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<blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8725389" data-attributes="member: 71699"><p>I was thinking over the investment aspect that you touched on in a previous post. We know that of all TTRPG published only a small percentage return on investment. So were WotC to broaden their portfolio of 5th products, foreseeably they will have hits and misses.</p><p></p><p>For me it's important to keep in mind that investment in each project is not a guarantee of profitability, and at the same time, the more projects one has underway the greater ones ongoing expenses are. That implies that successful portfolio management will be a balancing act where one consciously wants to avoid having too many projects underway at any one time. One leaves money on the table - as some put it - in view of the risks of chasing that money.</p><p></p><p>Product development is always a gamble. Investment can be done at future risk by borrowing the money, or by reducing this year's profits, or by spending some of the accumulated profit from previous periods. Wherever the money comes from, their is a chance of not making a return. It would take more data to figure out, but it's possible WotC are investing the <em>maximum </em>that is reasonable to invest given the size and dynamics of their market.</p><p></p><p>Regarding the indie market, the numbers look something like this. Of each ten indies going into their own production, about seven will fail to break-even, two will break-even, and one will return on investment. Those three (and most likely that one) will be far better known than the failing seven. This may give the appearance that larger publishers should put more product into market (because of all those indie successes!)... but this is a false appearance. If they did so - if they greatly broadened their portfolios - they would have markedly diminishing returns and see more outright finanical failures. If they indeed put millions behind every one of those additional products, they would bankrupt themselves speedily, thus product quality would also dive (because they would not back them all equally.)</p><p></p><p>So were I including making as much revenue as possible (no opportunity untaken) in my definition for special, then I would need to understand this tightrope better to judge. It's very possible that WotC have taken an optimal position in regards to investment in new 5th edition products. And it's also possible that in doing so, they take the Nintendo position of aiming to guarantee players of their games higher quality products.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="clearstream, post: 8725389, member: 71699"] I was thinking over the investment aspect that you touched on in a previous post. We know that of all TTRPG published only a small percentage return on investment. So were WotC to broaden their portfolio of 5th products, foreseeably they will have hits and misses. For me it's important to keep in mind that investment in each project is not a guarantee of profitability, and at the same time, the more projects one has underway the greater ones ongoing expenses are. That implies that successful portfolio management will be a balancing act where one consciously wants to avoid having too many projects underway at any one time. One leaves money on the table - as some put it - in view of the risks of chasing that money. Product development is always a gamble. Investment can be done at future risk by borrowing the money, or by reducing this year's profits, or by spending some of the accumulated profit from previous periods. Wherever the money comes from, their is a chance of not making a return. It would take more data to figure out, but it's possible WotC are investing the [I]maximum [/I]that is reasonable to invest given the size and dynamics of their market. Regarding the indie market, the numbers look something like this. Of each ten indies going into their own production, about seven will fail to break-even, two will break-even, and one will return on investment. Those three (and most likely that one) will be far better known than the failing seven. This may give the appearance that larger publishers should put more product into market (because of all those indie successes!)... but this is a false appearance. If they did so - if they greatly broadened their portfolios - they would have markedly diminishing returns and see more outright finanical failures. If they indeed put millions behind every one of those additional products, they would bankrupt themselves speedily, thus product quality would also dive (because they would not back them all equally.) So were I including making as much revenue as possible (no opportunity untaken) in my definition for special, then I would need to understand this tightrope better to judge. It's very possible that WotC have taken an optimal position in regards to investment in new 5th edition products. And it's also possible that in doing so, they take the Nintendo position of aiming to guarantee players of their games higher quality products. [/QUOTE]
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