WotC Hasbro Bets Big on D&D

During today's 'Hasbro Fireside Chat', Hasbro's Chris Cocks, chief executive officer, and Cynthia Williams, president of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming mentioned D&D, and about betting big on its name. This was in addition to the Magic: The Gathering discussion they held on the same call.

The following are rough notes on what they said.

D&D Beyond

• Leaning heavily on D&D Beyond
• 13 million registered users
• Give them more ways to express their fandom
• Hired 350 people last year
• Low attrition

What’s next for D&D

• Never been more popular
• Brand under-monetized
• Excited about D&D Beyond possibilities
• Empower accessibility and development of the user base.
• Data driven insight
• Window into how players are playing
• Companion app on their phone
• Start future monetization starting with D&D Beyond
• DMs are 20% of the audience but lions share of purchases
• Digital game recurrent spending for post sale revenue.
• Speed of digital can expand, yearly book model to include current digital style models.
• Reach highly engaged multigenerational fans.
• Dungeons and Dragons has recognition, 10 out of 10
• Cultural phenomenon right now.
• DND strategy is a broad four quadrant strategy
• Like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Marvel
• New books and accessories, licensed game stuff, and D&D Beyond
• Huge hopes for D&D

What is success for the D&D Movie

• First big light up oppourtunity for 4th quadrant
• Significant marketing
• They think it’ll have significant box office
• It has second most viewed trailer at Paramount, only eclipsed by Transformers
• Will be licensed video games, some on movies
• Then follow up other media, TV, other movies, etc.
• Bullish on D&D.

 

[MGibster]

“D&D is under monetized” is a terrifying thing to hear from the Hazbro CEO.

If there's one thing that will lead me to abandon D&D in its entirety, it will be WotC treating me like Electronic Arts treats me. If I'm going to be nickled & dimed, I'm out.

 

[Charlaquin]

Doesn't terrify me. It's true. Been true for just about the entire 50 year history of the game.

D&D has had great brand recognition since the 80s, but has never effectively translated that into making D&D a powerhouse franchise like Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or Harry Potter. And it has that potential, always has.

All WotC is saying is . . . they recognize that potential, they haven't managed to reach it yet, and they want to.

Will it mean more crappy D&D products, from WotC and licensed partners? Well, we already have that . . . . (there's great products too)

Will it mean consumer-unfriendly practices? Perhaps. But there is NOTHING suggesting it so far, so I'm not going to lose sleep over it until it actually happens.

WotC has pushed Magic the Gathering too far in their quest to monetize that brand, but they've been called out for it by the banking industry, and hopefully have learned their lesson for both brands. But even so, Magic continues to rock as a game, hobby, and franchise. I'm not overly worried about D&D.

Corporations never “learn their lesson.” They don’t want some money, they want all the money.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I think it should be noted that unlike microtransactions in video games (which I loathe), not paying for them in a TTRPG doesn't hurt you. I.e., you aren't forced to buy them to compete with others who do.

 

[Charlaquin]

Video gamers will buy loot boxes and cosmetic items and special weapons up the wazoo...

And the hobby has been ruined because of that.

 

[Greg Benage]

Brand under-monetized

Always something you love to hear from the custodian of your hobby.

 

[Von Ether]

"Under-monitized" can mean anything from "we're going to charge you micro-transactions" to "we're not selling enough swag." Given how much swag they're pushing regarding the movie (my Amazon wishlist is full of it, hint hint, holiday shoppers), I think it's too soon to assume the worst.

I bet Ms. Williams would be gritting her teeth right now if she knew how many D&D themed graphic tees, I've bought my family - and none of it licensed D&D stuff.

 

[payn]

What’s next for D&D

• Like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Marvel

This seems to be the rocket that never leaves the platform for D&D. Though, cant blame them for trying.

 

[Xamnam]

I don't know why D&D players hate the idea of spending money on their hobby. Video gamers will buy loot boxes and cosmetic items and special weapons up the wazoo... but roleplayers think that if they bought three books 8 years ago for $40 a pop that they have spent as much money as they need and anything beyond that is them getting gouged by the company.

For me, part of the explicit appeal, the reason I go to this hobby over others, is that a one time purchase can create almost indefinite value. It's not a quirk, it's a feature. So a change in that is a change in the draw.

That said, we obviously can't know now, but if what they add is visual flair to their online arena, fine, whatever. But I certainly can't say it excites me in any way. It adds nothing to my games.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think it should be noted that unlike microtransactions in video games (which I loathe), not paying for them in a TTRPG doesn't hurt you. I.e., you aren't forced to buy them to compete with others who do.

Most video games stay away from “pay to win” because the players tend to reject it. No, cosmetic-only stuff is where they tend to get the most predatory. And, yeah, in a vacuum there’s no harm in having the option to pay money for some cosmetics that don’t impact gameplay. The problem is the warped design incentives that are created when more revenue comes from in-game purchases than from game sales. The optimal strategy is no longer to make the best game to sell the most copies, but to make the game that encourages the most in-game purchases.

 

[Alzrius]

This seems to be the rocket that never leaves the platform for D&D. Though, cant blame them for trying.

"Evergreen" brands are the proverbial golden ring for corporations today. Though personally, I'm not convinced how "evergreen" any of them truly are. I know that media access (via phones, smart TVs, streaming devices, etc.) is far, far more prevalent than ever before, but I'm still not sure if we'll have anything approaching the current amount of Star Wars or Marvel media still come out fifty years from now.