WotC Anyone Else Tired of the Wizards Bashing?

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Rushbolt

Explorer
I watched a stream the other day with Erik Mona as the guest discussing the announcement of PF 2E Remastered. Wizards' involvement with the Pinkertons and the failure of 4e were both brought up during the first 30 minutes of a two-and-a-half hour stream. I understand that Wizards should not have hired the Pinkertons and intimidation is never the way to do business, but does it seem to anyone else that streamers are just trying to blow up anything that Wizards does anymore? It started with the OGL scandal, moved on to the movie not being a blockbuster, followed with the agenda of the Creator Summit, and now the Pinkerton scandal has started. The latest attack is Paizo blaming the OGL for needing to publish new books this year, even though Wizards walked back the OGL and they would suffer massive public outcry and brand damage if they renege on that decision.

Maybe it's just me, but I find Paizo and many of it's players using constant smear tactics to be objectionable. I'm starting to view it more and more as tearing down D&D and less as altruistic attempts to hold a large corporate entity to acceptable standards. The D&D movie is now closing in on $200 million globally, and it still may lose money, but it's been generating revenue for weeks now because word of mouth has kept the money coming in. Paizo-friendly streams or players aren't going to talk about that for sure.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford have ramped up their time in front of the camera recently. The orders to increase face time are probably coming down from the executives making these unforced errors, but I'm not sure they wouldn't revel at the chance to do it anyway. They have both worked tirelessly over decades and all these smear tactics are threatening the work they have put into the industry, their livelihood, and the designers they are working with now to produce D&D '24. It may not be the best strategy to light a fire under what may be the two most accomplished designers ever in the industry.

Two of Wizards' actions have been unexcusable this year-the hiring of the Pinkertons and attempting to revoke the OGL. Condem Wizards for these actions and move on. I would prefer not to have the game I enjoy playing most being attacked incessantly for years to come for anything it's detractors can spin, and I hope others will join me in condemning these actions.
 
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Blue Orange

Gone to Texas
Nobody's attacking the game, they're attacking the company. Hasbro has now become the Evil Empire, and people love to go after those (look at the popularity of Star Wars). You may or may not be old enough to remember T$R's lawsuits against people making D&D content online in the 1990s.

Paizo's now competition for Wizards, and is acting accordingly.
 

jgsugden

Legend
You can't attack the company withput attacking the game.

I strongly believe we need to have a strong central RPG in the industry to preserve the health of RPGs overall. There are benefits to having a pillar around which the industry rotates. Right now, we have several groups that see blood in the water and would rather take a shot at being the next D&D, regardless of the odds, than ride on the coat tails of D&D and WotC. At the same time, Hasbro would rather optimize profits from D&D for a short period and drive it into the ground than play the long game - as they unerstand that if D&D dies off substantially, another opportunity will take the place of it.

It sucks.
 


Oofta

Legend
As far as "The Pinkertons" ... in the past, MtG pre-production cards have been stolen. According to WOTC they tried to contact the individual multiple times before hiring someone to knock on their door to find out what was going on. Other than that, we just don't know much.

But I agree with the OP. It's gotten to the point of being silly. WOTC is not an evil empire any more than any other corporation. Do I trust them? Think they have my personal best interest at heart? Of course not. They're a corporation and I don't trust them any more than I trust any large company.

Like all corporations, WOTC is made up of individuals. Some of those people tried to do something boneheaded but ultimately the company listened to public feedback and changed direction. I don't understand holding a grudge about a stupid mistake when it was never actually implemented.

I'll judge WOTC on what they do and whether they produce a product I want to purchase. On the scale of corporate evil when you have corporations that are literally killing people in order to maximize profit, WOTC is pretty low on the evil scale. Even in the TTRPG realm other companies have done worse.
 

billd91

Not your screen monkey (he/him)
I'll judge WOTC on what they do and whether they produce a product I want to purchase. On the scale of corporate evil when you have corporations that are literally killing people in order to maximize profit, WOTC is pretty low on the evil scale. Even in the TTRPG realm other companies have done worse.
Yeah, but we're in a small hobby industry, not petrochemicals. WotC is the 800 lb gorilla so of course it's going to take a lot of criticism. And with recent blunders, they're earned it. I might agree that there are individuals who have an outsized mad-on for them and could stand to lighten up, but we're just a few months past WotC's attempt to blow up their own support ecosystem. Let people stay mad a little while before you sweep everything under the carpet.
 

Oofta

Legend
Yeah, but we're in a small hobby industry, not petrochemicals. WotC is the 800 lb gorilla so of course it's going to take a lot of criticism. And with recent blunders, they're earned it. I might agree that there are individuals who have an outsized mad-on for them and could stand to lighten up, but we're just a few months past WotC's attempt to blow up their own support ecosystem. Let people stay mad a little while before you sweep everything under the carpet.

Some individuals in a large corporation screwed up. Their proposals were ultimately shut down by that same company. I'm not sweeping anything under the carpet, but it is water under the bridge.

I get that everyone wants to be mad at the big guy. It gets eyeballs when you attack the market leader. But I judge corporations (and people for that matter) by what proposals are actually implemented.
 




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