D+D Insider

[glass]

Did anyone else select "Other" for race, and enter "Human" in the box?

Or 'half-elf'?


glass.

 

[Garnfellow]

I filled out the survey too. Could this Insider net-zine, or magazine, or whatever it is, be too much like Dragon, and end up hurting Paizo's sales?

That's what I thought, too -- this service, as described, sounds very cool but also a direct competitor to Paizo's offerings.

I have really wondered about the relationship between WotC and Paizo. It seems like increasingly, WotC and Paizo have been crossing paths in the marketplace. WotC's forays into adventures (look at the scheduled releases for the next year); Paizo's ventures into supplements (The Dragon Compendium). Both companies have offered a few products so similar that I found myself frequently confused about which was which (Paizo's Compleat Encounters and WotC's Fantastic Locations).

To me, Paizo has been doing WotC an outstanding service by consistently providing D&D products of the highest quality. And in some ways, Paizo seems much more in touch with my needs and tastes than WotC has been. I have read more great Dragon magazine articles in the last 2+ years than probably at any other time since the golden age of Kim Mohan's tenure; during this same span Dungeon (esp. the Age of Worms) has had some of the best adventures I have seen for any edition of D&D, period. All of Paizo’s efforts help keep me interested in the game and make my life as a DM easier.

So I was a little disturbed when I saw WotC announce they were moving so hard into the adventure market. Hey, wasn't that Paizo's gig? And not to get all tin-foil-hatty, but I have wondered why WotC has been dragging its feet on approval of the Age of Worms hardcover or a second Dragon Compendium.

At the beginning of 3e, third party d20 publishers really helped grow the D&D market by putting out tons of product at a time when the demand was high and availability of material was scarce; WotC really hurt those publishers by its ill-timed 3.5 update followed by its own aggressive entry into the supplement market. Now there are almost no active third party d20 publishers; even a great company like Green Ronin has dramatically scaled back its offerings. And I think the d20 consumer is poorer because of this loss.

I am a little concerned that WotC might be doing something similar to Paizo: eating the lunch of a friend who has only helped grow and sustain the D&D market. Wizards should be closely coordinating its efforts with the good folks at Paizo; instead it looks like they are bound and determined on competing with them. I don’t think there is some nefarious plot brewing in Renton, just some stupid, possibly greedy, and rather short-sighted and short-term thinking.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

This is what it is, if anyone is interested:

The Dungeons & Dragons Insider Package

Become a Dungeons & Dragons Insider and gain access to exclusive content designed specifically with D&D Dungeon Masters in mind. As part of your monthly subscription, you gain access to features designed to enhance your D&D experience, including:

D&D Insider Magazine, online magazine with new content updated daily, including:

Exclusive Content that expands your favorite campaign world

Wow, they bought out Judges Guild?

 

[qstor]

I haven't see that survey, but isn't SOME of that stuff what Dragon has in the front and back of the magazine already? I'd rather NOT pay $5 for the material on wizards.com and just pay for the dead tree version in Dragon *and* Dungeon.


Mike

 

[Lanefan]

I'm in Canada and got the survey...but I can't remember whether it was that one or another one I recently did where it insisted I enter a zip code (US) and so I had to dream one up.

Lanefan

 

[DaveMage]

Sounds like this is the start of a transition to a new D&D business model.

If they can get enough subscribers, then the need to produce print products deminishes.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Sounds like this is the start of a transition to a new D&D business model.

If they can get enough subscribers, then the need to produce print products deminishes.

Sure, why not? By that time, they will have lost me as a customer, anyway.

 

[Kesh]

I wouldn't mind if they produced some adventures or supplements that were online-only releases (provided they avoid nasty DRM). And for a service like they describe, $5 a month isn't too bad.

 

[The Hound]

I have heard that, for some reason, online pay magazines just don't seem to do very well. Nobody seems to know why. My own theory is that you can't read stuff online while you are laying on your couch with your feet propped up, like you can with dead tree magazines In any case, Wizards might be dissapointed with their bottom line if they try this.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I have heard that, for some reason, online pay magazines just don't seem to do very well. Nobody seems to know why. My own theory is that you can't read stuff online while you are laying on your couch with your feet propped up, like you can with dead tree magazines In any case, Wizards might be dissapointed with their bottom line if they try this.

Plus, not everyone has a computer with internet access on the table when they do roleplaying.