Why Wizards Has Lost Touch w/ Its Base

[Sholari]

Its no wonder that Wizards of the Coast has lost touch with their customer base. I did a search for Wizards of the Coast on www.linkedin.com and who did I see running WOTC brands?

Lots of second-tier MBAs fresh out of b-school...

Former editorial person for eFit.com, a diet website...

Transplants from Hasbro...

Scott Rouse... former brand manager such *amazing* hits as GI Joe the trading card game and Duel Masters

Marketing person for children's computer games...

Ad agency people....

A merchandise analyst from Nordstrom...

Transplants from other Fortune 500 Seattle companies...

I wonder how many of these "brand managers" have really played Dungeons and Dragons or anything like it? No wonder they are following in the footsteps of Lorraine Williams.

Besides a few well-known game designers, I see very few people with RPG industry credentials. I think that is why we see very few visits anymore from anyone at WOTC... they really don't care about roleplaying and repeating some of the same mistakes as T$R. My perspective is that WOTC is slowly getting filled by corporate types that fundamentally do not understand the market that they serve and the people that really understand the market are slowly getting pushed out. I could be totally wrong, but every WOTC employee that starts to really have an honest dialogue with people on this website get let go.

Don't get me wrong an MBA and/or corporate experience is a great foundation, but WOTC needs a more diverse mix of industry people contribute to the decision making.

 

[Treebore]

Well, I've been sour on WOTC for a few years now. OK, practically since day one, with a few exceptions like Exp. to Ravenloft and a few other books.

I am really ticked that they are putting a stop to two iconic cornerstones of D&D, put before I get really disgusted I am going to wait and see what they are planning to do to justify not allowing Dragon and Dungeon to be printed.

So I suggest a bunch of deep breathes and lets wait patiently until WOTC deigns to let us in on what they are doing.

Then we either be impressed, or we get fed up.

Plus remember that they didn't have enough consideration to tell us what they are doing in as timely a fashion as Paizo.

 

[PieSeXual]

While on one hand I agree with you that this not the course that I want WotC to take nor do I like such people having control over my hobby on another I understand this shift in WotC makeup. Why? Because WotC is a company and companies have one goal in mind: profit. Money banked. Thats it, nothing else. Therein lies the answer to your question as to why WotC has lost touch.

I think that we are all best to stick with the DnD resources which we currently have and approach further developments with much skeptically before taking them on board. Then, if things get really grim, we [the DnD gaming community] have to protest against WotC decisions.

 

[S'mon]

, I see very few people with RPG industry credentials. I think that is why we see very few visits anymore from anyone at WOTC... they really don't care about roleplaying and repeating some of the same mistakes as T$R. My perspective is that WOTC is slowly getting filled by corporate types that fundamentally do not understand the market that they serve and the people that really understand the market are slowly getting pushed out. .

Well, the people who ran TSR in its latter days understood neither RPGs nor business. That's why they went bankrupt - and it could have happened years previously. WoTC may have lost touch with its customer base to some extent, but they've never shown the active hostility to the customer base we saw from TSR. It's been a good while since I bought a WoTC product, I'm not really their target demographic I guess, but I continue to wish them well.

Edit: WoTC (prior to Hasbro) did allow the OGL, which means I get to play C&C, which means I'm a happy bunny. Plus I haven't heard of WotC-Hasbro launching a single frivolous copyright lawsuit, which as a lecturer in copyright law means a lot to me. So many companies' behaviour these days is absolutely disgusting; TSR's certainly was.

It's sad Dungeon & Dragon were cancelled, but I hadn't bought them since ca 1990 so it doesn't affect me personally; they have not been the sort of RPG mag I was looking for for many years.

 

[CharlesRyan]

Scott Rouse...

I'll vouch for [D&D Brand Manager] Scott. He's a gamer.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

All I know is that I like Wizards less with each passing day. I wasn't anti-WotC since a couple of months (maybe as much as a year) before, but then things started to really peter me off. I guess if they continue on their course, I'll stop buying altogether before the end of the year.

 

[Sholari]

I'll vouch for [D&D Brand Manager] Scott. He's a gamer.

Well, he is not a very good brand manager then. As a former WOTC brand manager, Charles, could you shed a little light on this on how these sorts of decisions get made? What do they typically look for in a brand manager? Is it just a second-tier MBA with entertainment/ agency/marketing experience or do they really try to find people that know the RPG industry well?

As a former WOTC person doesn't this seem like just a really, really bad way to alienate your most loyal consumers, brand advocates, influentials, etc.?

Finally, why isn't there _anyone_ from WOTC reaching out to explain the thinking behind this absolutely horrible decision? I mean one quote in a press release just doesn't cut it.

 

[Echohawk]

While I'm very disappointed in the cancellation of Dragon and Dungeon, I'm also wary of (virtually) lynching Scott Rouse just because he's quoted in a press release. As someone else who has the misfortune of getting regularly quoted in releases developed by a PR company, I understand that those quotes aren't always a good representation of the individual views of the person being quoted.

So -- especially with a vouch from the esteemed Mr. Ryan -- I'm willing to give Scott the benefit of the doubt.

I just hope that Wizards understands what a high level of quality the Paizo folks have set for D&D content over the last few years. Whatever their digital initiative turns out to look like, it will have to be of a very high standard if it is to be a replacement for Dragon and Dungeon.

 

[hong]

I still love Mearls with all of my body, including my pee-pee.

 

[Maggan]

Well, he is not a very good brand manager then.

You base that solely on the cancellation of Dungeon and Dragon, I suppose?

IMO, I don't expect that decision in itself to be have a significant impact on the D&D brand. The vast majority of the D&D player base does not read Dungeon nor Dragon, and many (but not all, of course) of those who complain are already hostile to WotC for various reasons.

Sure, I don't like the cancellation of the mags, and I had assumed that the benefit of having them around was bigger than eliminating them, but I assume that WotC has access to plenty of market data to support this decision.

Also, if it turns out that this decision will have a large negative economic impact on the D&D business with hordes of gamers leaving the game(s), WotC will likely reverse it.

/M