Why did Hasbro buy WotC

Gundark · Aug 18, 2005

Did the need to be bailed out? Was it porfitable for both parties? Hostile takeover? I was away the day that happened, so does anyone know the story?

frankthedm · Aug 18, 2005

Pokemoney

During its boom time as a card game Ha$bro took notice. Otherwise wotc would not have been a blip on thier radar.

JoeGKushner · Aug 18, 2005

frankthedm said:
Pokemoney

Hit the nail on the hit on the first time.

Of course losing the Pokemon license latter on was a bit amusing, much like WotC buying decipher and losing the license for Star Trek. Poor bastards!

Mercule · Aug 18, 2005

JoeGKushner said:
much like WotC buying decipher and losing the license for Star Trek. Poor bastards!

Wow. I'm pretty sure that means they've lost the Star Trek license twice, then. IIRC, Last Unicorn Games held the license when WotC bought them. Maybe it was Dune, though.

Henry · Aug 18, 2005

JoeGKushner said:
...much like WotC buying decipher and losing the license for Star Trek. Poor bastards!

Last Unicorn, rather than Decipher.

According to Peter Adkison, the buyout was a move that made the shareholders VERY happy, monetarily speaking. Whether it was the best thing, I'll let history decide. Sic transit via mundi.

Steel_Wind · Aug 18, 2005

More specifically, seeing the vast sales made with Pokemon and M:TG and noting the patent that WotC has on CCG which indicate a card has been tapped in play by changing its orientation.

The patent is key.

At some point - the cyclical aspect of a CCG will happen again and WotC will be there with a jackpot. That is the theory. In the meanwhile, it has significant IP and pays its own bills and generates revenue.

jokamachi · Aug 18, 2005

frankthedm said:
Pokemoney

During its boom time as a card game Ha$bro took notice. Otherwise wotc would not have been a blip on thier radar.

Not that I want Wotc to fail (or get sold), but if Pokemon was Hasbro's main reason for buying wotc, then what is their motivation for keeping the company?

Len · Aug 18, 2005

jokamachi said:
Not that I want Wotc to fail (or get sold), but if Pokemon was Hasbro's main reason for buying wotc, then what is their motivation for keeping the company?

How about all of WotC's other products? Maybe they make money?

BiggusGeekus · Aug 18, 2005

Len said:
How about all of WotC's other products? Maybe they make money?

Not nearly in the same ballpark as Pokemon. There's just no comparism.

Did you know the best selling RPG was the Pokemon RPG? I found that out on a web board conversation betwee Ryan Dancy and (IIRC) Monte Cook. Most RPG gamers have never even heard of it and most people who bought it probably just bought it because it had the word "Pokemon" on the cover. Then there's all the rest of the merchandising which was taken far more seriously.

SKR once published on his message boards how much he made from the Pokemon boom. Something like $100,000 the first year and $60,000 the second (please correct me if I am wrong).

Comparing Pokemon to anything else Wizards did at the time is like comparing an aircraft carrier to a rowboat.

Glyfair · Aug 18, 2005

jokamachi said:
Not that I want Wotc to fail (or get sold), but if Pokemon was Hasbro's main reason for buying wotc, then what is their motivation for keeping the company?

Main reason, not only reason. Hasbro is well known for gobbling up smaller companies. Just before The Phantom Menace came out, Hasbro had just finished taking over a company that gave them complete control of the Star Wars toy license. I wouldn't be suprised if Hasbro considered the Star Wars license they had when they took over WotC.

I'm also sure they liked having a preestablished foothold in the CCG market (even though it's very soft right now).