WotC Hasbro CEO Chris Cox, "I would say that the underlying thesis of our D&D business is all about digital,”

[Zardnaar]

I am aware of that. I'm just saying that it's not always a simple matter of doing what's in the best interest of the consumers at all times.

To paraphrase CGP Grey's Rules for Rulers video: "Angels that spend treasure on good public works will lose to devils that don't." No matter how committed you are to doing right by your customers, if you're beholden to shareholders then you have to make sure they're on board with your plans or at least willing to wait and see how they turn out, because if a majority of them decide that replacing you with someone else is liable to benefit them more (in whatever time frame they care about), then that's what they're going to do.

While it's great if you can do both at once, keeping the shareholders happy is always going to take priority over keeping the consumers happy whenever the two are in conflict, if only because the shareholders always have the option of forcing the issue and ensuring that someone focused on appeasing them first and foremost is the one making decisions.

Not saying I like it, by any stretch of the imagination, but it's a factor that makes doing the "right thing" less straightforward than it may seem from the outside.

That and CEOs often have share options so the incentive is pump the share price and cash up. Cleaning up if it turns to crap will be someone else's problem.

 

[Sulicius]

If they really wanted to use 1D&D as a tool to get everyone on DDB, they would give away the changes for free on Beyond.

Maybe the new SRD will.

I don’t see them giving the full changes away for free. There has already been put in a lot of work for it.

 

[Sulicius]

I don't understand your first question, here. As for evidence, I'll direct you to the video I posted. I suppose you can say that Glicker is lying/misinformed, but given his reporting on the OGL fiasco, he's earned credibility enough that any such accusation would itself need evidence backing it up.

From what I understood, internally OneD&D refers to purchasing D&D beyond, the revision to the rules and one more thing I can’t remember (sorry!). I was trying to clarify if you meant just the revision or what they are now saying the OneDnD initiative was.

I don’t know who Glicker is.

 

[Alzrius]

From what I understood, internally OneD&D refers to purchasing D&D beyond, the revision to the rules and one more thing I can’t remember (sorry!). I was trying to clarify if you meant just the revision or what they are now saying the OneDnD initiative was.

I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone use "One D&D" as a catch-all for anything other than the forthcoming 2024 iteration of the D&D game itself. Certainly, there's a lot of related issues surrounding it, including its impetus, the OGL 1.1 fiasco, the VTT and the drive to monetize the game further, etc., but I don't think those are what most people are referring to when they make reference to One D&D specifically; certainly, that wasn't my intention.

I don’t know who Glicker is.

Stephen Glicker, of Battlezoo. If you play the video in my previous post, it skips to the part of him talking about the impetus for why One D&D is being made in the first place.

 

[Reynard]

Maybe the new SRD will.

I don’t see them giving the full changes away for free. There has already been put in a lot of work for it.

My point was that if the revision was just a strategy to pull people into the digital ecosystem as was theorized, they wouldn't be bothering with books you can get cheaply on Amazon.

 

[darjr]

I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone use "One D&D" as a catch-all for anything other than the forthcoming 2024 iteration of the D&D game itself. Certainly, there's a lot of related issues surrounding it, including its impetus, the OGL 1.1 fiasco, the VTT and the drive to monetize the game further, etc., but I don't think those are what most people are referring to when they make reference to One D&D specifically; certainly, that wasn't my intention.

Stephen Glicker, of Battlezoo. If you play the video in my previous post, it skips to the part of him talking about the impetus for why One D&D is being made in the first place.

One D&D was introduced by WotC to cover the digital table top effort, the 2024 rules, and the licensing efforts like the movie and BG3.

 

[Malmuria]

From the discord, good points and maybe a clarification of the Chris Cox quote.
————-////
This is the full quote in context (source: Hasbro (HAS) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript | The Motley Fool)

They are talking about customer acquisition strategies - Cocks is saying that they are hoping that Baldur's gate 3 will be an on-ramp for the many more people who play computer rpgs but don't play TTRPGs, and that is a route to growth of D&D as a brand

The tone here is different than the one Kyle Brinks had on his OGL apology tour. I don't think Brink was going to these various youtubers and saying that moving forward dnd was "all about digital." On the other hand, he didn't refute the substance of there being a shift, but described it as "adding options."
(to all the fanbois, that's not a criticism just a description of how wotc speaks to different audiences (investors vs fan community). Yes any other corporation probably does the same)

 

[mamba]

My point was that if the revision was just a strategy to pull people into the digital ecosystem as was theorized, they wouldn't be bothering with books you can get cheaply on Amazon.

books sell, they would be stupid to abandon them. The price hike and the relatively cheap digital + physical bundles (compared to book only) will work for that

 

[darjr]

The tone here is different than the one Kyle Brinks had on his OGL apology tour. I don't think Brink was going to these various youtubers and saying that moving forward dnd was "all about digital." On the other hand, he didn't refute the substance of there being a shift, but described it as "adding options."
(to all the fanbois, that's not a criticism just a description of how wotc speaks to different audiences (investors vs fan community). Yes any other corporation probably does the same)

I do think there is a bit of undue alarm over the “all digital” quotes and such.

However some if the upset I hear comes from retailers.

 

[Alzrius]

One D&D was introduced by WotC to cover the digital table top effort, the 2024 rules, and the licensing efforts like the movie and BG3.

Really? Wow, my bad there, I guess. I'll swear up and down that's not how I've seen most of the community using the term though; it really seems like it's been just for next year's game rules.