D&D Beyond Cancellations Changed WotCs Plans

Gizmodo has revealed that the partial OGL v1.1 walkback yesterday was in response to the fan campaign to cancel D&D Beyond subscriptions, with "five digits" worth of cancellations. However, the site also reveals that management at the company believed that fans were overreating and that it would all be forgotten in a few months.

In order to delete a D&D Beyond account entirely, users are funneled into a support system that asks them to submit tickets to be handled by customer service: Sources from inside Wizards of the Coast confirm that earlier this week there were “five digits” worth of complaining tickets in the system. Both moderation and internal management of the issues have been “a mess,” they said, partially due to the fact that WotC has recently downsized the D&D Beyond support team.

Yesterday's walkback removed the royalties from the license, but still 'de-authorized' the OGL v1.0a, something which may or may not be legally possible, depending on who you ask.

Cancelled D&D Beyond Subscriptions Forced Hasbro's Hand

Swift consumer action prompted Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast to to scrap licensing updates. The players aren't done yet.

gizmodo.com

 

[Yaarel]

D&D is absolutley a brand - it had brand recognition, the most important aspect of it.

A friend of mine used to work for GE Capital back in the 90s or early 200os. There was a poll about which brands you trusted for gas stoves, and GE did fairly well. The interesting point - they didn't make gas stoves. But the brand was so strong for kitchen that they scored well regardless of literally having nothing.

D&D has brand out the wazoo. Perhaps more than anything else - if any of the D&D rulesets under WotC had come out as a different RPG, it would likely have done well as a solid ruleset, but wouldn't be the undisputed market leader that most of the editions have been.

That is why Hasbro-WotC legally assaulting the D&D community is self-destructive.

Hasbro-WotC are injuring the "brand" of D&D, which is pretty much its only value.

 

[Scribe]

D&D is absolutley a brand - it had brand recognition, the most important aspect of it.

A friend of mine used to work for GE Capital back in the 90s or early 200os. There was a poll about which brands you trusted for gas stoves, and GE did fairly well. The interesting point - they didn't make gas stoves. But the brand was so strong for kitchen that they scored well regardless of literally having nothing.

D&D has brand out the wazoo. Perhaps more than anything else - if any of the D&D rulesets under WotC had come out as a different RPG, it would likely have done well as a solid ruleset, but wouldn't be the undisputed market leader that most of the editions have been.

I ďisagree, and I think your post makes the point.

It has a name.

 

[Blue]

I ďisagree, and I think your post makes the point.

It has a name.

"The term brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product, or individual."

In other words, if it's an identifiable name, it's a brand.

 

[heptat]

I’m not deleting or cancelling mine. I play dnd for the official content and even though I’ve bought plenty of 3rd party hardbacks, I haven’t used any of them so it don’t need them…I do need the 5e and future 6e game to play and enjoy. I don’t enjoy PF2 and got tired of PF and 3rd edition with the ac of 45 and attack bonuses of +35/25/15. So although I think people can sell stuff on dmsguild all the want, I’m not beholden to them having that ability to enjoy dnd…I didnt need 3pp content during the 1e/2e day and I don’t need it now.

And I think many people will be in that same position.

I've requested my DDB account to be deleted because I literally never use it (and have come to the conclusion that 5e is not for me). (Also I'm happy for the request to be another drop of pressure on Hasbro but ¯\(ツ)/¯.)

 

[Composer99]

How so? Is there any reason you could point to that would indicate WotC would put out superior product? A dice tray saying "Dungeons & Dragons" doesn't make it a better dice tray.

If you don't think lots of people wouldn't spring for a D&D-branded dice tray that was at least comparable to other dice trays in terms of quality - the way they already do for Avengers t-shirts, Star Wars cosmetics, or official Harry Potter scarves (etc. etc. etc.) - I'm not sure what to tell you.

 

[Scribe]

"The term brand refers to a business and marketing concept that helps people identify a particular company, product, or individual."

In other words, if it's an identifiable name, it's a brand.

And what is that brand, minus the name?

 

[wicked cool]

In the end Someone will get fired

 

[Yaarel]

In the end Someone will get fired

How do the responsible persons get fired? This is obviously a top-down decision.

It is hard to fire the execs who run the company.

Shareholders can do it, but how often does it happen?

 

[MarkB]

And what is that brand, minus the name?

Not a lot right now, but they're pushing heavily into building it into something tangible - movie, TV shows and more. If they pull it off, it's going to have a lot more identity to the public at large, an identity for which they want to have protections in place.

 

[Scribe]

Not a lot right now, but they're pushing heavily into building it into something tangible - movie, TV shows and more. If they pull it off, it's going to have a lot more identity to the public at large, an identity for which they want to have protections in place.

Pretty wild that a "brand" this old has to build something more identifiable than a name. /shrug