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Message: <blockquote data-quote="GVDammerung" data-source="post: 2729821" data-attributes="member: 33060">It is a marketplace of ideas kind of thing.  Wotc is not innovating IMO in the marketplace as much as they are sticking to well worn paths that they know they can sell.  There is nothing wrong with this from a business standpoint and it makes for good business from what we hear.  It is, however, not a triumph of innovation but of market shaping power.You are correct that some d20 publishers are following Wotc's lead.  This is a testament to Wotc's ability to shape the market, IMO.  Without Wotc's ability in that respect, however, we will see how this works out for the d20 publishers trying the "more of the same only different" or "everything old is new again" approach.  With Wotc shaping the market toward "more of the same only different," they are levraging their marketing strength that that the d20 publishers do not enjoy to an equal degree.  I imagine this is putting d20 publishers in something of a quandry of how best to respond beyond following suit.LOL!  Of course people will want to buy this!  That hardly makes it innovative, which then side slips my point.  I'm not saying Wotc is practicing bad business, quite the opposite!  "The same only different" sells.  If you like macaroni and cheese last night, you will probably buy it again in the future.  Wotc has no need to innovate if mac and cheese continues to sell out the doors.  Great business!  Not innovative.  You missed my point.Again.  You miss my point.  The "glut of settings" is the most obvious symptom but it is not the cause.  Over simplification, which seems to have a universal appeal, stops the thought process right there.  When you asl why the "glut" fractured the market, you get to the next layer of the onion - the "glut" fractured the market not simply because it was a "glut" but because it failed to either (1) sell without fracture to existing gamers or, and to my point, (2) failed to attract new gamers to the settings.  I will postulate - a new setting, beyond those settings already doing well, to be justified should be believed to hold the realizable potential to attract new players to the game.Begging your pardon, I do not ignore d20 publishers.  To the contrary, I note them as a bright spot for innovation.  What I do is grant Wotc its due - it is the market shaper and only Wotc presently enjoys that ability.You seem, as far as I can tell, to be pleased with what Wotc has on offer.  I have no problem with that.  It is irrelevant to my point.  Wotc material is predominantly "more of the same only different."  If you like that, more power to you and Wotc as a business.  For me whoever, I see a negative market shaping effect that is negatively impacting other d20 publishers.  While Wotc owes these folks no duty, that does nothing to negate the negative impact of shaping the market to expect and accept but "more of the same only different."</blockquote>

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