7 Years of D&D Stories? And a "Big Reveal" Coming?

When asked what he was working on, WotC's Chris Perkins revealed a couple of juicy tidbits. They're not much, but they're certainly tantalizing. Initially, he said that "Our marketing team has a big reveal in the works", and followed that up separately with "Right now I'm working on the next seven years of D&D stories". What all that might mean is anybody's guess, but it sounds like there are plans for D&D stretching into the foreseeable future! Thanks to Barantor for the scoop!

 

[Celtavian]

I suggest they read my words and stop inventing words I did not say. It always help.

Yes. The backlash they had with 4e has nothing to do with communications. It was about crunch and fluff. 4e's failure was because of bad content, not bad communications or too much content (but it didn't help).

Good communications is good business, especially in a niche business like PnP RPGs where everyone knows everyone. Yes, that is a hyperbole.

I see. WotC is a martyr now. No wonder it needs defenders.

In a perfect world everyone would be polite and bla bla bla. It is not a perfect world. Part of the job is handling communications. If they can't handle that, they should find another job or become permanent jurors. If they want a better attitude from people, they should have better communications. Seriously. People forgive people who are honest. Easily at that.

Take a look at a failed product from Paizo and Erik Mona talking about its cancellation: http://paizo.com/products/btpy88r4/discuss?Pathfinder-Cards-Subscription#46

Paizo must be going bankrupt, right? Nerdrage, right? No. People understand. They get mad when they do not undertand (from lack of communications). They speculate or just get frustrated. And it is understandable*.

Part of the problem.

Yes. People are reasonable. It is WotC's refusal to communicate that is unreasonable. This thread, and probably Perkins' tweet wouldn't exist with better communications.

Is it officially what WotC is doing? Cause if it is not, it could be unofficially non-cancelled.


*Notice I said understandable and not excusable. A nuance that is important.

That's Paizo. A small, independent company made by and run by gamers that love gaming. Their CEO plays the game. Practically everyone in the company plays the game. They're entirely devoted to the game.


WotC is owned by Hasbro now. Hasbro bean counters that don't see the game as anything other than a vehicle for profit decide the budget.

Paizo is unique as a company because they are run by gamers and run efficiently and profitably. Main reason WotC and TSR failed was they had the run by gamers part down, but not the run efficiently and profitably part.

 

[delericho]

WotC is owned by Hasbro now. Hasbro bean counters that don't see the game as anything other than a vehicle for profit decide the budget.

The problem with that argument is that WotC was owned by Hasbro in 2006 and had good communications and much better relations with their fanbase then.

 

[BryonD]

Except that those couple dozen people (and by extension the segment of the overall market they represent) have all bought the core books already, so Wizards can and should safely tune them out at this point. It would be one thing if they were still trying to cater to that market with the sort of supplements they're looking to purchase, but they're clearly not interesting in selling those kinds of products. Instead they're targeting another market with an entirely different set of products and so should probably just focus on that instead getting absolutely nothing out of taking steps to address riotous online fanboy outrage that probably can't be quieted no matter what they do.

If you think saying that WotC can "safely tune out" that "segment of the overall market" from all future sales, then ok.

It is easy for you to throw around words like "riotus" "fanboy" "outrage" and "no matter what they do".
It is a lot harder to actually justify those therms when the reactions are justified but what has actually been done.

But I guess that is why there is zero conversation about what is actually happening in your reply.
I'm sure if you stick to enough name-calling and slander, reality will eventually change to suit you.

In the mean time, the customer business relationship will remain unchanged.

 

[BryonD]

I'm half of a 2 person IT department. If I'm out sick or on jury duty, my projects don't get done. They just get pushed back. I suspect its similar for these guys.

Does the revenue flow the same whether you do you job or not?
If you r work does not happen at all, does it make any difference to the company?

 

[Mark CMG]

(. . .) Wizards can and should safely tune them out at this point. It would be one thing if they were still trying to cater to that market with the sort of supplements they're looking to purchase, but they're clearly not interesting in selling those kinds of products.

There's an acronym for that practice: Probably Aren't Interested, Zo Out!

Oh, okay. I just got that . . .

