Dire Bare
Legend
Actually, WotC is rather supportive of the FLGS retail market and fully realizes that game stores are vital to introducing new players to WotC's flagship games, D&D, Magic, and others. They care about the industry as a whole because D&D IS the largest part of the RPG industry, just as Magic IS the largest part of the CCG industry.I am not advocating anything really. You say I am advocating. I was just trying to say what different possibilities are out there and that everyone has its role. Perhaps for Wotc is working out now in a certain way. But there can be various strategic decisions/options. Sometimes you need to experiment too.
Remember though that Wotc as a capitalist entity thinks primarily about its profits and capital (short and long term), not about the hobby's long terms. It can very well take its capital and invest to a totally different thing.
WotC offers extensive retailer support thru the RPGA and other in-store marketing campaigns such as Worldwide D&D Day. Your big box retailers like Borders and B&N don't participate in these, and Amazon certainly does not. However, with RPGs there is just no feasible way that WotC can help retailers vs Amazon when it comes to price.
WotC's retail support for Magic is even better, but Magic boosters and decks are rarely discounted online to the same level Amazon discounts game books.
Do you know what really kills most local game stores? Poor business practices. In my town at least three game stores curled up and died over the past several years, and in each case it was because they offered poor customer service and did not take full advantage of the strengths of brick-and-mortar stores (they also did not take advantage of WotC's promotions and marketing help).
We have one major game store that has survived so far (two if I count Hobbytown), and that store offers a clean, well lit, friendly (non-stinky) environment with helpful sales staff, a huge gaming area for RPGs, card games, board games and etc, and offers demos for many games. (although sadly, they too often ignore much of the marketing help WotC offers for both Magic and D&D, and even industry help like Free RPG Day, and today I had my first crappy customer service experience there too).