WotC WotC President Cynthia Williams Resigns

michaeljpastor · Apr 21, 2024

Wow, so my google newsfeed pushed this article from readwrite by Brian-Damian Morgan to me this morning. What a piss-poor piece of "journalism" it is. Wizards Of The Coast President Resigns, leaving legacy of disharmony

This "award winning journalist" (what, gold stars from teacher?) continuously mixes up WOTC layoffs with Hasbro, needlessly links the Larian news with BG3 to the resignation, and has typos throughout. Reading their Editorial Process blurb at the end is a joke.

MNblockhead · Apr 22, 2024

michaeljpastor said:
Never said it wasn't content. It's less text, though. Which is reasonable to say is the core purpose of the book.

Increasingly, and more and more players are moving to digital tools, the core purpose of TTRPG books are to aesthetically pleasing formats of the rules. Paper and cover quality, layout, font choices, and art are arguably the most important features for the increasing percentage of consumers who would otherwise just stick to PDF, D&D Beyond, VTTs, and other digital formats. Unfortunately for those who prefer print over other formats and who want large volumes of text for cheap, art and quality paper and binding is expensive--probably more than the writing. This greatly drives up the cost of books and makes the price per word count look like a bad deal. But that is not how many (most?) consumers are valuing their purchase. The publisher know this. I can't remember every seeing a publisher or Kickstarter advertise: "to keep the costs down and give you the most text for your dollar, we are minimizing art; using smaller font sizes; not wasting space with layouts with a lot of white space; and keeping to cheaper by adequate paper, covers, and binding."

Correct me if I'm wrong but those books don't sell as well, regardless of the IP. If that was the market, we would see a lot more soft cover, black and white, text dense TTRPG books. I believe that era is over.

Zardnaar · Apr 22, 2024

mamba said:
I doubt they have a good handle on why someone is not buying something. They certainly know what their sales are, and at a minimum 2023 ended 5e's growth, but as to why it did / how much or little the OGL contributed to that... I have my doubts that they know

My personal theory is sales started going down 2022. Takes a while for data to come through. Last year we had book scan data indicating that. Not sure what % they make up but it's a way bigger slice than say polling.

So I personally believe sales were eventually going to plateau regardless then decline. This is to be expected imho.

If Covid payouts caused a suger high that means 5E could have peaked in real terns 2019 or do.

OGL drama as such probably didn't do much directly. Youtubers/social media basically turning on a dine and going overwhelmingly negative on WotC however......

Ornat1994 · Apr 22, 2024

Morrus said:
View attachment 358477

Cynthia Williams, who has been president of Wizards of the Coast for the last two years, will be leaving the company at the end of the month, according to an SEC filing dated April 15th. Hasbro is already looking for somebody to step into the role.

Williams worked for Microsoft on the Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team before joining WotC two years ago, stepping into the role that then-president Chris Cocks vacated when he was promoted to CEO of Hasbro in February 2022.

Item 5.02 Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.
On April 15, 2024, Cynthia Williams, President of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming, informed the Company of her resignation from the Company effective April 26, 2024. The Company is conducting a process to identify her successor, looking at both internal and external candidates.

According to Rascal News, WotC responded with a comment: "We’re excited for Cynthia to take the next step in her career and grateful for the contributions she has made in her more than two years at Wizards and Hasbro. We wish her the absolute best in her next endeavor. We have started the search for our next President of Wizards of the Coast and hope to have a successor in place soon."

Whoa, major shake-up! Cynthia Williams leaving her role as president at Wizards of the Coast after just two years. Leadership changes always bring a mix of excitement and uncertainty.

SteveC · Apr 22, 2024

I've been interested in this topic, and the news that I've seen has exclusively been about "Here's what happened while she was President." And even that has been very disjointed with different sites each giving a partial story. Nothing about why it happened or insider info on what's next.

Morrus · Apr 22, 2024

SteveC said:
I've been interested in this topic, and the news that I've seen has exclusively been about "Here's what happened while she was President." And even that has been very disjointed with different sites each giving a partial story. Nothing about why it happened or insider info on what's next.

Because nobody knows why she’s leaving. And I, for one, don’t feel entitled to know.

MichaelSomething · Apr 22, 2024

michaeljpastor said:
Wow, so my google newsfeed pushed this article from readwrite by Brian-Damian Morgan to me this morning. What a piss-poor piece of "journalism" it is. Wizards Of The Coast President Resigns, leaving legacy of disharmony

This "award winning journalist" (what, gold stars from teacher?) continuously mixes up WOTC layoffs with Hasbro, needlessly links the Larian news with BG3 to the resignation, and has typos throughout. Reading their Editorial Process blurb at the end is a joke.

Why go anywhere else for TTRPG news when there's ENworld???

billd91 · Apr 22, 2024

Morrus said:
Because nobody knows why she’s leaving. And I, for one, don’t feel entitled to know.

Since Hasbro is a publicly traded company and Williams was heading up the division of Hasbro doing the most to boost its bottom line, I think there may be certain reasons for her departure that would be relevant to know to a stockholder or prospective stockholder. I would hope they'd disclose those, though I also assume they'd drag out that process as long as possible if the reason were likely to undermine their stock value or confidence in the company.

Alzrius · Apr 22, 2024

Morrus said:
Because nobody knows why she’s leaving. And I, for one, don’t feel entitled to know.

Wanting to know something is not the same thing as believing that you're entitled to know.

Morrus · Apr 22, 2024

Alzrius said:
Wanting to know something is not the same thing as believing that you're entitled to know.

Thanks for the info.

WotC WotC President Cynthia Williams Resigns

michaeljpastor

Adventurer

MNblockhead

A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site

Zardnaar

Legend

Ornat1994

Villager

SteveC

Doing the best imitation of myself

Morrus

Well, that was fun

MichaelSomething

Legend

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him)

Alzrius

The EN World kitten

Morrus

Well, that was fun

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