D&D General The $150,000 Question: How TSR Learned It Was Dying (And Why I Was in the Room) by Ken "Whit" Whitman

Morrus said:

Yeah, I remember being approached several times over the years by Whitman about Rapid POD.

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Mannahnin said:

Making D&D a "lifestyle brand" where people who were formerly active players still pick up occasional products like quick pick up and play video games, or simple boardgames they can play with their kids, or licensed, branded merch (like the sneakers and collectibles and such) also would seem like a way to retain customers longer-term. Even after they're no longer choosing to invest the kind of time and energy that we active players do.

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LordEntrails said:

Like Star Wars? I mean 12 films over ~48 years. Pretty incredible success story of turning something into a lifestyle brand

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Sacrosanct said:

Now Ken is telling stories about the Buck Rogers game, from a first person perspective about that time and what it was like and how awesome it was when Mike Pondsmith came into the offices.

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MGibster said:

And he keeps popping up on my Facebook feed! Did you guys cast a spell or something?

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MGibster said:

And he keeps popping up on my Facebook feed! Did you guys cast a spell or something?

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David Howery said:

mine too. Is there a counterspell?

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David Howery said:

mine too. Is there a counterspell?

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Mannahnin said:

Star Wars might be the original example, though less because of the films (which had a 16 year gap between RotJ and TPM), than because of the toys, posters, t-shirts, Burger King glasses, Holiday Special, Star Tours Disney ride, Expanded Universe series of novels... All of which helped feed the fandom and keep it alive even when no more movies were released for an extended period.

Of course, being an active fan of a movie franchise is generally requires much less dedication of time and energy than being an active D&D player, which often means participating in the hobby weekly if not more often.

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