NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 8940554" data-attributes="member: 6801845">TLDR version: some clueless manager making stupid decisions is more likely than an attempted takeover of the TTRPG hobby.For #3 ... I think people infer malicious intent when the reality is just as likely, if not more likely, incompetence and a lack of understanding of what the reaction would be.To someone who doesn't understand the culture, exposing the brand to some white nationalist BS D&D 3PP is a risk. Especially after the nuTsr backlash, the risk of this crap negatively affecting the brand (even if it can't be officially labeled D&D) popped up on someone's radar. Add in the possibility of someone suing for stealing intellectual property even if unintentionally, and the idea that someone can make millions off the brand. All of this could easily be the the facts. The VTT limits were a clumsy (and idiotic) attempt to keep their product unique, but also something a person with no clue of how VTTs work would suggest. So perhaps some ignorant pencil pusher really did just want to protect the brand and get some revenue from companies reliant on D&D for their product sales. That, and there's nothing stopping another PF selling more than WOTC in their minds.It wasn't necessarily nefarious, incompetence  by someone in HASBRO upper management is, IMHO, more likely. There was no plan to somehow simultaneously steal everyone's ideas while also shutting down all 3PP. Idiotic? Unforced error? Sure. HASBRO is looking for the next Transformer franchise. They care more about the brand image than book sales. Some management types had to be forced to see reality which took time and a survey.There are many moving parts to a big corporation, not all of them know what they're doing. This whole thing just exposed WOTC as the big company that they are. They  don't care about me as an individual, companies of a certain size never do. None of this means they were attempting a hostile takeover of the entire hobby. First, they could only affect one segment of TTRPGs.  Second, why would they bother? From a corporate perspective, movies, video games and streaming shows are where the money is at.</blockquote>

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