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Message: <blockquote data-quote="El Mahdi" data-source="post: 5980614" data-attributes="member: 59506">Thank You.  I feel I have the ability to turn a phrase or two also.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> However, responding to a question and not accepting the premise are not the same thing, nor mutually exclusive.    I think you'd be surprised by the lack of a reaction.  I'm certain they already accept this as an immutable truth.  To use your hypothetical: I think Hasbro would be more than happy to extend the right to make accessories for Barbie, especially if making such accessories was economically unfeasable for themselves, but would significantly increase sales of Barbie. Expanding the Market does not exclusively mean "Expanding your own Market".  Especially when one's own revenue stream may have reached it's limit with current offerings (again, hypothetically...I'm not making the case that this is currently so for WotC or our hobby/market).  Expanding the Market for everybody is sometimes the only way to increase one's own potential revenue.  Conversely, making choices that keeps the market small in order to restrict competitors, also restricts the potential of your own revenue.   Of course it's wise to support your own products and market.  I haven't said otherwise.  Business however is not a single aspect endeavor.  Can one expand their revenue even when ignoring some aspects of their business environment...?  Sure.  But one is never going to maximize one's potential without remaining aware of and adressing all aspects of one's business.  Ignoring an aspect that could significantly expand one's profits is foolish.  If one does that, then they'd have no business being in business.    I don't disagree that we players are also one of the best means of expanding our hobby.  I just disagree with you that it isn't WotC's responsibility too. Your OP didn't posit the question: "Is it exclusively WotC's responsibility to bring people into the hobby?"  All you asked was whether it was WotC's responsibility...or ours.  I don't believe it's either/or...it's both. However, I do disagree with some of your assertions, and I agree completely with what you mentioned of your friends beliefs. I don't agree with your statement that the image of D&D as the flagship of RPG's is dilluting.  I'm seeing more and more references to D&D in popular culture than I've ever seen before, including placement and actual play on many popular TV shows (Eureka, Supernatural, and The Big Bang Theory to name a few).  And I've seen casual references (including the name Dungeons & Dragons) on many large prime-time network programs (West Wing, Fringe, Castle, etc.).  This may not be noticable in Europe, but here in the States it's becoming more and more common.  I'd be willing to bet everything I have and everything I ever will have, that the number of non-gamers that have heard of Dungeons & Dragons, and have never heard of RPG's, Role-Playing (in reference to our hobby), or any other such word describing our hobby, are the vast majority. I also know that your belief that games other than D&D have not suffered edition wars is incorrect.  Less vocal or less prominent does not mean non-existant.  You may not have noticed them, but they do exist. As for this:   ...I think the above is an overly narrow vision.  A more accurate statement is: "For some reason, when it comes to anything, people...all people, will at one time or another become petty and pathetic and fight over unimportant issues that can be resolved by understanding and incusiveness." This above all else is why I know, even if I hadn't seen them myself, that edition wars have occured with games other than D&D.  I also find it interesting that you believe our hobby/market/industry is not shrinking (though I have no concrete information if it is or not), while also going on to say that you believe our hobby/market/industry is not expanding...  Your position seems inconsistent.  You seem to contradict yourself to the point I'm not really sure if you think the game is shrinking, expanding, or remaining static...as you seemed to imply all three at different times in your OP.  Like how can there be an unprecedented amount of new companies, yet the market is not expanding...?  If that was true, wouldn't the market collapse...?  Wouldn't it be impossible for new companies to make money if the market is not expanding...?  Or do you feel that new companies are simply dividing up a static pie into more and more pieces, and dilluting revenues for everybody...? Your statements seem to me to display a lack of understanding in how businesses and markets work. Personally, I think our hobby is expanding, though not expanding strongly at the moment.   However, I believe that will significantly change once 5E is released...or at least I hope it will. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f60e.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":cool:" title="Cool    :cool:"  data-smilie="6"data-shortname=":cool:" /></blockquote>

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