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General Tabletop Discussion
D&D Older Editions
WotC, DDI, 4E, and Hasbro: Some History
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<blockquote data-quote="LightPhoenix" data-source="post: 7647944" data-attributes="member: 115"><p>Easy problem first - Hasbro does not own the rights to make <em>any</em> D&D games, regardless of edition; AFAIK they still belong to Atari. They were sold off (via Hasbro Interactive) around the time Neverwinter Nights was made. So any further issues are a moot point - Hasbro can not make a D&D game.</p><p></p><p>However, assuming Hasbro <em>could</em> reacquire the rights, a D&D video game would still face several challenges. Video game development costs money, and that expenditure is counted against income. So, for a game to move forward, the <em>risk</em> of the game failing would have to be relatively small, especially if the D&D brand is in such dire straits. MMOs in the current game climate are <em>quite</em> risky to finance, and a D&D MMO <em>already</em> failed once. So the likelihood of Hasbro giving the okay to one is next to none.</p><p></p><p>Similarly, the market for RPGs these days does not really have a cost-benefit ratio that would allow for Hasbro to develop another Baldur's Gate. To head off the obvious comparison, <em>Skyrim </em>did have a phenomenal release. However, <em>Skyrim</em> also had several points in its favor that a new RPG would not have, not the least of which is Bethesda's wealth of development time and talent, as well as their stability as a company.</p><p></p><p>Now, that's not to say <em>nothing</em> could be done, but I think an MMO is too risky and a traditional RPG just won't pull the profit needed. However, it's possible that something along the lines of <em>Magic Online</em> could work with a little tweaking. A micro-transaction model where you buy modules to play with people online might work. It's risky, but WotC has direct experience via <em>Magic: Online</em>.</p><p></p><p>You mean like what was announced at DDXP 2008 and subsequently never materialized? There's a reason it never did - historically, non-book D&D media just doesn't do well enough to justify the cost. Again, it's not <em>impossible</em>, but try convincing investors to put forth a bunch of money on a brand that hasn't done well outside of its niche.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LightPhoenix, post: 7647944, member: 115"] Easy problem first - Hasbro does not own the rights to make [I]any[/I] D&D games, regardless of edition; AFAIK they still belong to Atari. They were sold off (via Hasbro Interactive) around the time Neverwinter Nights was made. So any further issues are a moot point - Hasbro can not make a D&D game. However, assuming Hasbro [I]could[/I] reacquire the rights, a D&D video game would still face several challenges. Video game development costs money, and that expenditure is counted against income. So, for a game to move forward, the [I]risk[/I] of the game failing would have to be relatively small, especially if the D&D brand is in such dire straits. MMOs in the current game climate are [I]quite[/I] risky to finance, and a D&D MMO [I]already[/I] failed once. So the likelihood of Hasbro giving the okay to one is next to none. Similarly, the market for RPGs these days does not really have a cost-benefit ratio that would allow for Hasbro to develop another Baldur's Gate. To head off the obvious comparison, [I]Skyrim [/I]did have a phenomenal release. However, [I]Skyrim[/I] also had several points in its favor that a new RPG would not have, not the least of which is Bethesda's wealth of development time and talent, as well as their stability as a company. Now, that's not to say [I]nothing[/I] could be done, but I think an MMO is too risky and a traditional RPG just won't pull the profit needed. However, it's possible that something along the lines of [I]Magic Online[/I] could work with a little tweaking. A micro-transaction model where you buy modules to play with people online might work. It's risky, but WotC has direct experience via [I]Magic: Online[/I]. You mean like what was announced at DDXP 2008 and subsequently never materialized? There's a reason it never did - historically, non-book D&D media just doesn't do well enough to justify the cost. Again, it's not [I]impossible[/I], but try convincing investors to put forth a bunch of money on a brand that hasn't done well outside of its niche. [/QUOTE]
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