If this is really at the front of his mind then why do we not have a character builder yet?
Because Morningstar failed.
Generating these tools is hard, time-consuming work. So when the guys you've got doing the job for you prove to be unsuited to the task (for any reason) and you have to start over, that means a
big delay.
(And the fact that a few people banged out fan-made generators quickly isn't terribly relevant - there's a world of difference between something put out at zero or low cost for a few people to mess around with and with no great expectations, versus a polished product intended for sale to tens of thousands of picky fans.)
I get that wizards has lofty goals but they have yet to enter the digital domain without complete failture.
This is true, but I'm not sure how you think they should do it differently? They've tried using outside contractors, and been let down. They've tried doing it in-house, and had problems. So, what's the solution?
(The obvious answer is "better contractors"... but the problem there is that most people they could employ can make much more money doing other things. And even better contractors aren't a guarantee of success - they just improve your odds.)
If they are wanting to get content out to us from the different settings and such, then why did they stop promoting the monthly Dungeon and Dragon issues?
Lack of resources. They needed all hands on deck to get the Core Rulebooks out. They did say they wanted to bring the magazines back, and like you I'm impatiently waiting (and more than a little sceptical).
He talks about digital and yet D&D is one of the only publishers to NOT have PDFs out. Seriously, EVERYONE who is anyone in the industry has PDFs. Though I will concede that FFG star wars does not so this point isn't completely valid, but nevertheless the decision is much to the annoyance of the community.
This may be due to pressure from the distributors - they want a delay on electronic versions while they shift hard-copy.
Another theory is that the electronic versions were supposed to be tied in to Morningstar, and so when that failed it threw a wrench into the works there, too.
I'm not sure which of those two possible explanations is accurate. Possibly neither.
I hope they do fantastic but going from what we as fans know so far about the actual release schedule of the D&D5e RPG franchise coupled along with their abysmal history of digital apps/gaming, I'm not exactly convinced of his rhetoric.
You might be right. It might also be the case that what Mearls
wants to do doesn't match up with what Hasbro will
enable him to do, for any number of reasons. We don't know.
And, yes, not being party to everything that goes on over there can be frustrating. I'd very much like to know exactly what to expect, exactly when to expect it, and what the hold-ups are (if any). But, for obvious reasons, WotC/Hasbro don't want to show us everything.
