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]

They could include acceptance of those cosmetics in the ToS. The DMs will have agreed to allow them if they want to use the platform.

This sounds highly unlikely.

Does the foundry stuff pull data from dndbeyond now? That's against the current TOS. Has there even been a C&D?

what are they going to do? Kick me off for asking a player to leave my game? How are they going to prove it's cause I don't wan't the cheater cloak in my game? It's cause I want to restrict things to my campaign and it isn't in it. Cmon.

 

[Jaeger]

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.

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.

I agree.

I agree that concerns about pay to win don't make sense. But pay to win isn't the only concern around heavy microtransactions.

Also agree.

I don't see why that would change. Someone shows up with a color mini they printed on HeroForge? Cool. Show up with a warlock when the DM has specifically banned them? Nope.

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?

Well, this is the thing about the upcoming OneVTT ecosystem that we don't know for sure...

But, this:

Making sure that you the GM don't boot their revenue stream is important too.

This will be enforced in some fashion. It'll have to be.

The OneVTT ecosystem is being set up specifically to get that 'post-sale' player cheddar. It just doesn't work if GM's can ban certain 'looks' from their games.

You will be able to "report" people on the OneVTT for badwrongfun. Guaranteed...

This micro transaction concern is much ado about nothing.

No it's not.

People have seen and experienced the effects of various types of microtransactions, and their long term effects on play culture in other gaming media.

Their concerns are not coming out of some chicken little, sky-is-falling vacuume.

"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.

^This^

Just because RPG's are a different type of gaming media, that does not invalidate the well known effects of microtransactions on other types of games.

Do we know the full effect that this will have on D&D play culture? No.

But to use that unknown factor as a reason to dismiss the perfectly valid concerns of those who have seen the effects of microtransactions on other gaming cultures is a very dismissive head-in-the-sand response.

Thank you. Now maybe the gaslighting will stop.

One can dream...

 

[Oofta]

I agree.




Also agree.





Well, this is the thing about the upcoming OneVTT ecosystem that we don't know for sure...

But, this:


This will be enforced in some fashion. It'll have to be.

The OneVTT ecosystem is being set up specifically to get that 'post-sale' player cheddar. It just doesn't work if GM's can ban certain 'looks' from their games.

You will be able to "report" people on the OneVTT for badwrongfun. Guaranteed...




No it's not.

People have seen and experienced the effects of various types of microtransactions, and their long term effects on play culture in other gaming media.

Their concerns are not coming out of some chicken little, sky-is-falling vacuume.




^This^

Just because RPG's are a different type of gaming media, that does not invalidate the well known effects of microtransactions on other types of games.

Do we know the full effect that this will have on D&D play culture? No.

But to use that unknown factor as a reason to dismiss the perfectly valid concerns of those who have seen the effects of microtransactions on other gaming cultures is a very dismissive head-in-the-sand response.




One can dream...

I'll concede that it's EDIT: not much ado about nothing when someone explains how anything other than (potentially) cosmetic changes can't just be banned by the DM. Even for cosmetic changes if someone joins a Ravenloft game with Mr Sparkles, as a DM if I care enough I can tell them to change to something appropriate or kick them from the game.

I just don't see what the issue is. D&D is not an MMO. About the only subset of users that could potentially be negatively affected would be professional DMs who feel like they have to keep up with the latest bling for their online games. IMHO it's much ado about nothing. Maybe that's a head-in-the-sand response. If it is, please explain how a DM will lose control of the game and what is allowed. I just don't see it happening.

 

[Maxperson]

This sounds highly unlikely.

Does the foundry stuff pull data from dndbeyond now? That's against the current TOS. Has there even been a C&D?

what are they going to do? Kick me off for asking a player to leave my game? How are they going to prove it's cause I don't wan't the cheater cloak in my game? It's cause I want to restrict things to my campaign and it isn't in it. Cmon.

I don't think that they will sell "cheater" cloaks. I do think they will sell things like cloaks made of moving flame as a cosmetic, though. People are going to microtransact for nifty looking things for their PCs and they are going to want to be able to use those wherever they go.

 

[Oofta]

I don't think that they will sell "cheater" cloaks. I do think they will sell things like cloaks made of moving flame as a cosmetic, though. People are going to microtransact for nifty looking things for their PCs and they are going to want to be able to use those wherever they go.

People also want to use 3PP materials that are frequently broken right now. Doesn't mean they are automatically accepted at the table.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Could One-D&D be used to play a virtual version of "Hero Quest", or another D&D miniature board game?

One D&D could offer alternate solo mini-games, style ones for mobiles or laptop. These titles would share the same cosmetic DLCs.

If I am a collector or a speculator, I would rather to buy physical products.

Now WotC's strategy bets for "slow but safe", allowing 3PPs the risks with new ideas.

WotC should get ready for the day a saturation of fantasy could cause players searching other genres: horror, sci-fi or superheroes. And I suppose Hasbro is wishing a VTT for modern and sci-fi settings to can make money with no-fantasy franchises, something like the collabs in Fortnite.

* Hasbro should worry about potential rivals in the digital market, the board-simulation videogames. When the look retro is intentional then a powerful graphic potence is not necessary. There are videogames of card-game simulations, even they were gifted free by Epic-Games Launcher. But here D&D has got the advantage to create your own quests is easier and simpler. D&D is about creating your own stories and worlds.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

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$.

That's stupid and is never going to happen. It just shows paranoia with no basis in fact or history.

 

[Maxperson]

People also want to use 3PP materials that are frequently broken right now. Doesn't mean they are automatically accepted at the table.

This is a False Equivalence. Microtransactions from WotC are not at all the same as third party products which are not officially a part of 5e at all. The DM denying clerics is a hell of a lot different than a DM denying Howard the Duck people from Duck, Duck, Goose Enterprises.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Lots of you are just giving off paranoia that has no basis. Just pessimistic assumptions with no actual history to back it up.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

This is a False Equivalence. Microtransactions from WotC are not at all the same as third party products which are not officially a part of 5e at all. The DM denying clerics is a hell of a lot different than a DM denying Howard the Duck people from Duck, Duck, Goose Enterprises.

Pretty sure any microtransations will be the equivalent of minis ASSUMING THEY EVEN EXIST there is no evidence that mircotransations are even coming at this point.