up trying to understand RPG's and how they differ from their other offerings and are going to treat them like all other properties (In other words, not like RPG consumers, but like Life/Monopoly consumers).  This will be a mistake and Hasbro will either destroy the brand in the process, or sell it off when they realize it.  The question then is how much damage they've done by the time they change direction.

And here's another.  D&D is making money.  Sure everyone's crying poor.  But what if D&D is actually making a lot of money.  What if Hasbro is looking at all that licensing and realizing they got hosed - that their licensees are making a nice profit? Say you're a stockholder in Hasbro - wouldn't you want them to pull those licenses back in and put that profit in your 401K? Do you think Mrs. Jones, 62, cares about whether or not you or I like the e-content if it means she can retire at 63 instead of 65? And you know Mr. Evil-Layabout-Inheritence-Jerk doesn't give a rats ass, as long as the champagne is flowing?

So there's about a thousand things we don't know - not me, or beeber, or Redfox, or, dare I say, even Mr. Johansen. Unless you own stock in Hasbro and enough that you can get some answers, we'll all have to just wait and see how it shakes out.  Even then, we'll probably have to guess retroactively at the reasons and debate the impacts - or wait 10 years until someone in the know finally spills the beans.

* EDIT: this assumes quality.  I'm not saying people should buy just to buy.

Quote from: RedFoxThis I don't agree with.  They're stepping on a lot of toes, and they're going about a transition in all the wrong ways.  D&D customers aren't stupid, and WotC's trying its darnedest to make enemies out of them.

No offence, but the thought of WotC purposefully tryin to piss off it's customers sound kind of out there.

I think that D&D is probly in a position where it has to make Hasbro more money or it's going to get shopped around. There is just no way that WotC is going to make the sort of changes that are needed without pissing off some people.

Would you like to see Mongoose or Green Ronin end up owning the D&D property? I wouldn't.

Quote from: David RWhat other major licenses are there, which WotC may not renew?

Regards,
David R

I think just Kenzer.

Quote from: McrowNo offence, but the thought of WotC purposefully tryin to piss off it's customers sound kind of out there.

I think that D&D is probly in a position where it has to make Hasbro more money or it's going to get shopped around. There is just no way that WotC is going to make the sort of changes that are needed without pissing off some people.

Would you like to see Mongoose or Green Ronin end up owning the D&D property? I wouldn't.

Again, look at the trends.  Roleplaying customers aren't what WotC wants in the long run, I think.  They're gearing for a more multi-media oriented operation, and their miniatures games are far outstripping anything on the RPG front.  I'm sure Hasbro is much more interested in miniatures as well, since that sort of production is easier for them to understand than book publishing.

I speculate that they're re-evaluating the D&D property as roleplaying-first, and starting to think of it as more of a media brand they can use to flog miniature games, movies, and video games, with roleplaying books as a very small part of their overall strategy.

Quote from: RedFoxI speculate that they're re-evaluating the D&D property as roleplaying-first, and starting to think of it as more of a media brand they can use to flog miniature games, movies, and video games, with roleplaying books as a very small part of their overall strategy.

That pretty much my thoughts too.  Hasbro has spent the last decade collecting brands, I don't think they plan on selling D&D off when it is a name recognizable beyond the rpg world.

Quote from: RedFoxAgain, look at the trends.  Roleplaying customers aren't what WotC wants in the long run, I think.  They're gearing for a more multi-media oriented operation, and their miniatures games are far outstripping anything on the RPG front.  I'm sure Hasbro is much more interested in miniatures as well, since that sort of production is easier for them to understand than book publishing.

I speculate that they're re-evaluating the D&D property as roleplaying-first, and starting to think of it as more of a media brand they can use to flog miniature games, movies, and video games, with roleplaying books as a very small part of their overall strategy.

True, but I don't think they having board meetings about "how to piss off RPers". It's all about making money for them, business. Just so as long as the don't go off and make D&D anymore of a board game than they already have, I'm cool with the changes.

Some days I wonder if half the things Wizards does is just some suit getting a wild hair up their butt.  Over the years in my corporate job I've got all sorts of seemingly-random mandates to change things that made little sense on the customer end.

Quote from: jrientsOver the years in my corporate job I've got all sorts of seemingly-random mandates to change things that made little sense on the customer end.

Yea, if it's your job to oversee something, it's almost mandatory to make changes.  Otherwise, it looks like you're not doing anything.  If things are going optimally, those changes will make things suboptimal.

Plus you have internal pissing contects, politics, and backstabbing, where decisions are not made for business reasons but for personal reasons to screw someone else.

(Note:I'm talking about business in general.  I have no inslde knowledge of Hasbro.)