WotC Hasbro CEO Chris Cox talks about D&D on NPRs Here & Now. Topics include Layoffs and OGL.

[Charlaquin]

I think there's an important shade of difference here. Specifically that WotC's made-up reason for trying to revoke the OGL only seemed more legitimate because they owned it.

Well, no, it seemed more legitimate because of the way the OGL was worded. The phrasing left room for an argument to be made that they could replace the license with an updated version. Even if it wouldn’t have held up, they could have tried to make the argument and then their size would theoretically intimidate smaller creators too much to challenge it. That same ambiguity doesn’t exist in the phrasing of the CC, so they would have a harder time using that tactic. Moreover, it wouldn’t just be small RPG publishers who had an interest in fighting if they did attempt it. Much bigger companies than WotC rely on the CC, so the whole “no one will challenge us because we have more money” strategy isn’t really an option.

 

[mamba]

TSR would NEVER and I really mean NEVER EVER even consider making an OGL.

agreed, but they are not exactly being known for smart business decisions…

 

[FitzTheRuke]

agreed, but they are not exactly being known for smart business decisions…

No kidding!

 

[Charlaquin]

That is something I would primarily attribute to visibility of female players in streaming, rather than D&D rulebooks. Note that i am not saying WotC hasn't helped in the streaming visibility part -- they have. And I think D&D books are certainly less off putting to women and girls now than they were in the Elmore Cheesecake Era, but I think the main draw is the women rocking it in livestreamed games.

There are probably a lot of factors at play. Certainly increased visibility is a huge one, probably the most significant one. Another, though undoubtedly smaller factor, is the increase in acceptance of more modes of gender expression. There has long been a disproportionately large amount of queer gamers, but a lot more of us feel safe enough to be open about it now than ever have before.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm 100% sure that the OGL was massively beneficial to WotC, and those that wrote it knew that it would be. (Though I disagree with @Parmandur that it was ever cynical - a better phrase would be calculated. It was a work of marketing genius.)

That typical short-sighted company suits might look at other companies making money with "our game" and be (very short-sighted) jealous enough to think that the money would somehow come back their way if they rid themselves of it? That's just typical short-sighted foolishness of middle and upper management-types. It's not new, it's not surprising.

One of the reasons that I'm constantly baffled by those that go on about "trust" being "lost" with WotC. WotC is not a person! It's a company. As such there are people that are "on our side" (in that they want to produce a good game that we all enjoy playing) and people that are not (in that they would like to reach into our wallets and take our money without giving us anything in return). And people in-between.

Some idiot(s) thought that revoking the OGL was a good idea. They were powerful enough in the company to almost succeed. They were proven to be wrong. Could someone in the future be dumb enough to try again? Maybe. But for now, it's over - it was a bad idea and the company (currently) knows it.

There's no trust to be had and no trust to be lost.

I fully agree with everything in this post.

I suppose a more accurate phrasing of the OGL is that it was a cpld-vlooded calculation based on a sophisticated game theory mathematical model to grow shareholder value by undermining the very possibility of competing RPG systems (both a atated goal and an actual measurable achievement of the OGL)...which I shorthanded as "cynical," but I grant that is overly simplistic.

 

[Parmandur]

agreed, but they are not exactly being known for smart business decisions…

But even a competently run company would barely ever approach something like the OGL: WotC having so many high level mathematicians on hand at the tike and Dancey being able to translate game theory models into business presentations made it possible.

 

[jerryrice4949]

I'm 100% sure that the OGL was massively beneficial to WotC, and those that wrote it knew that it would be. (Though I disagree with @Parmandur that it was ever cynical - a better phrase would be calculated. It was a work of marketing genius.)

That typical short-sighted company suits might look at other companies making money with "our game" and be (very short-sighted) jealous enough to think that the money would somehow come back their way if they rid themselves of it? That's just typical short-sighted foolishness of middle and upper management-types. It's not new, it's not surprising.

One of the reasons that I'm constantly baffled by those that go on about "trust" being "lost" with WotC. WotC is not a person! It's a company. As such there are people that are "on our side" (in that they want to produce a good game that we all enjoy playing) and people that are not (in that they would like to reach into our wallets and take our money without giving us anything in return). And people in-between.

Some idiot(s) thought that revoking the OGL was a good idea. They were powerful enough in the company to almost succeed. They were proven to be wrong. Could someone in the future be dumb enough to try again? Maybe. But for now, it's over - it was a bad idea and the company (currently) knows it.

There's no trust to be had and no trust to be lost.

Agree with most of what you said. As for the OGL your certainty is not proof. Again while I believe the OGL benefited WoTC, there is no way to prove or disprove that. And people on these forums tend to have a bias since they like and rabidly support the OGL so we probably aren’t the best people for a nuanced view.

 

[Ancalagon]

I didn’t think he had a great answer at all to the “how can you receive a huge bonus when 20% of your employees were laid off” question.

That question is not Hasbro specific, it's a question about capitalism. This is a story that has happened hundreds of time by now

 

[Yaarel]

Agree with most of what you said. As for the OGL your certainty is not proof. Again while I believe the OGL benefited WoTC, there is no way to prove or disprove that. And people on these forums tend to have a bias since they like and rabidly support the OGL so we probably aren’t the best people for a nuanced view.

There is history.

Post-Gygax TSR, an attempt to control the Japanese D&D market, 4e killing OGL, and recently 5e ap-OGL-ypse, all demonstrate that the impulse to tighten an IP control actually self-destroys the D&D business.

Moreover, the origins of D&D itself inherently includes fandom culture and innovations.

 

[mamba]

But even a competently run company would barely ever approach something like the OGL: WotC having so many high level mathematicians on hand at the tike and Dancey being able to translate game theory models into business presentations made it possible.

maybe, but it really is about network effects, that is not something only brainy math types should understand. Especially people from MS should too, as it is why Windows is so successful, not its quality