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.

 

[darjr]

I run games for quite a few people. Some who haven't bought a single book. Some who have only the core. Some who have NEVER logged into dndbeyond.

This isn't Halo. Halo you HAVE TO USE the software. And the BEST you can do is play private games and only invite known folks that you can stand to play with who agree to any ground rules (or can you play private games in halo?)

You don't need dndbeyond. You don't need the 3d vtt, in fact I don't even want it.

 

[MGibster]

If you buy scintillating armor pack for your paladin in VTT buf it has zero mechanical impact, why would anyone care? Special animations, cool looking but mechanically neutral upgrades don't bother me. It would be like someone showing up with a nicely painted mini.

While it might not bother you, or even me, it might bother other people. If the DM is trying to set up a particular aesthetic for their setting, one in which scintillating armor does not fit, perhaps they might care? And from a social perspective what consequences might be had? Fortnite is a game where players can buy cosmetic skins for their avatars, but players are referred to as "default" to indicate their lesser status. Players with bought skins are perceived as being better which is soemthing I wouldn't have expected, but here we are. I used to think this was an unintended consequence, but I think this is the attitude the creators of Fortnite wish to inculcate into their customer base.

There's no indication that they're going to or even could sell upgrades that would have meaningful impact on a PC's performance in the game that a DM could not ban. This micro transaction concern is much ado about nothing.

"Much ado about nothing" was certainly Electronic Art's attitude about microtransactions. Microtransactions have changed the way video games are made and how they are played. It's going to change how D&D is played as well. Will it change for the better? I doubt it.

 

[tetrasodium]

Answer the question.

How can wotc stop me kicking that player out?

That's where the warped priorities microtransactions cause. 1: you need to notice that the right corner of bob's cloak flutters when undead are nearby & the left corner when aberrations nearby but bob can just say he didn't realize & liked the way that "purely cosmetic" cloak looked. 2: things get more difficult when the revised rogue or feats in that new supplement give players a hot die roll once per rest.

Making sure that you the GM don't boot their revenue stream is important too. Maybe you get xxx free models allowed or X GMquality of life feature is linked to the same setting that allows player facing microtransaction content to work

 

[GDGD]

Yes it would be different. Microtransactions(paying money for a single magic item or skin) are different from macrotransactions(buying a non-core book).

For sure, but only in terms of magnitude. If we're using videogame analogies, what's the difference between DLC and microtransaction? Size, basically, but otherwise it's the same thing in the sense that it's an optional expense.

One of the cool things about microtransactions is that it can make everything modular. You can spend or save as you see fit. Take Xanathar's for example. As a DM, you may well want to buy the whole thing. But as a player, maybe you only want the College of Glamour rules for your bard concept. You don't want to have to drop $40 on a whole book, the majority of which you'll never use. So if they give you the option of $5 for just the College of Glamour, that's making things more accessible and more afforable.

 

[MGibster]

Honestly, I'm not worried that WotC will introduce cosmetic items allowing people to cheat. I think it's more likely someone might try to create a hack to enable that behavior, but it's not a route I believe WotC would deliberately walk.

 

[Zardnaar]

For sure, but only in terms of magnitude. If we're using videogame analogies, what's the difference between DLC and microtransaction? Size, basically, but otherwise it's the same thing in the sense that it's an optional expense.

One of the cool things about microtransactions is that it can make everything modular. You can spend or save as you see fit. Take Xanathar's for example. As a DM, you may well want to buy the whole thing. But as a player, maybe you only want the College of Glamour rules for your bard concept. You don't want to have to drop $40 on a whole book, the majority of which you'll never use. So if they give you the option of $5 for just the College of Glamour, that's making things more accessible and more afforable.

DLC is usually gaming content eg more stages, levels, areas quests etc. Playable contents.

Microtransactions more cosmetics, equipment, pay to win elements, XP boosters/pay for convenience.

Executed badly game design is implemented to make a game grindy (pay to speed it up eg (more XP+XP boosters), pay for power (better equipment, more damage), or bare boned games (basic features held back to sell to you later eg 4E phb in D&D terms).

