WotC WotC needs an Elon Musk

[Malmuria]

Also if wotc needs new "visionary" "leadership" from the tech world...guess what, they just got it! Microtransactions, here we come!

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Also if wotc needs new "visionary" "leadership" from the tech world...guess what, they just got it! Microtransactions, here we come!

yeah, this new guy comes from tech (I think someone said Microsoft) so he may be what we need

 

[J.Quondam]

step 1: Purchase Hasbro, an $8 billion company, for $50 billion.
step 2: Fire everyone.
step 3: Light a bunch of MtG cards on fire.
step 4: Launch the flaming mess into space on a shiny silver rocket.
step 5: ???
step 6: PROFIT!

 

[Scribe]

WotC needs an Elon Musk, I know I'll get dumped on for saying it...

I mean at least you know the audience.

This thread wont make it, but "in before lock" and all that, well lets see if I even get this post in under the wire...

TSR/WotC has been via a number of properties, part of my life longer even than even GW, and by memory may be on par with Star Wars. Dragonlance is timely actually in that Chronicles was a gift from my mother, and reading it essentially opened my eyes to what a Fantasy product could provide, and was the gateway to reading for pleasure in general.

I'll always have a soft spot for the 2 trilogies.

That said, what is 5e D&D even selling? What is the message they are trying to convey, what questions do they ask the audience? Are they even asking any question at all?

To me, thats the real issue here with D&D in 5e, but I'm not the target market it seems, or their marketing is failing to convince me I am, so who knows.

Magic on the other hand? Magic has been stumbling in the darkness for a long time, and finally they have given up the ghost, in regards to pretending to care about the integrity of the game from anything but a sales perspective. Sure they still have some great art (I saw they brought back Rob Alexander, as personal favourite for example) but there was a point, where sales trumped competitive balance, and from that point its been in decline. I could go on and on, but I'd probably have to look up some articles to get the dates, and some of my old posts if they have not been purged on various forums.

Magic is tied heavily to Hasbro's bottom line. If Magic does not right the ship (and it APPEARS they are actually just shoveling coal on the the raging fire right now) Hasbro's will feel it, and that may impact D&D.

Seeing as D&D is not aiming for what I want, I'm not sure I care beyond a lingering sense of sadness over things that were a big part of my life going away, but its a past tense thing anyway for the most part, or in the case of D&D, how much product does one really need to keep going?

 

[BookTenTiger]

I agree, D&D is always in the need of new epic villains.

 

[Oofta]

Right. First, fire half the staff. Then decide that instead of Dungeons and Dragons, they should be selling Pokemon and Pits. Wait, that's not right. Next day go back to selling just Dungeons, no Dragons necessary. Oops, didn't really mean that either. Back to Dungeons and Dragons, but bring back all of the controversial material from over the years! Back to half naked women being rescued by scantily clad barbarians while stepping on a dead goblin! Bring back the harlot table! Enjoy the good times as investors dump the stock while looking around wondering why most of the rest of the staff took you up on the severance pay.

I mean, if you want to boost other companies and convince people that D&D isn't the only RPG worth playing, this is a great option. D&D has seen incredible growth for nearly a decade. It's likely that it will plateau, if it hasn't already, but the PHB is still selling well on Amazon. It's not going to make everyone happy because that's an impossible task. But it's not time to throw the company in the garbage heap of history either.

 

[RealAlHazred]

No

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Today's "casuals" are where we get tomorrow's "hardcore fans." I was some nine-year-old twerp picking up my first basic set before I was someone that has been gaming for decades.

I'd say having multiple D&D-themed tattoos, some of which are old enough to drink would classify me as a hardcore fan, and I don't feel one bit alienated by Wizards' current approach.

 

[ersatzphil]

That said, what is 5e D&D even selling? What is the message they are trying to convey, what questions do they ask the audience? Are they even asking any question at all?

Colville had a recent, well-articulated video on exactly this point:

What are Dungeons For?

 

[Malmuria]

step 1: Purchase Hasbro, an $8 billion company, for $50 billion.
step 2: Fire everyone.
step 3: Light a bunch of MtG cards on fire.
step 4: Launch the flaming mess into space on a shiny silver rocket.
step 5: ???
step 6: PROFIT!

It occurred to me that Musk is basically an unintentional vulture capitalist