Eric Noah's Info

[Dinkeldog]

*Moderator's note:

Please remember during these discussions that we're really all aiming for the same thing--good games to play. If we disagree on what constitutes a "good game", then please do so respectfully.

 

[BryonD]

naah, better poking fun at me and pretending that i am too much of a small part of the market to even care. you know, that is actually the truth. compared to the millions of young kids buying magic cards, or duel master cards, or miniatures, me, you, and all of the people on these forums are nothing. if we all stopped playing D&D today, wizards would probably care very little, as long as they can replace us with someone else.

It appears you are taking it personally and that is causing you to miss the point.
It has nothing to do with you.
The ideas you have promoted lend themselves to a game with with less overall market appeal.
Or maybe a better way to say it is the ideas that others have presented are intended to appeal to a larger market.

That is a good plan if you like it.
That is a good plan if you hate it.

And yes, there is a word for losing 1,000 players and gaining 1,001: "progress".

 

[MerricB]

And I still say that if D&D as an RPG was doing as well as the company continues to claim then Charles Ryan would still be brand manager. I can't see how, if things were so great, the company would want to dump the person in charge of the brand.

After the astonishingly successful release of D&D 3E, Wizards saw fit to lay off a large number of staff, several behind the design of 3e.

These things don't always make sense to us.

Cheers!

 

[philreed]

After the astonishingly successful release of D&D 3E, Wizards saw fit to lay off a large number of staff, several behind the design of 3e.

These things don't always make sense to us.

I would have dumped all but one or two administrators, licensed out the D&D brand to a couple of larger companies (like White Wolf) and then kept just the core books in print. Let others create official support and invest time in approvals and licensing the brand out to other markets.

 

[DaveMage]

Well, if nothing else, those of you going to Gen Con will have a nice topic of conversation...

 

[philreed]

Well, if nothing else, those of you going to Gen Con will have a nice topic of conversation...

I feel sorry for any WotC staff at the con. Especially if no announcement is made.

 

[Henry]

What's interesting to note, however, is the difference in attitudes this time around. When this was Eric Noah's 3E rumor site and he fed us tantalizing 3E tidbits, the scene was abuzz with excitement. Now, when the same rumormonger we know and love mentions 4E, it's aflame with indignation. I must say that I am amused.

Were you frequenting the newsgroups rec.games.frp.dnd and the newsgroups over at WotC in 1999? Back then, the newsgroups primarily served the functions that message boards have for the past 5 years or so. The rumors flying then had many negative reactions associated with it. Anyone remember Synaptic Dragon?

*flails about to make the point*


Many people were freaked over some announced changes at the time -- myself included.

"A Hit Die every level?!?! PCs are going to be like freakin' unkillable super-heroes!!!"

So the reaction to a rumor, and one that takes the game in a supposedly disliked direction, is not that far-fetched. The only difference is, WE are the rec.games.frp.dnd in question. The real measure of how it shakes out, if anything, is in how it actually pans out.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

This is a new business model for WOTC, one they have been experimenting with, successfully, since the Revised Star Wars game. It's a model White Wolf basically perfected called "revise, reset, resell".

Well, "Star Wars" isn't exactly the top-lne seller fro them that it shoud have been.
I don't have $$$ figures, but it seems that canceling a line after the revised Corebook isn't what I personally would consider sucessful.

And White-Wolf?
Shot themselves in the foot, at least with me.
I have pretty much everything they printed for the orginal "World of Darkness" line (barring "Demon: The fallen", which I hate with a passion.)

So, when they "revamped" the WoD, I said "Enough"; I voted with my dollars, and WW will not get a red dime from me for the newWoD. Does it hurt them finanically? Not at all, I'm sure.

But, if a whole bunch of gamer felt the way I do, maybe it DID hurt them. WHo knows?

Now, they're goign the same way with Exalted. (After teh 2E rulebook, they're reprinting and revising "The Dragon Blooded".)

And after sticking through 3(and a half) editions of D+D, I (and my group) are ready to call it quits. We're NOT upgarding to 4.0. (Hell, my "Shackled City" campaign probably won't be over by the time 4.0 comes out!!)

 

[Vrecknidj]

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance...

Dave

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

what i don't know, and don't understand, is how this makes ok for what really is a random publisher by my book to throw in my face like that.

If you had ever purchased a single product from this random publisher, you'd realize that my prices were always well below the market average, despite the fact that the quality was well above average.

The success of this strategy speaks for itself.