Hence negative connotations via video games around terms like monetization. Often translates to milk the fans at the expense of quality.

Loot boxes as well (which should probably be illegal).

 

[Oofta]

While it might not bother you, or even me, it might bother other people. If the DM is trying to set up a particular aesthetic for their setting, one in which scintillating armor does not fit, perhaps they might care? And from a social perspective what consequences might be had? Fortnite is a game where players can buy cosmetic skins for their avatars, but players are referred to as "default" to indicate their lesser status. Players with bought skins are perceived as being better which is soemthing I wouldn't have expected, but here we are. I used to think this was an unintended consequence, but I think this is the attitude the creators of Fortnite wish to inculcate into their customer base.

"Much ado about nothing" was certainly Electronic Art's attitude about microtransactions. Microtransactions have changed the way video games are made and how they are played. It's going to change how D&D is played as well. Will it change for the better? I doubt it.

There's a huge difference between D&D and MMOs. You're only interacting with 5 other players and you have a DM. If someone at my table was putting down someone else for a "bad" avatar, we'd be down one player and it wouldn't be the one with the standard avatar.

I just don't see an issue. Someone wants to spend $100 or more on dice? Get a custom painted mini? More power to them. We may ooh and ah for a moment, but it has zero impact on the game. There have always been people that spend an inordinate amount of money on games and others, like me, that buy books or parts of books that interest them but use a dry erase marker and plastic dice I bought by the pound. Someone wants bling for their PC? We'll ooh and ah for a moment and then get on with playing the game.

 

[mamba]

Doesn't even need to be "items". Imagine a premium tier player app badge that enables a 5 second confirmation on move actions before they commit but reveals the FoW for those 5 seconds. "Purely Cosmetic" weapon of warning skins that glow when certain conditions in the GM's dungeon are met. Math influencing dice improvements are another option, maybe players get one free hot roll per day like a less pronounced advantage like 3-23 but rounds down the last few to 20 but can buy a bunch extra for 5$.

Not a fan of this, but I do not expect anything like this to happen. Cosmetic items sure, anything with gameplay impact I doubt very much.

I won't worry about something I do not expect to happen. If it ever does, I decide what to do then. Never bought a microtransaction in any game and generally do not play ones that have them, my reaction here would be similar...

 

[darjr]

That's where the warped priorities microtransactions cause. 1: you need to notice that the right corner of bob's cloak flutters when undead are nearby & the left corner when aberrations nearby but bob can just say he didn't realize & liked the way that "purely cosmetic" cloak looked. 2: things get more difficult when the revised rogue or feats in that new supplement give players a hot die roll once per rest.

Making sure that you the GM don't boot their revenue stream is important too. Maybe you get xxx free models allowed or X GMquality of life feature is linked to the same setting that allows player facing microtransaction content to work

I'd absolutely note the constant really good dice rolls or damage. I've had cheaters in games before.

One time a player used a huge big gulp to hide his rolls. Another a player would pretend to roll on their phone.

If the cheats are so small I don't notice? Well it's hardly worth it then isn't it? If they are big, out they go. WotC's going to have to show up at my house to stop me, and no, bribes won't help WotC.

 

[Zardnaar]

There's a huge difference between D&D and MMOs. You're only interacting with 5 other players and you have a DM. If someone at my table was putting down someone else for a "bad" avatar, we'd be down one player and it wouldn't be the one with the standard avatar.

I just don't see an issue. Someone wants to spend $100 or more on dice? Get a custom painted mini? More power to them. We may ooh and ah for a moment, but it has zero impact on the game. There have always been people that spend an inordinate amount of money on games and others, like me, that buy books or parts of books that interest them but use a dry erase marker and plastic dice I bought by the pound. Someone wants bling for their PC? We'll ooh and ah for a moment and then get on with playing the game.

Stuff like that can impact other players espicially when there's a drastic difference in quality between the free stuff and paid stuff.

Non American here alot of schools here have uniforms part of the reason was so the kids in $300 trainers don't rub it in the face of those who can't afford it.