If Hasbro Pulls the Plug....

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'll eat my hat, because I highly doubt it will happen.

...but, just to be on the safe side, get yourself a hat made of bacon.* And freeze it.




* I recommend getting it made in the shape of a beret, flat driving cap, or a military folding hat (a.k.a. a Garrison or Wedge cap).

 

[Rechan]

It would be bad for RPGs in general, as for a lot of people, D&D is fantasy roleplaying, and if they read on the news it is dead, they might never find the other games, like Pathfinder, or C&C and more.

Also it would mean fewer people get into the hobby simply becuase D&d is the Gateway RPG.

 

[Mark CMG]

Also it would mean fewer people get into the hobby simply becuase D&d is the Gateway RPG.

That theory would certainly be tested.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Meh?

All it means is that their will be a new gateway RPG... who knows maybe some video game property*, comic book, or anime might end up being the new gateway into the hobby.


* My prediction is that it will never be Final Fantasy since Final Fantasy changes things up every game which means if any company tries to make a trpg analog to their product it most likely be World of Warcraft (again). I wouldn't be surprised if the incentive to by the book would be "an exclusive pet" or item.

 

[caudor]

I would certainly be sad...that's about the only way to put it. Yeah, D&D is just one game, but it is something I've been doing since I was 18 (I'm 48 right now).

I would find something else to play, but I sure would miss the D&D brand being available.

 

[scourger]

Savage Worlds.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

All it means is that their will be a new gateway RPG... who knows maybe some video game property*, comic book, or anime might end up being the new gateway into the hobby.

"Might" being the key word...

 

[William Ronald]

That theory would certainly be tested.

Double post.

 

[William Ronald]

That theory would certainly be tested.

Pathfinder already has the beginner's box and a fairly successful organized play program in Pathfinder Society. Other games could create their own introductory boxes and other ways of luring in games. I am not sure if the GSL for 4E would allow someone to create a clone, but I am sure that someone could create a game taking the best ideas that they are allowed to from 4E and run with it.

I would be said if Hasbro shuts down the Dungeons and Dragons line, perhaps only using it for video game products and licensing. I doubt that the company would sell the license, as they held on to G.I. Joe and Gem and the Holograms for decades to make more money off those properties. Hasbro acquired WotC for Magic the Gathering and Pokemon. Dungeons and Dragons has always been less of an item on their balance sheets. So, I think that the chances of D&D being shut down is far likely than a sale.

Still, I believe that we will keep our hobby alive regardless of what happens with any single gaming company. I believe it will exist because of us -- whether we are players, GMs, or game designers.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I agree that the OGL will keep the game itself alive, at least in the form of Pathfinder, DCC, and various OSR games.

I think that 4e itself would die - the GSL is not forgiving enough for a 3PP to create a directly compatible game, though I suspect that someone could and would create something close enough for conversion using the OGL - 'Adrenaline Surges' in place of 'Healing Surges' and the like. But that it won't be something showing up at Books-A-Million or the like.

It is mainly the fact that D&D is the public face that RPGs wear. While I really hope that Pathfinder will eventually get to that point, I don't think that it is there yet.

A related question - how many 3PP 4e books have shown up at bookstores? Not at gamestores, but places like B&N? I have seen a few 3PP products for Pathfinder at Borders, before Borders went away (sniffle), but I cannot remember ever seeing any 3pp for 4e there.

The Auld Grump