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Message: <blockquote data-quote="2WS-Steve" data-source="post: 4041887" data-attributes="member: 3289">I think you misunderstand how network externalities and the Skaff Effect work here.WotC doesn't care if PHB purchasers also buy a copy of Mutant's & Masterminds, they've already sold their PHB.  Their real worry is that the gaming group will, instead of buying into M&M for their supers fix, buy into City of Heroes -- i.e. go from playing tabletop RPGs to playing some other kind of game.  As the market leader, as long as a person is playing RPGs, WotC has a good chance of eventually getting some of that guy's money -- because of network externalities.  So they benefit as long as the overall population of tabletop RPGers is high.  And, while it would be better for WotC financially if everyone was playing D&D, the world is such that there are intermediate levels of what's-good-for-WotC -- and people playing non-WotC tabletop RPGs are at a much higher level of what's-good-for-WotC than people deciding to switch to online poker.M&M certainly doesn't bring as many people into the hobby as D&D, but it probably brings a few, and probably converts more than a few I-don't-play-D&D folks into thinking that maybe they'd give it a try, and every bit helps.  But the likely more significant effect is that games like M&M help reduce defection from the RPG hobby since they satisfy the needs of gamers who want some variety.  And retaining potential customers is as important as gaining potential customers.</blockquote>

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