Another Cease and Desist Letter: 4E Powercards

[Voadam]

I think it's worth pointing out that these other game companies are swimming in different waters, as far as markets and market power, than WotC. I think a lot of smaller companies are willing to invest the effort in these offerings and risk the loss of potential revenue because it (or at least forego a likely paltry revenue stream) saves them in marketing expenses. I suspect it serves as efficient and cheap marketing on their part. They need that community service to keep or expand their niche among niches market.

WotC, with the biggest game titles in market and media share and as part of the Hasbro conglomerate, has the resources to run broader marketing and actually has the a ghost of a chance to turn something like character sheets or power cards into a revenue-generating product. So they do.

WotC itself does Star Wars SE doesn't it?

White Wolf is number 2 for RPG companies in size isn't it?

I think Mongoose is currently the biggest producer of current OGL stuff. I think it is in the top 5 for RPG company sizes.

White wolf does sell character sheets. In print and even in pdf form. RPGNow.com

 

[Voadam]

WotC is losing a lot of money on different forms of pirated content. Would it be bad PR if they served a similar order at someone distributing PHB pdfs? Not likely, people are far more cautious on what side they take on the piracy debate. How is this occurance essentially different though? This site did distribute a rather large part of the PHB illegally. It seems that while it is easier to criticize the anonymous distribution of pirated IP through vast networks we seem on the fence when the same action is taken by a member of the community. Vernacular morality (not a kosher term I guess but still, I feel, fitting) is irrational.

Essential differences between providing a full copy of a game book versus an accessory to help those playing the game?

I can learn how to play 4e D&D from a PH. Though power cards can be used to learn D&D class powers, their primary use and function comes in when I am already playing 4e D&D and want to create tools for use during a specific game.

 

[Azgulor]

The OGL spoiled as all big time. I may sound harsh in saying this, but consumers are nothing better than greedy brats; get them used to free ice cream and when you actually tell them they have to pay for your new cone they will throw a tantrum. It is an ugly generalization, but it holds more than a grain of truth.

As does the statement "without those greedy brats, the greedy corporate shareholders, employees, and suppliers wouldn't earn jack".

As an extreme example: electricity, running water, air conditioning, etc. have spoiled us all big time also. If a utility or government tried to take it away, are we "greedy brats" for being upset? That's the funny thing about products and services - once you've set the bar, customers expect it to always go higher. Sometimes you just can't raise it, sometimes you lower it to cust costs, sometimes someone sets a new bar on a different field. In any case, it's tough to get the genie back into the bottle.

The OGL was a revolutionary step in the industry. It has its good and bad points. In my experience, it is overwhelmingly a good thing. I wouldn't have bought 3e D&D products if there hadn't been an OGL. It may not have worked out exactly the way WotC wanted it to but things in business (or life) seldom do. If the OGL wasn't a big plus for you, you don't feel the restriction of the GSL. For OGL fans, the GSL is a big step in the wrong direction.

I can appreciate some of the arguments people have raised for why the OGL fell out of favor at WotC. I fail to see how the OGL was a bad thing for customers or how the restricting GSL is a blessing for RPG customers.

 

[Vegepygmy]

The OGL spoiled us all big time.

No. We hated TSR for doing the same kind of thing before the OGL was even a gleam in Ryan Dancey's eye.

 

[Obryn]

No. We hated TSR for doing the same kind of thing before the OGL was even a gleam in Ryan Dancey's eye.

I think making parallels between this and TSR's approach to netbooks and fansites is an intellectually dishonest stretch.

There's a difference between taking down some guy's homebrew because he dared to use the term Dungeon Master, and taking down a site which reprinted large sections of the PHB on-demand. If you can't acknowledge the difference, I can't see a productive conversation here.

-O

 

[Mercutio01]

I can appreciate some of the arguments people have raised for why the OGL fell out of favor at WotC. I fail to see how the OGL was a bad thing for customers or how the restricting GSL is a blessing for RPG customers.

