Interview with Scott Rouse, Chris Perkins & Bill Slavicsek

[Piratecat]

It's a conspiracy! Scott has a good reason for --

Oh, wait.

Carry on, then. And welcome back!

 

[Khairn]

Montana

I took a much needed vacation to visit family in Montana. I took my 4 yo son fishing, did some fishing my self, and never looked at my computer once the whole time.

Welcome back Scott! I hope you had a nice relaxing time. But since you are now back, would it be possible to answer a few outstanding questions.

So far, the only pieces of firm information about the DI that has been shared is that ...

-It will be online content
-It will have some kind of subscription price associated with it
-WotC will still be utilizing the services of freelance writers
- And that it will launch sometime after the last edition of the magazine has hit the stores.

Since the announcement of the magazines cancellation and the pending launch of the DI, there have been thousands of posts from excited customers suggesting content that they would like to see, thousands of posts from passionate gamers with opinions on what WotC must certainly be providing, and thousands of posts from upset gamers with worries, concerns, fears and doubts about the new DI business and its impact on how we game. Despite all those many posts there has been precious little about the DI that has been confirmed by WotC.

Is there anything that you can share with us now that will answer any of the many questions posted on this and other threads about the DI?
When is WotC planning to start sharing solid information about the DI?
Can you tell us when the start of the PR and advertising campaign will begin?


Thanks in advance

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I would expect Gen Con for a date for more info. Any chance we might get something earlier.

 

[irdeggman]

Hope you had a good time Scott. Family is always more important than anything related to work.

Did you pick up a pair of chrome encrusted tweezers?

 

[Hussar]

When is WotC planning to start sharing solid information about the DI?
Can you tell us when the start of the PR and advertising campaign will begin?

Honestly, I think these are a pair of the best questions I've seen to date. We can speculate good and bad all we like, but, basically, we're spinning our wheels without a little more information. Is there a scheduled date for this?

 

[Khairn]

Honestly, I think these are a pair of the best questions I've seen to date. We can speculate good and bad all we like, but, basically, we're spinning our wheels without a little more information. Is there a scheduled date for this?

I kind of thought the same. But apparently neither sharing information, or advising customers when they might begin to share information is part of WotC's current plan for managing customer expectations and the launch of the DI.

Its really kind of puzzling. Has to make you wonder why ?

 

[TheYeti1775]

When is WotC planning to start sharing solid information about the DI?
Can you tell us when the start of the PR and advertising campaign will begin?

Honestly, I think these are a pair of the best questions I've seen to date. We can speculate good and bad all we like, but, basically, we're spinning our wheels without a little more information. Is there a scheduled date for this?

Yes many of us would like to know.

 

[Hussar]

I kind of thought the same. But apparently neither sharing information, or advising customers when they might begin to share information is part of WotC's current plan for managing customer expectations and the launch of the DI.

Its really kind of puzzling. Has to make you wonder why ?

Well, the simplest answer would be that the launch isn't for three months, so, it's a trifle early.

That and the fact that they are under no obligation to provide any sort of timetable.

/me very tired of conspiracy theory, "sky is falling" type speculation.

 

[Khairn]

Well, the simplest answer would be that the launch isn't for three months, so, it's a trifle early.

That and the fact that they are under no obligation to provide any sort of timetable.

/me very tired of conspiracy theory, "sky is falling" type speculation.

The move to DI is responsible for the cancellation of 2 iconic RPG magazines, will herald a dramatic and fundamental shift in the RPG community, and based on the scant information provided will exclude a good part of WotC's own customer base. Next to the announcement of 3E and the OGL/SRD, this is IMHO the most important and dramatic change in the gaming industry over the last 20 years.

I know WotC are under no obligation to advise their customers about anything. Having said that, I would have expected that they would consider it a priority, especially given both the dramatic change in business models that the DI represents and their stated intent to improve communication with their already "online" customer base.

In response to a question on the D&D forums regarding why WotC hasn't been willing to share even the slightest information about the DI, WotC_Logan stated

People want all the information on our digital content so they can decide whether they will accept it or hate it. Now is not the time for people to make that decision.

Based on that comment I guess we will all just have to wait until WotC feels that we are somehow "ready" to make that decision.

This doesn't look to me like a company making an effort to improve communication.

No "sky is falling" ... no "conspiracy" talk ... just a disgruntled customer recognizing that WotC doesn't have to share anything, but hoping that they could at least give us an idea as to when we can anticipate the communication to start.

 

[Hussar]

The move to DI is responsible for the cancellation of 2 iconic RPG magazines, will herald a dramatic and fundamental shift in the RPG community, and based on the scant information provided will exclude a good part of WotC's own customer base. Next to the announcement of 3E and the OGL/SRD, this is IMHO the most important and dramatic change in the gaming industry over the last 20 years.

Ok, I'll bite.

Why?

Why would this be that important. From Paizo's own numbers, only a tiny fraction of gamers actually buy either magazine. This isn't even going to register on the radar for the majority of gamers. Sure, the magazines are iconic, but, they haven't been the "go to" source for gaming in many years.

I love Dragon and Dungeon, but, I'm also under no illusions as to how much of an impact they actually have.

I would also point out that the magazines are not cancelled. They are moving to a different format.

Also, why would this exclude a large percentage of WOTC's own consumer base? Even back in 99 when WOTC did the surveys for 3e, they found that half of players had regular access to the internet. Do you honestly think that this has gone down in the eight or ten years since they did the survey?

especially given both the dramatic change in business models that the DI represents

What dramatic change in business models? They are still going to be cranking out books same as usual. The only people directly affected by this decision are those of us who bought Dragon and/or Dungeon. We are not a majority. We're actually a pretty small minority. From WOTC's perspective, absolutely nothing has changed. From Paizo's perspective, this represents a huge change. From the perspective of most gamers, this is a ripple and that's about it. WOTC's production schedule remains unchanged.