Open Letter to WotC from Chris Dias

[Matt James]

Jon, you're doing it again.

Can you point me to demonstrable examples of the behavior you are describing in your opening paragraph? You're using emotion, rather than logic, to get your point across. The rest of your post can be ignored because you are trying to confuse the topic further, without speaking to the original thesis of this argument--and the 'Open Letter' that started it.

 

[Morrus]

Again, what you are asking for here Morrus is not something that a market analyst could sort out.

And again, yes, that's my point. Declarative statements not supported by data are worthless. Since we don't have the data, there's little point making massive sweeping declarative statements.

 

[xechnao]

Paizo's license is more valuable. Hell, the Fate license is more valuable.

I do not get you. Are you saying this from a licensee's or an end customer's perspective?

 

[xechnao]

And again, yes, that's my point. Declarative statements not supported by data are worthless. Since we don't have the data, there's little point making massive sweeping declarative statements.

Yup, sorry. I submitted that post before having seen your reply.

 

[Matt James]

And again, yes, that's my point. Declarative statements not supported by data are worthless. Since we don't have the data, there's little point making massive sweeping declarative statements.

I can't give XP right now, so I wanted to reiterate what Morrus put here.

 

[Morrus]

Play nice.

My point is is that Wizards is acting like they hold all the cards, like 50% of all RPG sales are D&D (not D&D and 3rd party companies, but D&D). That's not true anymore.

This is not verifiably true, as I have indicated more than once already.

If they want 3rd party companies to fill out their market for them, they need to attract them. The responsibility is theirs, not mine. If they want 3rd party companies to support them, they need to earn it. Right now, Wizards needs to convince me that their license has any value. From where I stand, it doesn't.

But they clearly don't want 3rd party companies to fill out their market for them. Everything after your "if" is predicated on a premise that does not exist - they don't need or want to convince you of anything because in their opinion, it is not to their advantage to do so.

 

[Perram]

Unfortunately, that's merely an anecdote. What you'd need to demonstrate is a significant (in WotC terms - so tens of thousands) number of people who verifiably currently do not purchase WotC's products who verifiably would do so if that action were taken.

WotC's position is that this action would not make a noticeable difference to their bottom line. I'm afraid that simply stating "Well I think it would" isn't enough; that's not data.

It may be annecdotal in my one case but the premise is generic enough to not be:

If, all other things being equal, or at least the differences negligible, System A has material available for it that a potential buyer would like, and System B does not... that pushes the odds of purchase towards System A.

 

[Matt James]

You invoked the word "like" into your logic. It broke down from there. You cannot quantify preference or desire.

 

[dmccoy1693]

I do not get you. Are you saying this from a licensee's or an end customer's perspective?

A licensee's prospective. The #1 measure is $$$. Paizo 3rd party products sell better than D&D 4E 3rd party products. The #2 measure is how easy is the licenser to work with. D&D is simply leaves their licensees alone, letting them wonder when the day will come when the license is gone. Paizo encourages their licensees. Just my opinion, but as a business man, that's the final analysis.

 

[Emberion]

I will illustrate why Alluria Publishing has stopped producing new 4E material and now focuses on Pathfinder.

For us, it has little to do with support by WotC and a lot more to do with "nobody is buying it."

Fey Folio: Available both in 4E format and Pathfinder format. The 4E version received 2 honorable mentions in the ENnies (the pathfinder version was released after the deadline).

Both versions get glowing reviews.
Both versions have basically the same material, just altered for different games systems.
Both versions are priced the same.

We have sold about 40 4th Ed Fey Folios.
We have sold about 250 Pathfinder Fey Folios, and it has been out for a shorter time.

This is the best example, because the products are so similar that the only difference is that one is 4E and the other is Pathfinder. Unless you believe that winning ENnie mention is somehow BAD for your product, which I highly doubt is the case. We sold most of those 4e copies after the awards were announced.

Our other 4E products have faired far worse.

Our Pathfinder titles, however, has been universally promising.

So why spend time and effort on a product that is just not selling....especially when you can spend the same amount of time and effort on a different system and have it sell?