D&D to become entirely online?

[wayne62682]

This isn't a conspiracy theory, but a legit question.

An acquaintance claims to be a freelance game designer and discuss things frequently with several WotC staff members. He claims that there's a move within WotC to transition D&D completely to subscription based play, because the online M:tG is doing better than the card version and that WotC is losing money on printed materials, so they plan to shift D&D's business model to follow Magic's. He cites the "The future of gaming is online" statements to be foreshadowing this, and that all of 4E, DDI and the GSL is designed to slowly move everything online.

I've never heard such a thing, but this guy claims that he's "in" with several WotC staffers, and that he's a Hasbro shareholder (he's always complaining about how bad D&D is doing). I figure if this IS true, than surely some people here would know given this site's reputation. I don't believe him, because he's the only person I've seen who has said this stuff.

 

[Mouseferatu]

To the best of my knowledge? Utter nonsense.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I really do not think they will. If they do, I am done as a customer, completely and forever.

Doing better online just means their overhead is far far lower, and thus their profits are higher. I would hazard a very strong guess that the vast majority of players do not play online. I would guess wizards wants to move people online as 10 dollars a month is good money for providing services. I know they look at WOW and similar games and probably drool at the immense amounts of money being generated.

But considering Wizards has no DDI ready yet, I would say worries are seriously premature.

 

[Cat Moon]

God I should hope not. I mean I don't mind gaming online, but I enjoy getting together with my friends once every two weeks for a face to face game.

 

[wayne62682]

I don't know if it's true or not - like I said someone I talk to keeps repeating it and claiming all these signs that point to it, but he's a liar and his debate tactics when discussing it is basically to say one thing, and then when it's refuted change it ever so slightly so he can claim he's still right.

 

[naturaltwenty]

I predicted alot of their online model in approximately April of 2007 http://www.naturaltwenty.com/?p=55 . While I can see a large portion of their content and virtual tabletop game moving to the online environment at this stage in the game they'd alienate way too many of their older gamers who dislike online play.

I'd say it's more likely when 5e or 6e come out as the tech may finally be there.

Later

Greg Volz
Natural Twenty Gaming
www.naturaltwenty.com

 

[rounser]

While I can see a large portion of their content and virtual tabletop game moving to the online environment at this stage in the game they'd alienate way too many of their older gamers who dislike online play.

But the attractive line of thinking here is "nuts to the older gamers, we want an audience the size of WoW....on a subscription model."

 

[xechnao]

"The future of gaming is online" statements to be foreshadowing this, and that all of 4E, DDI and the GSL is designed to slowly move everything online.

Makes perfect business sense if they could succeed in doing this. Their miniature lines can not be that profitable either and as a mini only game it is destined to fail in the long term: they can't engage people on them as much as GW can with their tremendous traditional amount of support and having it developed in the most successfully commercial way -and even they have been suffering.
Besides oil prices could be influential on collective lines too.
The question is: can they succeed in doing this?

 

[jdrakeh]

You don't spend millions of dollars designing, promoting, and printing paper books if you're going to move a game line entirely to the web. If you're creating an online game, you build, market, and sell an online game. At this point there is nothing to indicate that the DDI is anything other than a support option for printed products and plenty to suggest that Hasbro would be the most horribly managed company on earth if you friend's claims had any merit.

 

[rounser]

The question is: can they succeed in doing this?

Given that they're asking for people to buy virtual miniatures, which is the equivalent of asking MMORPG players to buy their character models, I think they're putting up large barriers to their own success at a very early stage if they're trying to move beyond the RPG cottage industry.