WotC Seeks Unity with a New Edition

Dragonblade · Jan 9, 2012

Scott_Rouse said:
If 4e was working (as a game/business) we would still be talking about 5e rumors and not 5e reality right now.

4e works just fine as a game. In fact its my favorite edition to date, thank you very much.

Roland55 · Jan 9, 2012

TerraDave said:
I've missed The Rouse.

(also, took a quick glance at the blog, and glad to see the job there).

Yes, I've missed him, too.

I'm glad to see him chiming in here -- and even gladder to see he has a solid job doing something exciting.

I'd like to see a lot more Rouse around here.

Scott_Rouse · Jan 9, 2012

Roland55 said:
Yes, I've missed him, too.

I'm glad to see him chiming in here -- and even gladder to see he has a solid job doing something exciting.

I'd like to see a lot more Rouse around here.

Thanks

BTW is the thread looking goofy for anyone else? Everything from #125 is posting like a multi-quote under Roland55

Gentlegamer · Jan 9, 2012

Scott_Rouse said:
Thanks

BTW is the thread looking goofy for anyone else? Everything from #125 is posting like a multi-quote under Roland55

Yeah, it's gone Inception for me, too

Nemesis Destiny · Jan 9, 2012

Scott_Rouse said:
BTW is the thread looking goofy for anyone else? Everything from #125 is posting like a multi-quote under Roland55

Not just you. It's busted as heck for me too.

ShinHakkaider · Jan 9, 2012

BobROE said:
As someone with a stable pathfinder game, I'm not really sure who I'm supposed to be getting "unity" with....

WotC wants to get unity it the market, cause that's good for them, but I don't really see why that's good for ME as an individual user....

THIS EXACTLY.

I walked away from WOTC because they were selling a product that I had no interest in. Paizo makes a product that I'm more than interested in and have been supporting since 2007-8.

People who play 4E are still going to have support for their game. Who are they supposed to be unifying with?

bouncyhead · Jan 9, 2012

Nemesis Destiny said:
Not just you. It's busted as heck for me too.

Well if this is what it's going to be like under 5th Edition, I'm already unhappy.

Dark Mistress · Jan 9, 2012

ColonelHardisson said:
Ah, here we go; actual footage of Scott Rouse parachuting out of Wizards after the release of 4e:

Skydive Escape - YouTube

Never knew Scott looked so much like Roger Moore, though I totally imaged WotC/Hasbro suits to have metal teeth and be really tall.

Nemesis Destiny · Jan 9, 2012

Scott_Rouse said:
The "they broke their promise" argument sounds vaguely familiar of the "they are killing my 3.x game" that was all over the boards when 4e was announced.

To be honest, the statement you make in the sentence immediately preceding this one does, too:

Scott_Rouse said:
4e was broken as a game and business and it needs to go away.

As a business / business model - I'll buy that. As a game? That smacks of the same kind of "you're Doing It Wrong" arrogance that turned folks sour around the launch of 4e in the first place. For WotC's sake, and D&D as an entity, it's probably a good thing that you're no longer involved if that's how you truly feel.

I'm not attacking you personally here. I gather that you had a rough time with them, so your bitterness is understandable. That said, I don't think your assessment of 4e is all that fair.

DaveMage · Jan 9, 2012

Scott_Rouse said:
People leave companies on their own or through layoff/firing all the time so statements made by individuals need to be attributed to the company. If people are going to hold a company accountable on the validity of statements for 2, 3, 4, 5+ years then those companies would be best served to not make these kinds statements.

WotC is in a tough spot. On the one hand they want to have an open dialog with their customers and go out of the way to share information often/early (case in point they are crowd sourcing a big chunk of their business with the 5e announce) but with openness is a darkside. When the company needs to make (sometimes) unpopular but necessary decisions to remain viable they get blasted (eg announcing 5e is coming less than 4 years after 4e was launched), not an enviable position.

Agreed. But it's more than that. The D&D team has undergone such a continual shift that it looks like there's absolutely no consistent leadership and vision. Until there is such a person (who actually has backing from the company) and vision, it's all a crap-shoot.

It's hard for me to have any faith in such a company. Obviously, for everyone else, YMMV.