Instead they're targeting another market with an entirely different set of products and so should probably just focus on that instead getting absolutely nothing out of taking steps to address riotous online fanboy outrage that probably can't be quieted no matter what they do.

"Targeting another market" meant to be made up, in part, by crossover customers.

 

[Zaukrie]

Did the reveal happen? I can't make it through all the pages of discussion.

 

[delericho]

Did the reveal happen? I can't make it through all the pages of discussion.

Yeah. The conversion guide has been delayed by 4 months. We're all very excited.

 

[Dire Bare]

That's Paizo. A small, independent company made by and run by gamers that love gaming. Their CEO plays the game. Practically everyone in the company plays the game. They're entirely devoted to the game.

WotC is owned by Hasbro now. Hasbro bean counters that don't see the game as anything other than a vehicle for profit decide the budget.

Paizo is unique as a company because they are run by gamers and run efficiently and profitably. Main reason WotC and TSR failed was they had the run by gamers part down, but not the run efficiently and profitably part.

This is a somewhat general response, not specific to just Celtavian. The idea some of the fans on the internet have that WotC has "failed" is overstatement at its finest. 3E, 4E, and now 5E were all successful releases of a major game. 3E ran through its cycle, 4E was successful in its own right, but didn't end up meeting the goals the company had for the game. 5E is just beginning, but all rational accounts, it has been very successful. Where there specific products that didn't work out? Of course, but overall D&D has been a success since WotC purchased TSR and then later was purchased itself by Hasbro.

Paizo and WotC are two differently structured companies with very similar products with different sales goals and expectations. But the idea that the Hasbro "bean counters" or "suits" are just holding WotC back from being the game company we could all get behind is internet myth. Ever since WotC was purchased by Hasbro they have put out excellent product, run successful game lines, and the guys making the decisions are gamers who love the game, just like Paizo.

A major difference in fan reaction to Paizo and WotC's communications is that Paizo is seen as the underdog, and WotC is seen as the evil overlord. TSR was treated the same way back in the day. Paizo and WotC could release identical press releases and Paizo would mostly be praised while WotC would mostly be damned, except by us few WotC "apologists". (Hint: never trust an argument from somebody namecalling with the term "apologist")

 

[Dire Bare]

Did the reveal happen? I can't make it through all the pages of discussion.

Yeah. The conversion guide has been delayed by 4 months. We're all very excited.

Just in case you weren't sure, no, the "big reveal" has not been revealed . . . yet.

This thread is pretty standard fare, folks complaining about minor things that don't really have any sort of impact on the game, the brand, or how we play it. We just like to complain, blame, and argue the small stuff, as usual.

 

[BryonD]

This is a somewhat general response, not specific to just Celtavian. The idea some of the fans on the internet have that WotC has "failed" is overstatement at its finest.

WotC has not "failed".

Why is it that their defenders keep feeling obliged to completely redefine the issues rather than dealing with what has been said?

WotC is on a run of dropping the ball and doing things that are fair to criticize.

Paizo and WotC are two differently structured companies with very similar products with different sales goals and expectations. But the idea that the Hasbro "bean counters" or "suits" are just holding WotC back from being the game company we could all get behind is internet myth.

Probably very very true.

But saying you have a bottleneck of ONE PERSON locking something down does nothing to help dispel the myth.

A major difference in fan reaction to Paizo and WotC's communications is that Paizo is seen as the underdog, and WotC is seen as the evil overlord. TSR was treated the same way back in the day. Paizo and WotC could release identical press releases and Paizo would mostly be praised while WotC would mostly be damned, except by us few WotC "apologists".

First, apologizing when something is bad is not a bad thing itself.

But that aside it is funny that you take offense to name calling when it is going both ways and you are using hollow labels of "underdog" and "evil overlord" to obfuscate the actual events.
If Paizo released an identical press release tomorrow, they WOULD get a lot more slack because they have a vastly better track record and established relationship and trust with their fan base.

But it is important to keep in mind that Paizo IS NOT releasing this kind of statement.

If one guy drops the ball 15% of the time for a couple years running and a new guy comes out and drops the ball 7 times in a row, when they both drop the ball at the same time a few minutes later, one of those guys is going to get more slack than the other. If Paizo got on a run of not giving their fans what they want, their fate would turn quickly.