WotC Replies: Statements by WotC employees regarding Dragon/Dungeon going online

[Enforcer]

I've read similar statements to this over and over. I enjoyed both Dragon and Dungeon, but man...its just a magazine!

Hear hear! People comparing Paizo's loss of their magazine licenses to friends and family dying need to put their priorities in order. What would your friends and family do if they knew that you'd take their death just as hard as the loss of a D&D magazine? Can we all dispense with the melodramatic hyperbole, please?

 

[Shroomy]

Wait, that's it? They're taking the magazines and making them online?

That's the problem, nobody knows what they are doing.

 

[Vigilance]

That's the problem, nobody knows what they are doing.

And so you want blood?

Makes sense to me.

 

[Shroomy]

And so you want blood?

Makes sense to me.

Nope, I just want answers.

 

[Oryan77]

For me, it's not about losing the magazines. It's about losing hardcopies of what was good.

Reading online content is not the same as holding a book/magazine in your hands. I'm sure they will charge close to the same price for the online content as we would've paid for a printed version. The new content might be just as good or better, but paying full price for an online download without having a hardcopy is a deal breaker for me :\

 

[CaptainChaos]

I'm certainly not going to be the guy to argue with Kim Mohan about how much he's loved Dragon Magazine. This is a pretty ham-fisted attempt at damage control though.

 

[Vigilance]

Nope, I just want answers.

Good things come to those who wait.

Keep in mind, the magazines are still being printed for a little bit. They probably plan to let us know what they're doing over time, with more details coming out closer to the end of the runs of the magazines.

You know, like how Wotc announces and markets every OTHER product? And that folks seem happy with?

As opposed to people shouting for answers.

 

[WhatGravitas]

They are missing a big point...

You cant collect web pages.

You don't believe how friggin' true that is. Seriously, I liked Paizo a lot until now, but I liked Dragon and Dungeon much more than Paizo. And liked to have the magazine in Real Matter(TM).

I'm a student. I'm flying home every holiday, bringing my magazines with me to have something to read and share with my group at home. For the flights. I've done so every friggin' flight. The summer flight is probably the last time I'm doing this. Sad.

And the D&D target group is a collecting lot - otherwise you can't explain why WotC gets so many, often very narrow, sourcebooks sold, if not for the collecting vibe.

And to close my argumentation: I liked Paizo, but the magazines more, and if WotC has just overtaken them, I'd be fine - I know it's business, and yeah. But WotC are not doing some business stuff. They're pulling a collector's hobby away, without any replacement.

But Paizo... gives me a replacement. Guess why I liked Paizo. Guess why I know *love* 'em.

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On topic:
I don't really know why they're that ecletic. And why they can't tell. It just sounds like some damage control, harping on the "we're-all-gaming-buddies"-vibe. I've seen too much advertisment, marketing scams, and rose-tinted glasses to buy that stuff.

Seriously, don't tell me, that you think it's great. Of course you guys think it, otherwise you wouldn't have done it! Give me something I can judge, something to convince me, something I can see and think the same.

 

[Shroomy]

Good things come to those who wait.

Keep in mind, the magazines are still being printed for a little bit. They probably plan to let us know what they're doing over time, with more details coming out closer to the end of the runs of the magazines.

You know, like how Wotc announces and markets every OTHER product? And that folks seem happy with?

As opposed to people shouting for answers.

Um, we learn about WoTC releases months in advance. However, I don't think this is a perfect analogy, because WoTC is effectively cancelling two well-known, high quality products (YIMMV) and replacing it with an unknown product.

 

[Steel_Wind]

I disagree.

Most of the posts against WotC's decision have been along the "cold businessmen in black suits making profitable decisions" type. Their message is to remind us that they too are gamers with a love for the magazines.

Well that's one view. The other view was that in amongst trotting out Kim Mohan, Chris Perkins and Chris Thomasson to mumble some words during this wake for their former children, the most senior guy in the lot - the guy who was responsible for this decision on his watch - says this:

Unlike many people at Wizards of the Coast, I am not a life-long gamer. I came to Wizards in 2000 by way of the snowboard industry and discovered gaming for the second time in my life.

—Scott Rouse, Senior Brand Manager, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Do you really need to ask if that had anything to do with what has happened?