Hold on....is WotC becoming Fantasy Flight Games????

[Gundark]

I admit I don't pay attention as much as others. As well I don't hang out here as much as I used to. I've been reading the speculation threads about 5th edition and when do we think it'll come...and I do think that it WILL come...however this isn't what this thread is about. Recently we've seen the cancellation of books and a slower release schedule with D&D 4th. At first I thought that it was because maybe 4e wasn't doing all that well, and maybe it isn't, but that isn't what this thread is about. What this thread is about is the board games that WotC have been releasing lately....they seem to be coming with more and more frequency...1st Ravenloft, then the Wrath of some dragon, now this wargame, and there is some Drizzt boardgame coming as well as the Dungeons of dread. This got me thinking that Fantasy Flight Games, until acquiring some games workshop properties had slowed down considerably on RPGs and made board/card games . Obviously this was profitable for them, and it makes me wonder if WotC is finding out the same thing. I noticed that the production quality of the board games is getting better. Quite possibly they pulled staff off the RPG to work on Board games.

So is WotC turning into Fantasy Flight games?

 

[AeroDm]

If I recall, WotC acquired a company specializing in board games right around the time the focus and quality improved. No doubt the shift towards board games is indicative that piracy remains a problem and so R&D in physical products has a more reliable return, but I don't think it says much about the company or D&D. If anything, it is one more avenue for new players to learn about the game and the setting, but that is probably minimal since the price point probably puts them beyond anyone who isn't already interested.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Also, Ravenloft, at least, is a great game.

I've really enjoyed all the FFG games I've played, as well.

So, would WotC moving towards FFG actually be a bad thing?

 

[Gundark]

I'm not saying that would be a bad thing (speaking for myself)....but others might if they focus less and less on the RPG

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I'd say it speaks more to the growth in board games as a genre than anything else. WotC are a business and will concentrate on areas that are profitable. Board games, especially the more strategic Euro-style games have grown in popularity in recent years.

Olaf the Stout

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I hope that no one will take it as edition warring when I say that I am much more likely to play a board game based on the 4e rules than to play an RPG based on those same rules. I actually think the rules would work better in that regard.

Given how unlikely I am to play the RPG it is closer to a compliment. It might well make for a fun boardgame.

The Auld Grump

 

[Quickleaf]

FWIW one of the conclusions of the 1999 Adventure Games Market Survey that WotC performed was that the multi-game hobby gamer was much rarer than you'd expect. There was little overlap between board game players and RPG players (25%? cant recall exact number). The inference was that board games and RPGs wouldn't cut into each others earnings because of this.

So if staff was moved from RPG to board games despite this market research as well AND layoffs continued, well then that's some hefty restructuring.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Quite possibly they pulled staff off the RPG to work on Board games.

IIRC, James Wyatt (author of the 4e DMG!) and possibly a few others did this sort of lateral move.

Y'know, it's quite plausible. Like the novel lines, board games could turn into a perennial boost using the D&D brand. I'm not sure the board game market is all that huge, but it's something they could tap, and if it can sustain Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley, I'm sure it can sustain a small team at WotC.

I don't think the RPG is going anywhere any time soon, but having a smaller RPG team and a bigger board game team might make a lot of sense for them, in terms of profit margins and piracy paranoia.

 

[dagger]

No doubt the shift towards board games is indicative that piracy remains a problem and so R&D in physical products has a more reliable return, but I don't think it says much about the company or D&D. .

The only problem is WoTC making decisions based on fear rather than reason. Piracy...lol

 

[Umbran]

If you want to talk about potential design, that goes in the General forum

If you want to talk about business decisions (like here) it goes into the RPG Industry forum