The issue is not what's good for customers, but what's good for the publisher. The OGL was great for customers and for smaller publishers to get in on the whole market, but my guess is it was awful (or perceived to be so) by WotC.

 

[Shemeska]

I'd be willing to bet it's so close to zero only an insurance company would notice. I have a hard time seeing someone jumping a container ship to steal RPG books.

And now I'm just getting the image in my head of some Somali pirate hoping to be the next Somali pirate that scores a Saudi oil tanker or a ship full of Ukranian T-72 tanks bound for an undisclosed east African client state... who finds himself in proud possession of a cargo container of 4e D&D books.

I'm sorry, crime and all, sorry for those taking a loss on the high seas and all, yadda yadda yadda, but that would be EPIC.

 

[tomBitonti]

I've seen it before, but don't have the numbers onhand, but, won't the power cards be a bit pricy? Something like $10 or $12 for the power cards for one class (plus some blank cards), something like 60-80 cards?

That would seem to be a major source of additional revenue. If a player buys a PHB for $30 and a set of cards for $10 (and that is for just one class) that is a 33% increase in revenue.

If one player buys a PHB and another, and his three friends who were used to just borrowing his book, then the sales go from $30 to $70. (But, the other friends may buy their own PHB, so the % is back to 33% again.)

On the other hand, if just one buys a PHB and the other buy one card deck each, that would reduce the sales from $120 to $60.

These are all fuzzy numbers, but this is with just one set of cards, and there are lots of classes to account for. I'd say that the cards are expected to be a major revenue source.

To address two earlier comments in the discussion, my understanding is that lending a book is perfectly alright (and that there is a specific legal principle involved), so the idea of your friends borrowing your book is 100% legitimate.

Also, I am wondering, too, if I made my own power cards with a rephrasing of the rules of the powers, that is, not using the design of the WotC cards, and not using the WotC exact text, but using text that conveys the rules sense of the powers, that that is allowed as a transformative work. I posted on this before, but haven't seen any direct replies.

I do imagine that the WotC cards will be well crafted, and easy to use. On that basis, I can find some support for the WotC product. But, I have a hard time with it because of the difference in the cost, and ease in making ones own cards, and the price charged. I did post on this once before (and got a direct response from Mr. Rouse, who disagreed that the cards were expensive), but i still am a bit uneasy with the price being listed.

Thx!

TomB

 

[Azgulor]

The issue is not what's good for customers, but what's good for the publisher. The OGL was great for customers and for smaller publishers to get in on the whole market, but my guess is it was awful (or perceived to be so) by WotC.

And here we are at the impasse. While the action taken may be right and proper for WotC, it is of zero benefit to the customer - and that is an issue for some people. Usually it's an issue for 100% of the customers.

For example, I have cable companies that are MY customers. I've sat in meetings where they've explained why they offer channel packages versus a la carte channel subscription and I understand that as their operating costs rise, they must raise prices to cover those costs.

However, as a cable customer, I also get ticked off when a rate hike is announced or when the ads for new customers promises a lower rate not available for existing customers - until I call and request it and they give it to me. They want to make as much margin off me as they can. I want them to make as little margin off me as possible while providing the services & products I want.

See, I get where WotC is coming from in terms of business objectives. I'm a capitalist - I applaud the pursuit of making as much money as they can while satisfying their customers. However, as a customer, I want the most I can get for the least amount of money. The more choices I have the better. It's the nature of the supplier:customer relationship. Most of the time it's mutually beneficial but there are instances where they are at odds with one another. It's not good nor bad. It's the nature of the beast.

What I don't get is the mentality of certain customers of always viewing the world through the business-oriented lens of the supplier (WotC in this case). I may understand and appreciate their point of view, but to blindly support it even where it may cost me more money, give me fewer choices, etc. makes no sense to me from a customer's point of view. And except for those on the WotC payroll, at the end of the day we're all customers.

 

[El Mahdi]

Every time I see a thread like this, I invoke a silent "thank you" to Ryan Dancey.

Absolutely! I hope his name will always be listed with the pillars of this hobby. His contribution is as great as any of the creators of the hobby.