Charles Ryan (and others) out at WotC?

[kenobi65]

Point is, a voice can be a powerfull thing. And if used intelligently and well it can sway other vote holders.

This is why in the modern buisness world boards of directors try as hard as possible to AVOID general votes on issues because they know how much power the voting stockholder can hold, and they fear it.

Unfortunately, the truth is that the vast majority of the shares (and, thus, the votes) for most companies are held by institutional investors and / or company insiders. Even if you *were* to try a grassroots movement to affect a vote, unless you got some of those holders of large numbers of shares to agree with you, it wouldn't have much of an effect, I fear.

And, about the only thing that seems to get the attention of a signifcant percentage of votes is something that either (a) is going to materially affect the value of the stock, or (b) is a significant moral or ethical issue (e.g., when stockholders forced companies to not invest in South Africa during the 1980s).

 

[buzz]

Or perhaps some people are just cheap?

Among gamers, you can shave the emoticon off that sentence.

 

[Ranger REG]

As much as the man loves D&D why would he want to buy back the company or even the IP he sold, after years, for more then he sold it to begin with?

Because he knows Hasbro would screw up and may have to sell WotC, and Peter can just get it for a much lower price than he sold it for, and still gain a profit.

Peter is a through-and-through businessman, especially when one learns patience and opportunity.

I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if part of the sales agreement includes Peter getting first dib if Hasbro want to sell WotC in the future.

 

[MerricB]

Sorry I've been a little slow to get back on this thread--the last few days have been a little hectic. I just wanted to step back in and say thanks to everyone who posted so many kind and supportive comments.

My family and I really appreciate the support!

Charles,

I really hope things go well for you from here. I also hope that you won't be disappearing from the 'net altogether.

Best wishes,
Merric

 

[William Ronald]

Sorry I've been a little slow to get back on this thread--the last few days have been a little hectic. I just wanted to step back in and say thanks to everyone who posted so many kind and supportive comments.

My family and I really appreciate the support!

We're glad to be support you and the other people fired from WoTC. Don't worry about the thread. We will be here when you want to comment. I hope that everything will improve in the near future.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Good luck Charles. You'll be missed.

 

[diaglo]

Good luck Charles. You'll be missed.

edited. i just can't think of a good snappy comeback now. i got nothing.

 

[Dinkeldog]

Diaglo, I know you didn't mean that, right?

Edit: And nothing. Diaglo, I think you need to take a couple days off. This was completely inappropriate.

Edit2: After talking to Diaglo, he clearly meant this as banter. I asked him to come and edit so that his intentions were clear, though.

 

[Maldin]

....(yes, it's the old "I was just following orders" explanation that I used to defend my participation in the reviled-by-many Castle Greyhawk adventure anthology! Hey, go with what works, no?). It was at that moment, reading a bulletin board that ceased to be relevant almost a decade ago, that I realized that I had truly arrived as a game writer...it's when you get a group of people who actually take out the time to hate you, then, yeah, you're complete

I hear ya!! As the guy who redesigned the map for what many consider to be the "capital city of all RPGs", the City of Greyhawk (and all the baggage that comes with that city's real-world history), I've heard it all. It gets kinda wierd reading about yourself on the net from people who have never met you and know absolutely nothing about you.

Actually, I'd love to hear about your "just following orders" recounting of the Castle Greyhawk tale. I've always had my theories about the creation of that supplement.

Denis, aka "Maldin"
==============================
Maldin's Greyhawk http://melkot.com
Check out the ton of edition-independent material on my website

 

[seankreynolds]

Why would peter buy D&D again?
WOTC was Peters company, He bought TSR for 1 million (or was it 5?) all those years ago, and the d20/ogl renessance was born. Eventually he sold WOTC to Hasbro, and bought Gencon from WOTC.

Steve's $30million estimate is much closer to the mark.