Like many, I've been watching WotC's PDF-pulling with interest. I chose not to ride the 4e train but still purchased older, out-of-print PDFs. I missed the initial wave of announcements and was irritated that some of my wish list had vanished, but it wasn't a devastating development to me personally.
However, I feel it speaks volumes about WotC. For the last 24 hours, I've watched the various posters on both sides and aside from the sheer idiocy in which WotC has handled this situation, I've also been struck by some of the assumptions being made - both in- and against- WotC's favor. While I have no insider information, these assumptions fly in the face of everything I've encountered while working in corporate America for over 13 years. I am a solutions engineer for a technology company and in addition to seeing the operations of my employer, I have the opportunity to have some level of insight into my customers who cover a wide range of industries.
So here's one man's take on some of the conclusions being drawn:
1. Lawyers Don't Run Companies - Lawyers provide counsel. Executives run companies. So the idea that Lawyers are passing edicts to WotC is pretty far-fetched. Lawyers can provide suggestions, can say "yeah, we have a case and can go after X", and will be part of developing contracts, etc. But an executive or executives make the decisions - in this case, WotC executives. Lawyers, may have written the GSL, but someone within WotC said, "yeah that's what we want". Worst case scenario, someone at Hasbro said it for WotC. Which brings me to ...
2. Parent Companies Don't Micromanage Subsidiaries/Divisions - That's why the susidiary/division has it's own executives. The parent company is supposed to focus on the bigger picture, not the day-to-day operations. I seriously doubt Hasbro is running WotC. For that to be true, WotC's executives have to be empty suits and that is a more alarming prospect for the health & future of the company than PDF piracy. The more likely scenario is that Hasbro is dictating targets that are unrealistic, and WotC leadership is making poor decisions in an effort to make those targets. I've seen it first hand with customers and my own employer at different times throughout my career.
3. Companies aren't evil, but they can lose their way - I know we all love some Shadowrun, but corporations aren't evil. They may be run by evil people but it's orders of magnitude more likely that poor choices are made to support a business plan that's not achievable. There are businesses that put customers first because they understand that there will be no company without them. There are other businesses out there that put shareholder profits far above customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, or any number of other factors. #1 reason? The Internet boom. Many companies expect double-digit returns every quarter even when it's inarguably demonstrable to be unachievable. You know what helps drive that mentality? Being part of a publicly traded company.
I've also read the threads talking about the court cases and PHB2 sales, unsurprisingly, in Internet-land, people want to have it both ways:
"WotC had to pull PDF sales. The volume of lost sales due to piracy was huge."
"See how successful 4e is, they sold out the first printing!"
I see it as "Since every illegal download doesn't equate to a lost sale and since 4e seems to be selling very well, why the draconian reaction to selling PDFs?" There's a wide range of plausible scenarios that have already been debated in earlier threads. Only WotC knows the truth.
I know what I'm about to say will sound harsh and will earn me a WotC-hater label in certain camps. As gamers, we want to think that the flagship RPG publisher is made up of people just like us - and it is. Unfortunately, it's their job and you don't always get to make decisions or take actions you agree with at work. Sometimes you're ordered to do something, sometimes the decisions made above your head. But let's stop burying our heads in the sand. WotC is making the decisions. Put the credit, whether good or bad, where it is due. Cheer them for the success of 4e, but don't absolve them of decisions that hurt the industry or you as a customer.
If Hasbro doesn't like the decisions or doesn't see the results they want, trust me, they'll make changes. Of what type or scale I can't say. My belief is that Hasbro's role as villain starts and stops with the targets they're giving WotC.
Let's face it, folks, 4e could be a success by any objective measure in the RPG industry, and still be viewed as unsuccessful for not being profitable enough from a WotC or Hasbro perspective.
I agree with Stan! - WotC has dropped the mantle of RPG industry leadership. They've got market share, but there are several decisions that, although clearly beneficial to WotC, are not to the industry, 3PPs, or YOU the customer. Just because a company can do something, doesn't mean that it should.
Sorry for the long post, it's been kicking around in my head for a bit.
Lastly, a wise man once told me the following:
1) Never underestimate the stupidity of a corporation.
