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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cergorach" data-source="post: 1949724" data-attributes="member: 725">Hmm...I'm not so certain that D&D would be where it is today if it wasn't for the D20 and OGL licenses (and all the publishers that picked it up). While there was a lot of hype around the release of 3E i doubt it would have lasted as long as it did without D20/OGL support. The alternative would have been for WotC to release more products and as a result would have risked more financially if it failed (not to mention the impact it would have had on the D&D brand).Folks like us (and with that i mean people that hang around ENworld) are a conduit to a lot more players and DMs that haven't heard of D20/OGL and do not intend to buy it. But folks like us are often the driving force in their gaming groups, if D&D/D20/OGL doesn't keep our attention we might start to play other games (like WoD, Shadowrun, etc.) or stop playing all together for a time. I for example buy a lot of D20/OGL stuff, but also all D&D stuff (inc. Modern), the rest of my group on the other hand doesn't buy any D20/OGL stuff on only some D&D stuff, and those of my gaming group that can also DM have also DMed for other games that where also pure D&D. What does this mean? Probably that D20/OGL gives a certain amount of staying power to the D%D brand, that staying power is only effective to a small percentage of the D&D players/DMs, but those are often the driving force behind larger groups of players/DMs. I am pretty certain that i directly influenced between 10 to 20 people to pickup D&D 3E before it was even released (and how many of those inluenced others?), i'm also certain that i influenced half those people to keep playing D&D 3E(3.5) over the years and that was only possible due to D20/OGL influences (like GR, AEG, FFG, S&SS,HD, etc.) that kept me interested in D&D, without that i'm certain that we would have had long breaks (during which no D&D products would have been bought) and maybe even been playing WoD right now.Over the years WotC have increased the product releases per year, have increased the size of the supplements (and thus the price), and have started to release fringe products such as board games and collectable miniature games, all the while taking back market share from the D20/OGL publishers. Remember just before it was known that there was a 3.5 comming, how the market had 'stalled', masses of D20/OGL publishers where failing? The release of 3.5 invigorated interest in D&D but suddenly there where also more releases of D&D products, practically in a vacum that the failing D20/OGL publishers left behind. Now the D20/OGL publisher list is shrinking even more as well as the releases the remaining D20/OGL publishers release (with the exception of a few like Mongoose, but even Mongoose is setting it's sights on other games beside D20/OGL, miniature games). What does that mean? Probably that WotC can pick up the peaces that D20/OGL publishers left and increase their market share, i just don't know if that means wether WotC is making profits on the products they sell, i think they can, but it really depends on the quality they produce. [off topic] Races of stone is an example of how not make a race book, not that it's bad on how it presents dwarves and gnomes, but giving more pages to a new race no one has an interest of playing then established races (such as dwarves and gnomes) is wasting the consumer's money, and leaves the consumer with the idea that WotC couldn't come up with more material on dwarves and gnomes and just filled the rest of the book up with other crap. [/offtopic]Is D20/OGL hurting WotC in the short run, yes because there are others that share a small pie and not everyone who tastes of the pie takes a bite of the WotC part. Is D20/OGL hurting WotC in the long run, no, because D&D would be what it is now without D20/OGL and it gives D&D more staying power. Not to mention the fact that the D&D rules sytem is nipping away at other gamesystems...</blockquote>

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