WotC Hasbro Earnings Call: WotC/BG3 carrying Hasbro

[FitzTheRuke]

Let's be honest here. "Not growing as fast as the past ten years" is still doing FANTASTICALLY well.

Yes! That's exactly what I meant to get at!

Heck, simple math means that growth rates almost have to slow down. In any case though, we're not even seeing a slow down this year - it's just growing a bit less quickly than it has in the past.

We really are in untrodden territory. Never in the hobby have we seen a time when a new updated version of the core 3 is coming out while the game is still on the upswing. I know I've been pretty critical of the lack of innovation with One D&D, but, by the same token, if it's not broken, why fix it? Clean up the books, put in enough new goodies to justify buying the new books, and we're on the track for another ten years.

I agree. I don't think that there's much for me as a retailer to complain about when it comes to D&D. I don't like the increase to MSRP (but that's more about the question of why do I as an FLGS get stuck with a high MSRP when the vast majority of copies of print books will be sold at a significantly smaller price-point?) But I also understand that print costs have skyrocketed plus inflation... whatareyagonnado?

One hopes. I would love to keep playing the same version of the game for another ten years. Heck, for me, this is unheard of really. This is the longest version of D&D I've ever played now.

I've long advocated that a new "edition" of D&D should only fix what's broke, and not throw the baby out with the bathwater. This is going to be one of the first times that has really been attempted.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Seems like a theme with D&D.

Leave the creators alone. Let them work in the open with fans. And then marvel at the “surprise”!

How many times does this lesson need to be learned by corporates?

That only works with the right team with the right plan, but if you have that, then yeah let them cook.

 

[Parmandur]

I have never seen an early access game not have a sales spike once it leaves early access, so to me doubling the EA numbers is kinda the lower limit, but then I am not following most early access games at all

Going off of what Swen said, theybwere not confident there would be a much larger market. They were genuinely surprised internally.

 

[Parmandur]

That’s their problem though. The best plan may just be for them to let go and bet in good people passionate about the thing they are doing.

Their hubris can’t let that be and absolutely can’t stand the possible “loser” that will happen.

And in both cases, the creation of D&D 5e and BG3, it doesn’t take much, just loosen the grip a bit more.

Internal to the TTRPG, Hasbro has been pretty good for a while letting Crawford and Perkins do their thing and hire new good people. The real hiccups were external to the game itself.

 

[Parmandur]

That's been rather typical during the WotC era.
The CEO of Hasbro itself is a D&D player

Nooo, not really. Between Adkinson sellingoff the company and Cocks coming in, there was an unbroken period of non-hobbyist execs. Some did well, some not so well.

But at this point, the future seems to be thst having played D&D is not going to be a crazy job requirement for serious business professionals being hired intonthe D&D team. Next generation.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Internal to the TTRPG, Hasbro has been pretty good for a while letting Crawford and Perkins do their thing and hire new good people. The real hiccups were external to the game itself.

The disaster that was the Spelljammer suggests otherwise, and even Planescape was disappointing if basically functional.

When was the last product that wasn't a lore disaster? Radiant Citadel and Witchlight, new territory. Before that Explorer's Guide to Wilmounte.

 

[Parmandur]

The disaster that was the Spelljammer suggests otherwise, and even Planescape was disappointing if basically functional.

When was the last product that wasn't a lore disaster? Radiant Citadel and Witchlight, new territory. Before that Explorer's Guide to Wilmounte.

I guarantee that nothing about Spelljammer or Planescape lore was dictated by a Hasbro executive. They don't care about that, thst is the designers.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So for next year 3 new core books, Vecna/D&D 50th, Rod of Seven Parts, Infinite Stair Case, and maybe one or two more things.

This is (somewhat founded) speculation, to be clear, and not anything in the actual earnings report. (I just double-checked.)

 

[Henadic Theologian]

I guarantee that nothing about Spelljammer or Planescape lore was dictated by a Hasbro executive. They don't care about that, thst is the designers.

Yes, that is who I blame. Although the fact that my physical copy of Planescape is still currently MIA p**es me off.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If BG3 had launched three weeks later, no one would have noticed it because of Starfield.

Starfield has probably peaked for now. There are a lot of people very unhappy with how the game worked out (forgetting that Bethesda games are best experienced a year into the mod community doing their thing). BG3 remains incredibly popular, both in sales and fan chatter.

I can't imagine either company would have released their games on the same weekend as the other, though.