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WotC Replies: Statements by WotC employees regarding Dragon/Dungeon going online
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<blockquote data-quote="Storm Raven" data-source="post: 3480154" data-attributes="member: 307"><p>Well, no. You just don't get the point. <em>Dragon</em> has been a valuable marketing tool for WotC products.</p><p></p><p>How did they hype the launch of 3e? With previews in <em>Dragon</em>.</p><p></p><p>How did they hype the launch of 3.5e? With previews in <em>Dragon</em>.</p><p></p><p>How did they hype the launch of Eberron? With previews in <em>Dragon</em>.</p><p></p><p>There isn't a single significant D&D product WotC has put out that has not be hyped with previews, bonus material, and other promotional efforts via <em>Dragon</em> and/or <em>Dungeon</em>. And that's going to go away.</p><p></p><p>You could argue that they could do the same thing with their DI, but that likely will cover pretty much the same customers as their website promotions in the past have. And the population of magazine buyers is likely not the same as the population of webzine subscribers; so there is a net loss of marketing potential.</p><p></p><p>In addition, all of the "supporting products" that help people play D&D will lose a marketing avenue. WotC doesn't directly benefit from, for example, megamats and tact-tiles, but they make the games WotC publishes much easier to use. Sacrificing <em>Dragon</em> means also sacrificing the main marketing avenue for companies that make products like this. And that's bad for the hobby, and because WotC is so dominant in the hobby, that's also bad for them.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I would say that you are probably wrong. Because your conclusion doesn't match the facts you have presented. Someone in Austin was buying <em>Dragon</em> and <em>Dungeon</em>, because the excellent game stores you refer to kept stocking them. Excellent game stores avoid stocking product that doesn't sell. Of course, your assessment also (a) doesn't account for subscribers, and (b) assumes your personal experience in Austin is representative.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>No, I'm pointing out salient facts. Most of the current game designers and writers in the industry right now got their start in the business by writing articles that appeared in <em>Dungeon</em> or <em>Dragon</em>. This is not a hypothetical. This is a known fact. This avenue of entry is being cut off.</p><p></p><p>Most WotC products have been heavily promoted via <em>Dragon</em> and <em>Dungeon</em>, and most supporting gaming material that helps make using WotC products enjoyable is almost exclusively marketed via those magazines. This is not a hypothetical. This is historically verifiable. This avenue is now being cut off.</p><p></p><p>Many gamers have gotten their first gaming experiences via the magazines, and many other rely upon the magazines to connect them with the gaming hobby, or assist them in keeping their campaigns going. The only thing hypothetical about this is the volume; we know this is true for many gamers, because they have said so, we just don't know if the figure is 100 gamers, or 1,000, or 10,000 or 100,000 for which this is true.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Actually, the mean is <em>not</em> what needs to be evaluated. Because the mean is not the type of gamer who buys big piles of WotC products. The hardcore gamers are. Back when Dancey did his now famous survey, I recall that he found that a tiny percentage of gamers accounted for a large percentage of gaming product purchases (something that is actually true for many products in many markets). I don't see any real reason to think that this pattern has significantly changed.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Storm Raven, post: 3480154, member: 307"] Well, no. You just don't get the point. [i]Dragon[/i] has been a valuable marketing tool for WotC products. How did they hype the launch of 3e? With previews in [i]Dragon[/i]. How did they hype the launch of 3.5e? With previews in [i]Dragon[/i]. How did they hype the launch of Eberron? With previews in [i]Dragon[/i]. There isn't a single significant D&D product WotC has put out that has not be hyped with previews, bonus material, and other promotional efforts via [i]Dragon[/i] and/or [i]Dungeon[/i]. And that's going to go away. You could argue that they could do the same thing with their DI, but that likely will cover pretty much the same customers as their website promotions in the past have. And the population of magazine buyers is likely not the same as the population of webzine subscribers; so there is a net loss of marketing potential. In addition, all of the "supporting products" that help people play D&D will lose a marketing avenue. WotC doesn't directly benefit from, for example, megamats and tact-tiles, but they make the games WotC publishes much easier to use. Sacrificing [i]Dragon[/i] means also sacrificing the main marketing avenue for companies that make products like this. And that's bad for the hobby, and because WotC is so dominant in the hobby, that's also bad for them. I would say that you are probably wrong. Because your conclusion doesn't match the facts you have presented. Someone in Austin was buying [i]Dragon[/i] and [i]Dungeon[/i], because the excellent game stores you refer to kept stocking them. Excellent game stores avoid stocking product that doesn't sell. Of course, your assessment also (a) doesn't account for subscribers, and (b) assumes your personal experience in Austin is representative. No, I'm pointing out salient facts. Most of the current game designers and writers in the industry right now got their start in the business by writing articles that appeared in [i]Dungeon[/i] or [i]Dragon[/i]. This is not a hypothetical. This is a known fact. This avenue of entry is being cut off. Most WotC products have been heavily promoted via [i]Dragon[/i] and [i]Dungeon[/i], and most supporting gaming material that helps make using WotC products enjoyable is almost exclusively marketed via those magazines. This is not a hypothetical. This is historically verifiable. This avenue is now being cut off. Many gamers have gotten their first gaming experiences via the magazines, and many other rely upon the magazines to connect them with the gaming hobby, or assist them in keeping their campaigns going. The only thing hypothetical about this is the volume; we know this is true for many gamers, because they have said so, we just don't know if the figure is 100 gamers, or 1,000, or 10,000 or 100,000 for which this is true. Actually, the mean is [i]not[/i] what needs to be evaluated. Because the mean is not the type of gamer who buys big piles of WotC products. The hardcore gamers are. Back when Dancey did his now famous survey, I recall that he found that a tiny percentage of gamers accounted for a large percentage of gaming product purchases (something that is actually true for many products in many markets). I don't see any real reason to think that this pattern has significantly changed. [/QUOTE]
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