Here comes Power Booster Packs

[ProdigalTim]

Funny you should bring this up, I've already printed out all my powers and put them in, you guessed it, MtG card sleeves so they don't get messed up.

 

[Praesul]

I appreciate all the well thought-out responses, and perhaps I did react a little harshly to this announcement. To clarify, I do agree that moving away from randomly assorted minis was a very good move and also displayed their response to consumer demand. I am very grateful for that change and look forward to seeing what the minis look like.

All the same, it cannot be ignored that Wizards' cash-cow is its Magic Card line of games. If they are an intelligent business they are going to try and port over some of that business plan to D&D, if it appears possible. I see this ploy of using the cards as an added bonus to the minis as a way of testing if that particular product has enough draw to be a reliable source of income on its own. That is what worries me.

I'm not saying this is currently their plan, but the worst of my fears for D&D would be realized when we start to see rare encounter power cards that are more powerful than those available to the every-day books-only player. I could even see them making various versions of current spells, but simply changing the damage type. I just hope we don't end up in this kind of situation.

 

[Zsig]

All the same, it cannot be ignored that Wizards' cash-cow is its Magic Card line of games. If they are an intelligent business they are going to try and port over some of that business plan to D&D, if it appears possible. I see this ploy of using the cards as an added bonus to the minis as a way of testing if that particular product has enough draw to be a reliable source of income on its own. That is what worries me.

Thing is, even if that happens, it won't be a problem, at all.

D&D is not a competitive game the same way as MtG. it's not like you're going to see this in game:

DM: "Wait, you can't use that Power."
Player: "Why not?"
DM: "Because you printed it out yourself, it's 'fake' ."
PLayer: " ? "

It doesn't matter, once they release the powers, it'll be known to everyone, and eventually, everyone will have it on pdf form. The very same way we get the powers from the magazines.

 

[James McMurray]

I just hope we don't end up in this kind of situation.

We won't. D&D and MtG are two wholly different animals, despite them both finding a use for card stock. You cannot sell a collectible game when only a spoiler list is needed to play. MtG and similar games get away with it because the pieces of cardboard they sell are the entire game. RPGs don't care how basic or fancy your pen and paper are.

I'm sure that some (perhaps even many) people would buy randomized power cards, but not enough to make it a profitable venture. It's a nonissue.

 

[DMZ2112]

All the same, it cannot be ignored that Wizards' cash-cow is its Magic Card line of games. If they are an intelligent business they are going to try and port over some of that business plan to D&D, if it appears possible.

The fly in the ointment is the "if it appears possible" part. I'm fairly certain that Wizards and Hasbro have done their homework on this -- have probably been doing their homework on this (repeatedly) ever since they bought D&D -- and have learned (repeatedly) what every D&D player has always known:

We're not Magic players. Perhaps more accurately, if we do play Magic, our reasons for doing so are completely different than the reasons why we play D&D.

This is why randomized miniatures were such a poor idea to begin with, and why so few D&D RPG players seem to have taken to the D&D wargame. It's why the online market for de-randomized groups of miniatures (like hobgoblin squads and rat packs) is hopping. It's why Wizards has made this most recent announcement, completely changing how they are marketing one of their major product lines.

After having thought about it for a while, I'm calling this one a win for the common D&Der. Obviously, D&D becoming more like Magic would be a disaster, but this is not the first time the cry has gone up and it likely will not be the last. I'm reasonably confident that Wizards knows that D&D is not and will never be a collectible game (beyond every geek's propensity for expensive leather-bound special editions of books).

 

[Darkwolf71]

Non-randomized PC minis, this is good. Although, I'm not likely to stop using custom painted metal minis, they will be very useful for NPCs or as temps while I paint my latest PCs avatar.

Powers on cards exclusive to mini packs, this is bad. PC enhancements should come in the form of books. Period. If they want to make card sets and profit from them, fine whatever. (I still don't like it but hey, I still have access to the powers themselves.) I don't mind the constant flow of books that I need to buy to stay up-to-date, but to be forced into, 'Man that's a really nice power, where did you get it? Oh it's a mini pack card? I need to buy that... even though I don't need the minis.' This, I do not want.

Added to the Compendium, you say? Great. If I subscribed to DDi, which I don't.

 

[Nail]

If they are an intelligent business they are going to try and port over some of that business plan to D&D, if it appears possible.

Actually, WotC completely missed the boat on this one.

What they should have done is had Power Cards - all At-Will, Encounter, Daily, etc - ready to sell in packs by class, way back in June. WotC knows cardstock; this should have happened ASAP. The fact that they are waiting to produce Power Cards to sell until much later is nothing short of stupid.

Just look at how many people downloaded free, community-produced Power Cards from these boards and the WotC boards. They're all over the place! If you haven't heard of Anders or Grandpa's Card sets, for example, it's 'cause you've not been looking. Just imagine how much money WotC could have made if they had those Power Cards ready to go at 4e launch.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Non-randomized PC minis, this is good. Although, I'm not likely to stop using custom painted metal minis, they will be very useful for NPCs or as temps while I paint my latest PCs avatar.

Powers on cards exclusive to mini packs, this is bad. PC enhancements should come in the form of books. Period. If they want to make card sets and profit from them, fine whatever. (I still don't like it but hey, I still have access to the powers themselves.) I don't mind the constant flow of books that I need to buy to stay up-to-date, but to be forced into, 'Man that's a really nice power, where did you get it? Oh it's a mini pack card? I need to buy that... even though I don't need the minis.' This, I do not want.

Added to the Compendium, you say? Great. If I subscribed to DDi, which I don't.

The problems with books is that so much must be bundled up and sold at once. If a book only has a couple items in it you want, then you may not buy it. Cards can be collected individually and you can print just what you need for your character from the compendium. This model also allows WOTC to release things in smaller parcels. Look at the magazine articles, some here, some there rather than dropping out a full size product once a month.

I think WOTC has done plenty of market research and knows the habits of a lot of gamers. This model makes it easy to always have something new out there and keep constant buzz going about recent releases.

Given the quality of editing on the 4E books, only having to edit a couple pdf pages of material per release is a big plus too. Making sure words are correctly spelled and page references are accurate on a 200+ page book is too much like work.

 

[Darkwolf71]

Cards can be collected individually (No) and you can print just what you need for your character from the compendium (and no).

As I already said, neither option is something I am particularly enthusiastic about.

I think WOTC has done plenty of market research and knows the habits of a lot of gamers. This model makes it easy to always have something new out there and keep constant buzz going about recent releases.

Their research missed the part where I, as a long time WotC customer will likely buy any book they print (with the exeption of FR). But, am unlikely to go out of my way to buy a card that has no hardbound source.

 

[ExploderWizard]

As I already said, neither option is something I am particularly enthusiastic about.

Their research missed the part where I, as a long time WotC customer will likely buy any book they print (with the exeption of FR). But, am unlikely to go out of my way to buy a card that has no hardbound source.

But you are also looking for an actual RPG and won't be in the market for those types of products anyhow. The D&D brand and roleplaying are headed for a messy divorce in not so distant future.