WotC Gale Force 9 Sues WotC [Updated]

In the second lawsuit against WotC in recent weeks (Dragonlance authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman sued the company for breach of contract and other things about a month ago), Gale Force 9 is suing the company for breach of contract and implied duty of good faith.

Gale Force 9 produces miniatures, cards, DM screens, and other D&D accessories. They’re asking for damages of nearly a million dollars, as well as an injunction to prevent WotC from terminating the licensing contract.

From the suit, it looks like WotC wanted to end a licensing agreement a year early. When GF9 didn't agree to that, WotC indicated that they would refuse to approve any new licensed products from GF9. It looks like the same sort of approach they took with Weis and Hickman, which also resulted in a lawsuit. The dispute appears to relate to some product translations in non-US markets. More information as I hear it!

UPDATE. GF9's CEO, Jean-Paul Brisigotti, spoke to ICv2 and said: "After twelve years of working with Wizards, we find ourselves in a difficult place having to utilize the legal system to try and resolve an issue we have spent the last six months trying to amicably handle between us without any success. We still hope this can be settled between us but the timeline for a legal resolution has meant we have been forced to go down this path at this time."

 

[MoonSong]

Although my level or written English isn't bad, if I have to spend my money to buy books, I would rather my mother tongue, it's more confortable., and imported books only can be found in capital cities. Have you bought any work in no-English language? Do you watch dubbed anime or in original Japanese voice (with subtitles)?

Translations are very important for no English-speaker markets. Somebody can buy an arcade videogame what uses other languange, but TTRPGs have got a lot of text. Even board games (Monopoly, Clued, Risk) with simpler rules have to be translated.

And many teenages players from no-English speaker countries haven't enough level to dare to buy original English books.

Yet, despite this limited audience, that is what D&D has traditionally been in non-English speaking countries. The province of educated middle class (and mainly upper middle class) teens. This is why its growth has been slow. If there was a wide release, prices would be lower and there would be more players. Yet stuff like Magic, Pokemon and Yugioh remain kind of niche despite they enjoying a wider circulation -and perhaps despite they getting actual translations to Spanish-.

We don't have the long tradition of everything being translated -even to the point of overtranslation-. Traditionally, to get access to anything not directly mainstream you'd need to understand English in some way. Perhaps to the point of it being a point of pride and exclusivity. Also many things are translated in Spain and then imported. But once we are at that point if the choice is between paying a premium to get something from the Motherland across the pond or paying a premium to get it from the source just a few kilometers North, most here prefer the latter.

 

[CubicsRube]

I'm not sure why we're on this topic again, but RPGs are so cheap compared to other hobbies, and I can't see how people think differently.

Tennis here i need to pay AUD200 minimum for a decent racket, and a similar amount for shoes to protect my ankles. Court hire is AUD20 per hour. Split with 4 that's AUD5. Not to mention clothing, glasses, powerade etc.

Cheap gym membership is AUD20 per week, and most are much higher.

Art supplies with good canvasses and paints can set you back a solid amount each week even without any group classes.

There's so few exmples I can think of that give you value per hour.

I understand the cost of living in other countries (I've lived in some), but i know that tennis players etc are paying international proces for those things.

 

[Zardnaar]

I'm not sure why we're on this topic again, but RPGs are so cheap compared to other hobbies, and I can't see how people think differently.

Tennis here i need to pay AUD200 minimum for a decent racket, and a similar amount for shoes to protect my ankles. Court hire is AUD20 per hour. Split with 4 that's AUD5. Not to mention clothing, glasses, powerade etc.

Cheap gym membership is AUD20 per week, and most are much higher.

Art supplies with good canvasses and paints can set you back a solid amount each week even without any group classes.

There's so few exmples I can think of that give you value per hour.

I understand the cost of living in other countries (I've lived in some), but i know that tennis players etc are paying international proces for those things.

You do realize tennis is more of an upper class game? Same with golf.

There's a reason footballs popular.

 

[CubicsRube]

You do realize tennis is more of an upper class game? Same with golf.

There's a reason footballs popular.

Same deal with football shoes, clothing and the like.

 

[Zardnaar]

Same deal with football shoes, clothing and the like.

Haven't seen how they play it in poorer parts of the world?


14:00 mark. Cheap way of playing it.

There's tens of millions of Americans struggling to eat. Alot of people don't have internet connections so they can't download free stuff.

I suspect ENworlds a bit of a bubble. Mostly professionals in their 30's to 50's.

It's a cheap hobby if you're a middle class American or other prosperous country.

It's not that cheap compared to some other activities.

Don't think to many people here are blue collar at least for a while. A few people right now can't afford blue collar let alone white ones.

D&D's mostly a middle class white persons game. Probably because they can afford it. First world problems.

 

[TheSword]

Haven't seen how they play it in poorer parts of the world?


14:00 mark. Cheap way of playing it.

There's tens of millions of Americans struggling to eat. Alot of people don't have internet connections so they can't download free stuff.

I suspect ENworlds a bit of a bubble. Mostly professionals in their 30's to 50's.

It's a cheap hobby if you're a middle class American or other prosperous country.

