Here's where you begin to get confused, since WotC has multiple properties and they do hope the properties all out perform their previous mark, and that is how all companies are run. It is also true that Hasbro hangs on to properties for the long haul and that they are apparently planning to hang on to D&D. They had the chance to unload it right after getting WotC and plenty of opportunity since. When a corporation holds properties, it generally tries to do something with them, either in-house or through licensing. WotC does both with D&D and they do indeed hope but cannot guarantee that those efforts will be entirely fruitful.
You're using some imprecise terms that are a little confusing. WotC may want all of their properties to out perform their previous mark, but that's not how companies are run. Companies are run to make a profit. If one quarter their profit is $1M, and the next their profit is $2, they don't need to keep increasing their profit, or their previous mark. If they make a 5% return on their investments one quarter, they don't necessarily need to improve on that number the next quarter. That's just unrealistic. They would be happy if they could get consistent growth every quarter--say, 3% every quarter, or more likely an average of 3% every quarter (or whatever).
Further, but they don't expect every investment in their property will be profitable. For example, not every book sells equally well. Some may not turn a profit, and some may. As long as they turn a profit on average, they're going to make a profit overall, they'll be happy, and they won't have to shrink their workforce. There are a variety of D&D products on sale, and for each one, you better believe they have projected costs and sales. As long as they have a decent array of products and decent projections, they're not relying on a hope of one product selling, they're relying the law of averages. They don't hope things will sell, they already have an idea how much things will sell, and provide enough products to make up for statistical anomalies.
Mark said:
Where to begin . . . This bit of hyperbole starts by creating your strawman (no one but you seems to be claiming Hasbro is staffed by morons?), then mischaracterizing what others are saying (going under?), then drawing a conclusion (Hasbro satisfied?) for which there is no definite evidence one way or another (as mentioned up thread). I'm amazed how much you crammed into that little passage. To reply with some sense, corporations regularly have companies and divisions that underperform, and the indicators of this are viewed far more often than simply every six months (even what they are charged to show their shareholders comes every quarter). A sign that some portion of a company is in trouble relative to how they are expected to perform is how stable the workforce is maintained.
No one claimed that Hasbro is staffed by morons, but by claiming that their business practices are self-destructive, you certainly imply it. And, if you have a problem with the term 'going under' then I point out that you never clarified the difference between 'suicidal' and 'self-destructive.' And, I already explained why the conclusion of Hasbro being satisfied with their practices is a reasonable conclusion.
I said six months because it's been mentioned that the lay offs occur roughly ever six months. But, that isn't even the point. The point is that if the company were in trouble, they wouldn't have scheduled lay offs anyways. They'd lay people off as necessary, not according to a schedule. Scheduled lay offs, on the other hand, are a very stable way of managing your workforce.
Mark said:
As Erik points out for both our benefit, no more Pokemon, and though there are other properties, MtG is certainly the one that apparently stands out as having a reputation for being worthy of mention when touting what in WotC can be reported to Hasbro and their shareholders during quarterly reports. D&D doesn't seem to get a mention. As to the assertion upthread that other areas of the company aside from the D&D departments have similar layoffs, while that would be a shame, I've never seen any evidence of this. Anyone who wishes to dispute that the D&D areas of WotC shoulder the largest burden of the systematic/periodic layoffs, please step up and go on the record. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, we can only go on what we know.
MtG certainly gets a mention in some quarterly reports. But, mind you, a quarterly report will mention the positive and negative aspects of a company, and likely ignore the average aspects of a company.
And, regarding lay offs in other WotC departments, your earlier claim that:
Mark said:
In the absence of numbers showing the prosperity of the D&D brand specifically, and given that the target of regular WotC layoffs appear to mostly be from the D&D sections of the company, I often find the claims of D&D being in good shape post-Hasbro takeover to be suspect.
Is probably not a good claim to make given that there's no evidence to support it (and, claiming the opposite is probably not a good claim either, for the same reason).
