This seems like cannibalism...
Reported.
How can WoTC get new players buying Essentials?
- Thread starter S'mon
- Start date
)
Why I oughtta!
*shakes fist*
*shakes fist*
falcarrion
First Post
I think the problem is promotion. Back in the 80's and 90's you had Dragon magazine to promote DnD stuff. You had articles on new products, articles written by gamers and ad's that that promoted all kinds of stuff RPG related.
Now if you want to see this article you need to subscribe. If you want to see this...subscribe..... subscribe...subscribe. The more you try to push me to subscribe the less likely I will. They need to open the gates once again to the gamers. Let some of the gamers write articles and let these be read by everyone and not just subscribers. The next great name in RPGs can be just an article away. The more you lock down the ddi website the more people you will loose.
Now lets talk about pdf's. You need to get over being bitten, and start producing products that can be used in various electronic products.
Just think of what could have been sold by now if they didn't grab there football and run home and refused to play any more. Either get with the times or dwindle and die. We will still be playing long after Wotc has faded away, and playing what ever version we wish.
Now if you want to see this article you need to subscribe. If you want to see this...subscribe..... subscribe...subscribe. The more you try to push me to subscribe the less likely I will. They need to open the gates once again to the gamers. Let some of the gamers write articles and let these be read by everyone and not just subscribers. The next great name in RPGs can be just an article away. The more you lock down the ddi website the more people you will loose.
Now lets talk about pdf's. You need to get over being bitten, and start producing products that can be used in various electronic products.
Just think of what could have been sold by now if they didn't grab there football and run home and refused to play any more. Either get with the times or dwindle and die. We will still be playing long after Wotc has faded away, and playing what ever version we wish.
Lalato
Adventurer
falcarrion... you do realize that there is content on the WotC site that isn't behind the DDI paywall, right? Beyond that the forums on the WotC site have a lot of gamer generated content. Here's a quick link to the news and other content on the site... Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Archive
That said, I agree that WotC could do a better job of promoting some things... and they could do a better job of communicating to their audience (which they have been doing better as of late).
That said, I agree that WotC could do a better job of promoting some things... and they could do a better job of communicating to their audience (which they have been doing better as of late).
falcarrion
First Post
Yes I do. But that doesn't change the way I see the site going. It is one of the reasons I cancelled my subscription. I do play 4e and 3.5. As a matter of fact I have played every edition there has been. I have been playing since the early eighties. I have seen all the ups and downs of TSR and Wotc. And right now I don't know if I will ever buy anything from them again. I'm not happy with the path that Wotc is now headed down. My friends who have famlies and children starting RPg's are learning 3.5. And that is a big problem for Wotc. A problem I feel Wotc has turned there back on.
Ok, so first off - you know all those awesome things you mention in Dragon magazine? You realize that also required being a subscriber of the magazine, right? That content in the pages of the print magazine and content behind the subscription wall on the website is virtually the same thing, right?
And as for seeing that sort of thing on the website, I think you are really off base as well. Every single product that comes out has a ton of free previews devoted to it, usually twice a week in the month leading up to it. Every month they post a previews column with excerpts from material coming out over the next several months. More previews tend to show up in the monthly Ampersand.
And they have just recently added a seris of free feature articles. Rule of Three, which answers 3 questions from gamers every week. Legends and Lore, which looks back over fundamental elements of the game. The Dungeon Master Experience, which provides free advice about DMing. We also regularly see D&D Alumni that provides the background on iconic elements of the game. Design and Development, which explains how certain game elements were created.
And they often highlight D&D elements in the community. D&D Kids which talks about experiences teaching young gamers. Interviews with writers, features about D&D related books, spotlights on D&D showing up in magazine articles, tv shows, etc.
Right now, they are having some serious issues with the magazines, and providing the proper amount of content to subscribers. But as for what you get for free? There is an abundance of content. Not in the pages of Dragon magazine, not behind the subscription wall, but freely available for everyone to read.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
Subscribers could get that info, but so could non-subscribers buying at their FLGS or, in my case, even my local supermarket and public library. I could also lend my magazine to other members of my gaming group so they too could look up the products in the ad space. The print magazine was definitely a better resource on those factors than the website behind the paywall.
On the other hand, though, I'd say the free content on the website is far more accessible than content in a magazine, even if you can borrow that magazine from a friend or browse it in the gaming store.
And, mind you, in terms of bringing gamer's attention to Essentials, I'd say WotC has tried that line of approach - such as with the Essentials advertisements found in Castle Ravenloft and Wrath of Ashardalon, for example.
TheAuldGrump
First Post
When Essentials came out I was convinced that WotC would have a big seller, in particular of the Red Box.
Going by my local Borders I was not only wrong, I was dead wrong.
Aside from a quip along the lines of 'give a copy out with every box of Cracker Jack' I have no real advice - at this time, at the local Borders neither 4e nor 4e Essentials is selling all that well. Pathfinder is selling better than anything except the boxed sets of tiles (?!).
While I do not like 4e I do think that continued visibility of the D&D brand is essential for the health of RPGs in general.
Putting adverts in a $40 box is not going to do much good - the purchaser is almost certainly already a customer, so it promotes nothing.
The only thing that I can think of is promotional fliers, which is an expense with no direct income.
A $7 magazine is a different story, but at this point I think that the ship has sailed - there are no gaming magazines left to speak of. Starting up a new one is unlikely to happen. The ability to pick up a mag and flip through its pages while the 'zine was sitting on the shelf was a lot more casual. Maybe adverts in SF magazines? Though circulation of those is way down as well.
The Auld Grump
Going by my local Borders I was not only wrong, I was dead wrong.
Aside from a quip along the lines of 'give a copy out with every box of Cracker Jack' I have no real advice - at this time, at the local Borders neither 4e nor 4e Essentials is selling all that well. Pathfinder is selling better than anything except the boxed sets of tiles (?!).
While I do not like 4e I do think that continued visibility of the D&D brand is essential for the health of RPGs in general.
Putting adverts in a $40 box is not going to do much good - the purchaser is almost certainly already a customer, so it promotes nothing.
The only thing that I can think of is promotional fliers, which is an expense with no direct income.
A $7 magazine is a different story, but at this point I think that the ship has sailed - there are no gaming magazines left to speak of. Starting up a new one is unlikely to happen. The ability to pick up a mag and flip through its pages while the 'zine was sitting on the shelf was a lot more casual. Maybe adverts in SF magazines? Though circulation of those is way down as well.
The Auld Grump
Similar Threads