It's not that cheap compared to some other activities.

Don't think to many people here are blue collar at least for a while. A few people right now can't afford blue collar let alone white ones.

D&D's mostly a middle class white persons game. Probably because they can afford it. First world problems.

I’m sorry Zardnaar but that is a massive generalization. It’s cheap in the entire Western World not just for middle class Americans. For the value you get out of it. $30-$50 as a one off cost puts the PHB within the reach of most people even in the western world. If they really want it. There is no other hobby that I know that is as cheap.

Also let’s not be disingenuous and pretend that the people pirating WOC products are the impoverished in third world countries. As has been said these people don’t even know about the game, or if they do, they see it as frivolous. The piracy is by the ‘entitled’, who believe because something exists they should be able to have it... which absolutely is a middle class modern obsession.

Football may be cheap, but tickets to matches, memorabilia, sticker albums, shoes, fees for pitch hire in a 5 a side tournament, kit for your kids, sports TV subscriptions etc etc work our far more.

Incidentally don’t you think we should move past the assumption that the middle class in the western world is white?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

It's not that cheap compared to some other activities.

Don't think to many people here are blue collar at least for a while. A few people right now can't afford blue collar let alone white ones.

D&D's mostly a middle class white persons game. Probably because they can afford it. First world problems.

This is just not accurate. Is D&D mostly a middle class game? Yeah, sure. Was it a white game (something that is changing, thankfully)? Yep.

Is it because of the cost? No.

There are all sorts of barriers in life. Whether it's because of exclusionary groups, or because of the subject matter, or because playing D&D can be a huge time commitment (and not everyone has equal amounts of leisure time), or because, even today, the idea of playing a game that largely consists of reading, play-acting, and math does not appeal to everyone .... there are barriers.

But cost isn't the major one. Both because you can get copies of the basic rules for free, or get copies of this edition (and prior editions) as used books pretty easily and really cheaply. There are many locations where the local public library or school has rulebooks as well.

That's not to denigrate the problems of people that struggle to make ends meet or pay the rent, and it doesn't speak to the ability of people to choose to spend a lot of money if they want to (a miniature collection is second only to a cocaine habit).

But in the universe of discretionary leisure activities, D&D can be among the very, very cheapest of them all.

 

[Umbran]

But cost isn't the major one. Both because you can get copies of the basic rules for free, or get copies of this edition (and prior editions) as used books pretty easily and really cheaply. There are many locations where the local public library or school has rulebooks as well.

The barriers you talked about, however, are tied to economic ones.

You say it is easy to go to a library to get books, or you can get used one cheap... that is actually relying on economic infrastructure that many folks don't have. You have to live in a pretty affluent area to have used book stores that'll carry D&D books. Similarly, since libraries are typically funded off local property taxes - if you don't live in an area with high property values, you probably don't have access to a decent library.

And, that's if you have time - D&D isn't expensive just in terms of money, but of time. If you and your friends are working multiple jobs to get by, you probably can't get those friends together to play on a regular basis - regular schedules are the province of middle class and up.

Which is really to say that lower income is about more than just disposable personal resources. It is also about the opportunities you have at hand.

 

[BigZebra]

Where I live - Denmark - a movie ticket costs easily $15. With popcorn and a soda it would cost $20.
A D&D book at the FLGS costs $60. I could get it cheaper online but I want to support the local shop and not Bezos.
It is only three times a movie ticket. The movie lasts 2 hours. So far we have played Tyranny of Dragons for 100 hours on Roll20. Four people.
It doesn’t even compare.
And yes I know I’m from a part of the world were I can easily afford it. But my point is as a cost of leisure activity it is unmatched.

 

[Zardnaar]

This is just not accurate. Is D&D mostly a middle class game? Yeah, sure. Was it a white game (something that is changing, thankfully)? Yep.

Is it because of the cost? No.

There are all sorts of barriers in life. Whether it's because of exclusionary groups, or because of the subject matter, or because playing D&D can be a huge time commitment (and not everyone has equal amounts of leisure time), or because, even today, the idea of playing a game that largely consists of reading, play-acting, and math does not appeal to everyone .... there are barriers.

But cost isn't the major one. Both because you can get copies of the basic rules for free, or get copies of this edition (and prior editions) as used books pretty easily and really cheaply. There are many locations where the local public library or school has rulebooks as well.

That's not to denigrate the problems of people that struggle to make ends meet or pay the rent, and it doesn't speak to the ability of people to choose to spend a lot of money if they want to (a miniature collection is second only to a cocaine habit).

But in the universe of discretionary leisure activities, D&D can be among the very, very cheapest of them all.

When I started the PHB was one weeks rent or two days wages or a weeks board at parents.

Didn't really have hobbies, couldn't afford them.

Buying D&D was doable because I didn't smoke, do drugs or drink that much. One could buy 4 litres of whiskey and have $5 left over.

Proportionally it's cheaper now as it's still double the cost of USA.

It's enough that if a kid went and asked their parents for the core books it's not exactly an automatic yes. $225 for the 3 of them. Throw in an adventure (starter set) and extra set of dice it's $300 ($216 USD).

Two years of Netflix with pocket change left over.