WotC Hasbro CEO Chris Cox, "I would say that the underlying thesis of our D&D business is all about digital,”

[Alzrius]

To be fair, the focus on digital is something we've known for a while now. It's not like this latest quote is a "mask slips off" moment; we got that back in January (if not long before), with all the leaks about the focus on the VTT.

At this point, there's been enough reveals, leaks, quotes, and analyses to make it clear that what we already knew is, in fact, actually the case: that while the guys working on the game care about it (at least somewhat), the people actually running the show see it as a brand to be exploited for profit-generation, and they think the best way to do that is with a big digital push (among several other initiatives, such as the movie, licensing out a few high-profile novels, etc.).

Ultimately, while the people writing the books are doing the best they can (albeit as a fractious collective rather than a unified whole), the game is ultimately going to be moved according to profitability more than artistry. Which has always been the case, but now it's being done by C-suite executives who don't understand their own product, rather than gamers who were playing at knowing how to run a business.

 

[darjr]

I cannot see the vast majority of the video game crowd playing pen and paper D&D. Some definitely will but even in the egame arena CRPGs are a bit of a minority sport. That said, my YouTube feel is currently full of gamer channels that said they would never play a turn based game praising Baldur's Gate.

Not everyone will like ttrpgs, that’s a fact. The goal is to find those who will who haven’t yet discovered that they do.

If this helps that, that’s great.

 

[Scribe]

Descent in to Avernus is referenced.

I meant more through D&D since BG1.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

To be fair, the focus on digital is something we've known for a while now. It's not like this latest quote is a "mask slips off" moment; we got that back in January (if not long before), with all the leaks about the focus on the VTT.

At this point, there's been enough reveals, leaks, quotes, and analyses to make it clear that what we already knew is, in fact, actually the case: that while the guys working on the game care about it (at least somewhat), the people actually running the show see it as a brand to be exploited for profit-generation, and they think the best way to do that is with a big digital push (among several other initiatives, such as the movie, licensing out a few high-profile novels, etc.).

Ultimately, while the people writing the books are doing the best they can (albeit as a fractious collective rather than a unified whole), the game is ultimately going to be moved according to profitability more than artistry. Which has always been the case, but now it's being done by C-suite executives who don't understand their own product, rather than gamers who were playing at knowing how to run a business.

We do not know that the current team at Wizards is fractious?, all I have seen here are references to the team some time in the past.

 

[Reynard]

I think DMs are going to have to up their game to meet expectations of those who come in via BG3. It is the "Mercer effect" all over again.

 

[Alzrius]

We do not know that the current team at Wizards is fractious?, all I have seen here are references to the team some time in the past.

That was a reference to the thread I posted about Ben Riggs' seminar at Gen Con. While that was about 4E, he maintained that the situation at WotC then (political maneuvering, competing factions, etc.) was the same now.

Looking over a lot of what WotC has done in the last few years (e.g. the OGL fiasco, Kate Welch's joining WotC and then leaving after working on one book, Orion Black's scathing comments about the workplace there, Chris Cao's reportedly being upset at the acquisition of D&D Beyond, the hadozee incident, etc.), it all seems to indicate that they're still the team that can't shoot straight, in that there's no single point of leadership and a lot of the employees are working on their own visions of the game rather than operating as a unified whole.

Or at least, that's an explanation that I think seems to fit most with what's been happening.

 

[CommodoreKong]

Well yeah, they spent a ton on DnD Beyond and the VTT looks like they have a bunch of programmers and artists working on it. It's clear they're spending a ton on digital and are expecting that to pay off.

 

[Clint_L]

The announcement for OneD&D was very explicitly about three pillars: updating 5e, completing integration with DnDBeyond, and the development of an integrated virtual tabletop. The latter two of which are digital. So this isn't something they have been trying to hide.

 

[mamba]

Imagine thinking they lost three billion dollars on that deal. Sly Flourish is not exactly a business analyst. Pepa Pig alone has generated more than that in sales since the deal was done.

Did Peppa Pig come with that deal? I don’t think so. They bought something for 4000M and are selling it for 500M, that is a 3.5B loss unless they bought more than they are selling now

Sly might not be an analyst, but Forbes should have them, and they write the same thing “Hasbro is selling its eOne television and movie business to Lionsgate in an approximately $500 million deal, after having paid $4 billion for the company four years ago.”

 

[UngainlyTitan]

That was a reference to the thread I posted about Ben Riggs' seminar at Gen Con. While that was about 4E, he maintained that the situation at WotC then (political maneuvering, competing factions, etc.) was the same now.

Looking over a lot of what WotC has done in the last few years (e.g. the OGL fiasco, Kate Welch's joining WotC and then leaving after working on one book, Orion Black's scathing comments about the workplace there, Chris Cao's reportedly being upset at the acquisition of D&D Beyond, the hadozee incident, etc.), it all seems to indicate that they're still the team that can't shoot straight, in that there's no single point of leadership and a lot of the employees are working on their own visions of the game rather than operating as a unified whole.

Or at least, that's an explanation that I think seems to fit most with what's been happening.

Ok, I understood the Riggs's comments to be about the D&D team not the company as a whole but though it was just about then.