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Jonathan Tweet & Rob Heinsoo: Making their own 5th Edition?
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<blockquote data-quote="Mark CMG" data-source="post: 5881169" data-attributes="member: 10479"><p>That might seem like a viable alternate conclusion unless one realizes that there are a lot of companies out there using the OGL but only one is overtaking WotC in the market. Then one is forced to examine why Paizo is the only one overtaking WotC. The reasons Paizo does so well have a lot more to do with the high quality of their work and the fact that it is primarily made up of former WotC employees from the 3.XE era. Couple that with the apparent fact that at least half the 3.XE market wasn't interested in 4.XE, or at least not interested in moving on from a 3.XE-like product line. I'd imagine WotC might have kept the half of the market it lost if (alongside 4.XE) they had kept a team of those particular employees working on 3.XE, made a few tweaks to the 3.XE ruleset, and put out some of the best adventures for 3.XE that anyone had seen. WotC's problem isn't the OGL, though not using the OGL is problematic for them. Pointing at the OGL to explain the existence of Paizo is blaming the wrong bogeyman.</p><p></p><p>In regard to the existence of Paizo, WotC's problem is their business model which requires them to cyclically lay off employees who obviously are going to continue to stay in the business. If you don't think that Paizo would have found another way to please folks not interested in 4.XE then you're underestimating that team of mostly former WotC employees. From the inside it appears WotC's business model brings in talent, puts it to work for a while, and then cuts it when it is cheaper to bring in mostly new talent to work alongside a few promoted veterans. From the outside it appears their business model brings in talent, cultivates it, annoints it by giving the individuals name recognition in the marketplace, then gets rid of the majoirty of the talent in a near-yearly series of lay offs for cost-cutting reasons. This last part is very important. These employees are in no way being called incompetent or deficient in any way. In fact, almost across the board these are talented people at the top of their game, many of whom lose their WotC position not long after being promoted. About the only way WotC could make the competition stiffer would be if their HR Director was in touch weekly with the Paizo HR Director to make sure they knew which 401K packages might need transferring soon. When it comes to Paizo, WotC has 99 problems and the OGL ain't one.</p><p></p><p>So, the OGL isn't really a problem for WotC but, if they are smart, it might be what keeps WotC from losing the rest of the market to the shop they helped set up down the street. It might also help if Hasbro stops using WotC as a training facility for Paizo and the rest of the industry. But large companies and corporations aren't that nimble when it comes to adjusting their business models. It is fully possible for many good people to realize what is wrong with their organization and have no power to change a thing, essentially becoming a knowing witness as they engineer their own train wreck.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mark CMG, post: 5881169, member: 10479"] That might seem like a viable alternate conclusion unless one realizes that there are a lot of companies out there using the OGL but only one is overtaking WotC in the market. Then one is forced to examine why Paizo is the only one overtaking WotC. The reasons Paizo does so well have a lot more to do with the high quality of their work and the fact that it is primarily made up of former WotC employees from the 3.XE era. Couple that with the apparent fact that at least half the 3.XE market wasn't interested in 4.XE, or at least not interested in moving on from a 3.XE-like product line. I'd imagine WotC might have kept the half of the market it lost if (alongside 4.XE) they had kept a team of those particular employees working on 3.XE, made a few tweaks to the 3.XE ruleset, and put out some of the best adventures for 3.XE that anyone had seen. WotC's problem isn't the OGL, though not using the OGL is problematic for them. Pointing at the OGL to explain the existence of Paizo is blaming the wrong bogeyman. In regard to the existence of Paizo, WotC's problem is their business model which requires them to cyclically lay off employees who obviously are going to continue to stay in the business. If you don't think that Paizo would have found another way to please folks not interested in 4.XE then you're underestimating that team of mostly former WotC employees. From the inside it appears WotC's business model brings in talent, puts it to work for a while, and then cuts it when it is cheaper to bring in mostly new talent to work alongside a few promoted veterans. From the outside it appears their business model brings in talent, cultivates it, annoints it by giving the individuals name recognition in the marketplace, then gets rid of the majoirty of the talent in a near-yearly series of lay offs for cost-cutting reasons. This last part is very important. These employees are in no way being called incompetent or deficient in any way. In fact, almost across the board these are talented people at the top of their game, many of whom lose their WotC position not long after being promoted. About the only way WotC could make the competition stiffer would be if their HR Director was in touch weekly with the Paizo HR Director to make sure they knew which 401K packages might need transferring soon. When it comes to Paizo, WotC has 99 problems and the OGL ain't one. So, the OGL isn't really a problem for WotC but, if they are smart, it might be what keeps WotC from losing the rest of the market to the shop they helped set up down the street. It might also help if Hasbro stops using WotC as a training facility for Paizo and the rest of the industry. But large companies and corporations aren't that nimble when it comes to adjusting their business models. It is fully possible for many good people to realize what is wrong with their organization and have no power to change a thing, essentially becoming a knowing witness as they engineer their own train wreck. [/QUOTE]
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