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<blockquote data-quote="Azgulor" data-source="post: 5346329" data-attributes="member: 14291">Interesting post.&nbsp; I do question how strong the D&amp;D brand name truly is, however.&nbsp; Within the RPG hobby, of course, it's huge but while the public at large might recognize the term Dungeons &amp; Dragons, most non-RPGers I've met over the years really have no idea what the game entails.&nbsp; Similarly, I think DragonLance &amp; Forgotten Realms may actually have larger brand recognition outside of the RPG hobby community b/c of the fiction lines.&nbsp; I think the recent adoption of Dungeons &amp; Dragons on the fiction books reflects that fact.Even looking at the video games based off of D&amp;D (regardless of edition) - they're known by Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's Gate much more than as D&amp;D: &lt;name of video game&gt;.&nbsp; And let's face it, World of Warcraft has much larger brand recognition than D&amp;D.This is why I feel that even if WotC sold off D&amp;D tomorrow it's not a foregone conclusion that the brand's value is THAT significant - at least outside the hobby.&nbsp; If Blizzard bought D&amp;D, brought over the RPG designers, took the mechanics, reworked it to be more WoW-like, &amp; then released the official World of Warcraft RPG they'd probably have a hit on their hands.&nbsp; Even White Wolf's S&amp;S line's adaptation was one of the more popular d20/OGL lines primarily due to the strength of the Warcraft brand.Basically, you've got a video game that was inspired by a D&amp;D campaign that grew from a no-name brand into one of the dominant brands in the video game industry.&nbsp; A precedent exists.Similarly, while the gulf between D&amp;D &amp; Pathfinder brands remains large within the hobby, outside of it I think the gap is much smaller.&nbsp; There is now the Pathfinder Tales line in print &amp; web fiction -- the brand is expanding.&nbsp; To what degree remains to be seen.&nbsp; If we ever see a Pathfinder video game, I'm betting heavily that Pathfinder-something-or-other will be prominently displayed.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Azgulor, post: 5346329, member: 14291"] Interesting post. I do question how strong the D&D brand name truly is, however. Within the RPG hobby, of course, it's huge but while the public at large might recognize the term Dungeons & Dragons, most non-RPGers I've met over the years really have no idea what the game entails. Similarly, I think DragonLance & Forgotten Realms may actually have larger brand recognition outside of the RPG hobby community b/c of the fiction lines. I think the recent adoption of Dungeons & Dragons on the fiction books reflects that fact. Even looking at the video games based off of D&D (regardless of edition) - they're known by Neverwinter Nights or Baldur's Gate much more than as D&D: <name of video game>. And let's face it, World of Warcraft has much larger brand recognition than D&D. This is why I feel that even if WotC sold off D&D tomorrow it's not a foregone conclusion that the brand's value is THAT significant - at least outside the hobby. If Blizzard bought D&D, brought over the RPG designers, took the mechanics, reworked it to be more WoW-like, & then released the official World of Warcraft RPG they'd probably have a hit on their hands. Even White Wolf's S&S line's adaptation was one of the more popular d20/OGL lines primarily due to the strength of the Warcraft brand. Basically, you've got a video game that was inspired by a D&D campaign that grew from a no-name brand into one of the dominant brands in the video game industry. A precedent exists. Similarly, while the gulf between D&D & Pathfinder brands remains large within the hobby, outside of it I think the gap is much smaller. There is now the Pathfinder Tales line in print & web fiction -- the brand is expanding. To what degree remains to be seen. If we ever see a Pathfinder video game, I'm betting heavily that Pathfinder-something-or-other will be prominently displayed. [/QUOTE]

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