WotC Hasbro Gaming Down 17% But D&D Remains 'Bright Spot'

ICv2 reports on Hasbro's latest quarterly report, noting that "Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons were two bright spots in Hasbro’s Q3, an otherwise tough quarter with sales and earnings both hit by actual and threatened tariffs on goods from China".

Other notes from ICv2:

• Hasbro Gaming, which does not include franchise brands Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering, was down 17%
• Total gaming sales, including Magic and Monopoly, were roughly flat, a big change from the 26% growth in Q2
• WotC has close to a dozen [digital] games in development for delivery over the next five to six years
• Hasbro believes that WotC sales can be doubled over the next five years, “…as we’ve accomplished over the past five years.”

 

[Parmandur]

Hasbro has got an agreement with Epic Games, and this means we could see a Fortnite d20 RPG in the next years. If I say Hasbro wants a new version of d20 it is because I am sure its goal is adapting the franchises from the "Hasbroverse".

Action figures are for preteens or adult collectors, teenages would rather board games or videogames. Today most sold toys are linked with some famous franchise as transformers, star wars or superheroes. Movies and teleseries are a good advertising, but cartoons only for children.

d20 is a dead IP: any future adaption to d20 rules by Wizards will likely be dubbed "Dungeons & Dragons" to make it clear to the market.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

WotC needs a d20M, not only for an adaptation of the Hasbroverse, but also other different genres like gothic-punk horror, 80's one-man-army action heroes, cops & private eyes, space opera or superheroes. And a d20M can be the guinea pig to test new but risky ideas, for example a different list of abilities scores (for example adding courage), one of the main sacred cows of D&D. Nor even retroclones dared to change this.

 

[Umbran]

WotC needs a d20M...

When I need a thing, that's a strong statement. I need air. I need food and water, and clothing. There's heirarchy of needs, and some things are lower on the list. I can ignore some needs in the short term. But overall, in the long term if needs are not met, something really bad happens.

I don't see anything really bad happening to WotC for not having a d20 Modern.

 

[Gorgon Zee]

WotC needs a d20M, not only for an adaptation of the Hasbroverse, but also other different genres ...

And a d20M can be the guinea pig to test new but risky ideas ... Not even retroclones dared to change this.

Well, D&D's history of adapting to other genres has been pretty poor. Having so much of the market under your domination, but unable to break out of a single genre (swords and sorcery fantasy) to any large extent despite trying for 20 years doesn't argue it's going to happen time soon. I'd suggest their marketing people have looked at this idea, seen that they've never had any traction, looked at the competition doing a good job outside of S&S fantasy and decided to stick with what works.

In terms of testing new but risky ideas, they've already tried that with 4E. D&D's fan base is strongly resistant to change, and having seen what happened with trying to be different with 4E and comparing it to 5E's huge success at, effectively, doing as little that wasn't part fo the core D&D traditional feel as possible, any decent marketing person will say "Don't try new things; just refine what we have". In other words, learn the "New Coke" lesson.

 

[gyor]

So, the new WotC Austin office is apparently doing electronic game work, on am original IP (not D&D, not Magic). Who knows what they have cooking over there.

I forgot about that. I wonder what they are working on.

 

[gyor]

Sure, entirely possible, but they have some interesting people involved:

"Ohlen, who spent 23 years working for BioWare and Electronic Arts on Dungeons & Dragons video games including Baldur’s Gate, Baldur’s Gate 2 and Neverwinter Nights, as well as bestsellers Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Dragon Age: Origins, will lead the new studio’s creative development of new intellectual properties."

...

"The new subsidiary will work on the creation of original IPs outside of the Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons brands."

Wizards of the Coast Opens Studio in Austin

James Ohlen To Lead Creative Development of New IP

icv2.com

Original IPs outside of D&D and MtG does not proclude the possibility of using D&D 5e rules for an entirely new IP/Setting.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Hasbro has got an agreement with Epic Games, and this means we could see a Fortnite d20 RPG in the next years. If I say Hasbro wants a new version of d20 it is because I am sure its goal is adapting the franchises from the "Hasbroverse".

If you like Fortnite, you play Fortnite. Who the hell would play a tabletop version of that (already dull) video game?

 

[Urriak Uruk]

WotC needs a d20M, not only for an adaptation of the Hasbroverse, but also other different genres like gothic-punk horror, 80's one-man-army action heroes, cops & private eyes, space opera or superheroes. And a d20M can be the guinea pig to test new but risky ideas, for example a different list of abilities scores (for example adding courage), one of the main sacred cows of D&D. Nor even retroclones dared to change this.

There is literally no evidence that any of this is true.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If I am a Hasbro CEO I would use Gamma World to sell action figures or anthropomorphic mutants, but maybe not d20 Future because Disney wouldn't like a rival for its Star Wars cash cow. The d20 system is perfect for a sword & sorcery game as D&D but 3rd Party publishers could give their own feedback about how to create a d20M for higher number of genres. Somebody would like play a d20 version of World of Darkness, but not Monte Cook's one.

Hasbro may be wishing to sell a TTRPG of (marvel?) superheroes, or some famous videogame cash cow, but this is a true challenge for game designers. D20 isn't ready for a "Street Fighters vs Overwatch", and many DMs will want to use their own expys.

 

[darjr]

Disney upset about d20 future eating into its Star Wars cash cow? Now cmon, yer kidding us now, aren’t you.