2) The only entity dumber than a corporation is a government.
3) The only entity dumber than a government is academia.
However, I feel it speaks volumes about WotC. For the last 24 hours, I've watched the various posters on both sides and aside from the sheer idiocy in which WotC has handled this situation, I've also been struck by some of the assumptions being made - both in- and against- WotC's favor. While I have no insider information, these assumptions fly in the face of everything I've encountered while working in corporate America for over 13 years. I am a solutions engineer for a technology company and in addition to seeing the operations of my employer, I have the opportunity to have some level of insight into my customers who cover a wide range of industries.
So here's one man's take on some of the conclusions being drawn:
1. Lawyers Don't Run Companies - Lawyers provide counsel. Executives run companies. So the idea that Lawyers are passing edicts to WotC is pretty far-fetched. Lawyers can provide suggestions, can say "yeah, we have a case and can go after X", and will be part of developing contracts, etc. But an executive or executives make the decisions - in this case, WotC executives. Lawyers, may have written the GSL, but someone within WotC said, "yeah that's what we want". Worst case scenario, someone at Hasbro said it for WotC. Which brings me to ...
2. Parent Companies Don't Micromanage Subsidiaries/Divisions - That's why the susidiary/division has it's own executives. The parent company is supposed to focus on the bigger picture, not the day-to-day operations. I seriously doubt Hasbro is running WotC. For that to be true, WotC's executives have to be empty suits and that is a more alarming prospect for the health & future of the company than PDF piracy. The more likely scenario is that Hasbro is dictating targets that are unrealistic, and WotC leadership is making poor decisions in an effort to make those targets. I've seen it first hand with customers and my own employer at different times throughout my career.
3. Companies aren't evil, but they can lose their way - I know we all love some Shadowrun, but corporations aren't evil. They may be run by evil people but it's orders of magnitude more likely that poor choices are made to support a business plan that's not achievable. There are businesses that put customers first because they understand that there will be no company without them. There are other businesses out there that put shareholder profits far above customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, or any number of other factors. #1 reason? The Internet boom. Many companies expect double-digit returns every quarter even when it's inarguably demonstrable to be unachievable. You know what helps drive that mentality? Being part of a publicly traded company.
I've also read the threads talking about the court cases and PHB2 sales, unsurprisingly, in Internet-land, people want to have it both ways:
"WotC had to pull PDF sales. The volume of lost sales due to piracy was huge."
"See how successful 4e is, they sold out the first printing!"
I see it as "Since every illegal download doesn't equate to a lost sale and since 4e seems to be selling very well, why the draconian reaction to selling PDFs?" There's a wide range of plausible scenarios that have already been debated in earlier threads. Only WotC knows the truth.
I know what I'm about to say will sound harsh and will earn me a WotC-hater label in certain camps. As gamers, we want to think that the flagship RPG publisher is made up of people just like us - and it is. Unfortunately, it's their job and you don't always get to make decisions or take actions you agree with at work. Sometimes you're ordered to do something, sometimes the decisions made above your head. But let's stop burying our heads in the sand. WotC is making the decisions. Put the credit, whether good or bad, where it is due. Cheer them for the success of 4e, but don't absolve them of decisions that hurt the industry or you as a customer.
If Hasbro doesn't like the decisions or doesn't see the results they want, trust me, they'll make changes. Of what type or scale I can't say. My belief is that Hasbro's role as villain starts and stops with the targets they're giving WotC.
Let's face it, folks, 4e could be a success by any objective measure in the RPG industry, and still be viewed as unsuccessful for not being profitable enough from a WotC or Hasbro perspective.
I agree with Stan! - WotC has dropped the mantle of RPG industry leadership. They've got market share, but there are several decisions that, although clearly beneficial to WotC, are not to the industry, 3PPs, or YOU the customer. Just because a company can do something, doesn't mean that it should.
Sorry for the long post, it's been kicking around in my head for a bit.
Lastly, a wise man once told me the following:
1) Never underestimate the stupidity of a corporation.
2) The only entity dumber than a corporation is a government.
3) The only entity dumber than a government is academia.
