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Message: <blockquote data-quote="darkbard" data-source="post: 1138435" data-attributes="member: 1282">the more i think on the subject, the clearer it becomes to me that a. valterra is first and foremost a lawyer and businessman ... and one who clearly understands marketing, advertising and creating a stir.  since mr. valterra knew that the changes to the d20 license were in store and would jeopardize his product well in advance and yet proceeded to create a ton of hype and controversy [and free advertising] surrounding his product as d20 before switching to the ogl, i can only assume that this was a calculated strategy.think about it.  how many posts have you read where someone was outraged by the wotc licensing change and declared they would now go out and buy a copy of the book of erotic fantasy just to spite wotc?!?  people who would otherwise have little to no interest in this product are now viewing it as a symbol of free speech, as the little guy versus the corporate monolith.this is shrewd, calculated business strategy.  create a storm of controversy around your product that translates into huge amounts of free advertising.  associate your product in the minds of its audience with d&d by announcing it as d20 and even going so far as to produce a limited [1000 copies] run of the preview edition so word spreads further and people have a stronger impression of d&d compatibility [and how many of those copies are still sitting around at distributors or retailers.  those of you who think that valar is incurring some great expense in the destruction of these preview copies are kidding yourselves].  then switch to the ogl; thus you are no longer bound by the "impending" license change, though as a tradeoff you can no longer prominently and explicitly associate the game with d&d ... but the rub is that you no longer need to do so.  most of the target audience is already aware of the product's compatibility ... and you've gained a truckload of new consumers who now view your company as a sympathetic cause.  shrewd strategy, indeed!</blockquote>

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