Ampersand to reveal mystery of the disappearing books (apparently)

[JoeGKushner]

Okay, some speculation:

"We're very pleased with the success of the new Red Box and our other boxed sets, so we're rebuilding our schedule to focus more on boxed sets with a softcover book, tokens and other goodies like adventures. This takes longer to produce, so there's going to be a hole in our schedule, but don't worry, we're moving more Dungeon and Dragon content out from behind the paywall! And if you pay for DDI, we'll make up for it with the exciting new Adventure Tools and Virtual Game Table that's now going into open beta."

/corporate shill mode

I believe I've been saying that they need to do this for a while now. They need to focus on getting people playing the game and the content of the books, as its available on the DDI, needs to focus to things that are only available for purchase in things that won't be on the DDI weither that's tokens, miniatures, etc...

 

[TerraDave]

I feel compelled to make an actual call...all I got is a single PHB replacement that combines the content of some of the dropped products. Actually, that might be my most optomistic call...I can imagine some other things, but I will stick with that.

 

[Derulbaskul]

I refuse to believe that Ampersand will ever be used to demonstrate anything resembling leadership or engagement with the D&D customer base.

It exists only so Bill can tell us how important he is and because he is so important he knows about all these things he cannot tell us about. And that's all.

 

[Jor-El]

I've been wondering for a while now if Bill isn't the root of the problem with the D&D brand.

Hope they're not having problems paying the printers.

 

[ggroy]

Hope they're not having problems paying the printers.

If this is the case, wonder if WotC's D&D division can just get a "loan" from the "Magic: The Gathering" side of the business, or even the Hasbro mothership.

A more general question is how exactly are the finances are handled at WotC. For example, are the D&D finances handled completely independent from the Magic finances? (ie. Two completely different sets of books).

 

[JeffB]

Maybe not "wild" speculation, but I supect we will be seeing the release of some of the missing products/books through DDI-in order to continue to build/bring back subscriptions there.

And/or the announcement of "Advanced" products, in which some of the missing product may be rolled in to. It makes sense with the rolling out of the "essentials" line as the absolute baseline, to re-do/bring us more/bigger splats.

JMO, could be completely wrong, but...

 

[renau1g]

A more general question is how exactly are the finances are handled at WotC. For example, are the D&D finances handled completely independent from the Magic finances? (ie. Two completely different sets of books).

They are part of Hasbro's books being part of the corporation, so when they submit their Financial Statements the D&D/WotC stuff is rolled in there (consolidated if you will). Now, internally, they likely have separate lines (D&D, Magic, My Little Pony, etc.) with separate budgets/financials as each division/service line will need to be evaluated to justify their existence. The "bean counters" will review their ROI (amongst other measures) and see if they are worthy of the investment or if the company should divest.

Each division likely has it's own marketing spend, payroll budget, revenue growth targets, etc. so internally, probably mostly seperate (although you'll have shared costs, like the CEO of WotC, likely some finance/legal costs, etc). But as far as the SEC is concerned they're all one company.

 

[malraux]

They are part of Hasbro's books being part of the corporation, so when they submit their Financial Statements the D&D/WotC stuff is rolled in there (consolidated if you will). Now, internally, they likely have separate lines (D&D, Magic, My Little Pony, etc.) with separate budgets/financials as each division/service line will need to be evaluated to justify their existence. The "bean counters" will review their ROI (amongst other measures) and see if they are worthy of the investment or if the company should divest.

Each division likely has it's own marketing spend, payroll budget, revenue growth targets, etc. so internally, probably mostly seperate (although you'll have shared costs, like the CEO of WotC, likely some finance/legal costs, etc). But as far as the SEC is concerned they're all one company.

Well, techinically, WotC is a wholly owned subsidiary. It's an LLC whose owner is HAS. So in that sense, the paperwork is mostly separate, even though it all gets added in at the end.

 

[ChristianLindke]

Wizards is finally releasing...

Dungeons & Dragons: Magic the Gathering!

All kidding aside, I doubt they will go to an online only format. They have been making a concerted effort to promote local stores and activities in stores and seem to be shifting more in that direction. If the boxed sets performed well, they might be moving that direction. They may be discussing problems linked with customs -- etc.

I think that last year's product offerings were quite good. I owned all the 4e books prior to Essentials, but Essentials is what got me to start playing the game. I have been running an Encounters group since its release.

Given the ability to stay on deadline with their digital offerings currently available, let's hope they don't go all digital.

 

[Ahwe Yahzhe]

Want! We were teased already with this. It's time that they finally come through and deliver!

...except in D&D: My Little Pony, they don't have hit points, they have Heart Points. Powers using the Wonderful power source are called hugs.

This is a topic begging for a Dragon article, at least!

-AY