WotC How much does Hasbro / WotC impact your feelings towards D&D?

[BookTenTiger]

How much does news, announcements, or antics of Hasbro and WotC impact your feelings about D&D?

5 = a large impact
1 = a very tiny (or no) impact

This thread isn't meant as an indictment or defense of Hasbro or WotC. I'm just curious how much people's enjoyment of D&D is impacted by these companies. The numbers are purposefully kept vague because this poll is more about your own interpretation rather than collecting data.

Personally, I'm a 1. When I think about D&D, I think about playing with my friends. I'm not really focused or paying much attention to the antics of Hasbro or WotC, I honestly don't buy many products (I'm a sworn homebrewer), and news about the companies really just doesn't impact my enjoyment of the game.

But I recognize that's not true for everyone!

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

To be honest, 2-3, but bad actions count for double.

I decided I'll at least give the digital version of 2024 a try, see if it can improve some things at my table, but I almost skipped the whole thing partly because of some D&D related things, but most of my distaste came from WotC actions (under the pressure from Hasbro, no doubt).

I still think that D&D could be in better hands and their designers are burned-out, but I'm willing to give D&D another chance. WotC? Not so much.

I have the same feeling buying WotC stuff now as when I need to fill up my car or I buy an item stuplidly over-wrapped in plastic.

 

[TiQuinn]

I went with a 2.

My two cents is that D&D is a big spectrum of many different editions that at times might as well be different games in that some play very differently than others. WotC is never going to impact my overall love of D&D. What WotC can do is sour me on whatever it is that they are currently trying to sell.

 

[Scott Christian]

I went with one. Most of their actions have little impact on me, and in my opinion, the common consumer. The OGL outrage, the twisting of truths, etc. are really only seen by the deep fans. That said, WotC often responds to those deep fans because those deep fans are in a unique position over other companies - they are needed to run games. The game relies on DMs, and WotC knows this.

Side note - Once they clear that hurdle with AI, all bets are off on how they monetize the game and cater towards only those higher spenders.

 

[Oofta]

Most of their "scandals" are pretty average for a corporation. They listen to and respond quickly (for a corporation) to feedback. I give them a 1 because I don't base my choice of any product based on this kind of stuff unless their behavior is far worse.

 

[Nikosandros]

It's a "1" for me as well. WotC/Hasbro decisions might impact what I purchase, but my feelings about the game are not affected at all.

 

[Nikosandros]

An an addendum: for me, it's not really about the "scandals". Unless a company does something truly awful, it's not about moral judgement. Rather, my purchases might be affected by decisions that impact my games, such as the recent decisions about the upgrades to DDB (since then walked back).

 

[Reef]

‘1’ as well. I buy their game books because they make game books I want to buy. They’d have to do something extremely egregious to make we want to avoid them (more so than standard corporate stuff).

On the flip side, I know there are a lot of smaller publishers that are better in a lot of ways. Great customer service, no corporate scandals, etc. and I’ll happily support them (and give them good press) when I can. But no matter how good they are, I still won’t buy more books than I normally would.

 

[Belen]

None, really. They do good and bad things but if they take the game in a direction I do not like, then I move on just like with 4e.

4e taught me that I do not need the name brand.

 

[Oofta]

An an addendum: for me, it's not really about the "scandals". Unless a company does something truly awful, it's not about moral judgement. Rather, my purchases might be affected by decisions that impact my games, such as the recent decisions about the upgrades to DDB (since then walked back).

While I wasn't impacted by the DDB decision, I'm also in the boat that it's the products they provide and whether or not they're worth my money. Companies change products all the time to target a segment of the population that doesn't include me, if that happens with a D&D product I simply won't buy it. That's not judgement on them if it happens, it's just accepting that I am no longer the target audience.