TSR Just when you thought it was all over.... now there’s a fourth TSR!

In the story that will never end, after having this week turned itself into Wonderfilled, Inc, and deleted its Twitter account, TSR is BACK AGAIN! Like again, again, again, again. Complete with old-school logo! And Michael appears to actually exist!

Michael K. Hovermale says in a press release that an unnamed individual (I’m guessing Stephen Dinehart) apparently ran all the social media accounts for TSR, Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, Ernie Gygax, Justin LaNasa, and Giantlands. He goes on to say that this person has been replaced, and that all posts on those social media accounts are "invalid". There's no mention of Stephen Dinehart's social media accounts though.

Dinehart has left TSR3, taking Giantlands with him. Given that Star Frontiers mentions have been quietly removed a week or so ago, that would leave TSR3.5 without any roleplaying game products, as far as I can tell.

The existing (TSR3} website still says it's WONDERFILED (sic), Inc. However there’s now a NEW one at TSR Hobbies. We’ll call that TSR3.5 for now. I’m struggling to distinguish TSRs from tribbles at this point. They just keep on coming!

TSR - TSR3 Throws In Towel, Rebrands Wonderfilled

In the news story that never ends, after reversing its position earlier and admitting that it was NOT the original TSR reincarnated, the new TSR company, embroiled in acrimony for the last two weeks, and having blamed the widespread criticism it has received on Wizards of the Coast, has deleted...

www.enworld.org

I don't really know what to say anymore, but my job is to report the news. So here's the news.

TSR Appoints New Public Relations Officer; Responds to Social Media Mismanagement - PR.com

TSR has replaced the individual that was serving as both social media manager and information technology manager for TSR and The Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum.

www.pr.com

TSR Appoints New Public Relations Officer; Responds to Social Media Mismanagement​

Lake Geneva, WI, July 09, 2021 --(PR.com)-- TSR has replaced the individual that was serving as both social media manager and information technology manager for TSR and The Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum. This individual was also the social media manager for Giantlands, Justin LaNasa, and Ernie Gygax.

All posts on all social media accounts for TSR and Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum should be considered invalid.

All posts on all social media accounts of Justin LaNasa and Ernie Gygax should be considered invalid.

TSR is in the process of recovering the social media accounts of TSR, The Dungeon Hobby Shop Museum, and the personal Twitter accounts of Justin LaNasa and Ernie Gygax.

Michael K. Hovermale
Public Relations Officer
TSR

Ernie Gygax:
“I wish to speak directly to the transgender community regarding this incident. The individual who was speaking to you on Twitter does not represent me or TSR in any way. Trans people are always welcome to play with us. Everyone is welcome at our table.”
Contact
TSR LLC
Michael K. Hovermale PR Officer
(209) 819-7504

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

One would think, and the tone being set certainly seems in line with previous social media interactions. That being said, it's not like this absolves Justin DeNasa, Ernie Gygax, and other TSR3-ish people of everything, as much as they want us to believe that.

I don't know if it confirms anything, but things said by an giantlands account after the split seem to be Dineheart's responsibility right?

 

[darjr]

Nobody claimed it was just those things and it's weird you keep repeating that claim?

I never said anyone did.

you’re spending to much time at the rpg site
I think it’s made you knee jerk argumentative and seeing disses where there are none.

 

[LordEntrails]

Holy cow. You're right. All this fuss over a game with about $8000 in pledges....

EDIT: I say that not to diminish KS campaigns with similar numbers, but the implication through all of this mess was that GiantLands was a super valuable commodity, the stuff that empires are built on.

This is the same that Ernie et al thought about the name and logo "TSR" that it was a gold mine. As has been shown time and again, these "properties" just are not that valuable in terms of the overall market. But $8k split among a couple of people is significant enough for most people to take note of.

 

[Mistwell]

Except the industry isn't made up entirely of D&D players, and it's such a small industry that numbers in the thousands are often a huge deal. The Kickstarter campaign for the One Ring 2nd edition earned the most money for any original TTRPG on the platform, and it only had about 16k backers.

Plus, you can drill down into almost any news story and find that only a small minority of people are directly consuming it, but that doesn't account for word of mouth, or overall impact.

But we're looking at word of mouth. Social media IS word of mouth these days, right?

This might be industry news (I don't know - something tells me Paizo doesn't care a whole lot about multiple new TSRs other than in a brief watching-a-train-wreck sort of way) but we were not discussing "industry" we were talking about consumers of the game.

I genuinely think if there is an epicenter for discussion of this topic, we're in it right here right now. Some other places are discussing it, but this is the apex of the discussion. And I think people here are looking around at how hot the topic is here, and assuming that must mean it's hot everywhere. I don't think that's the case. This is gossip level stuff about a few minor companies which were not even producing or planning to produce anything for D&D or any of the 10 major RPG brands below D&D. And I am not knocking gossip level stuff by the way. It's very interesting stuff (again in a train wreck sort of way) particularly when there isn't a lot of other game-related news going on right now.

But that doesn't make this stuff important, or well known across D&D consumers.

 

[billd91]

But that’s a completely different set of people. No Venn overlap.

Indeed. There are some interestingly positioned lenses with which people view these issues, some of which are virtually opposites.

 

[Mistwell]

I never said anyone did.

you’re spending to much time at the rpg site
I think it’s made you knee jerk argumentative and seeing disses where there are none.

"I am pointing out it’s much wider than just ENWorld and the rpg site."

Explain what that means if it doesn't mean "someone said it's only as wide as ENWorld and the RPG Site?"

Come on man. You're digging a hole now. And then you made it personal? What are you doing? This isn't you.

 

[darjr]

I did exactly what the words you quoted says. It doesn’t make the claim you think it does. You made that up. And you made it personal with the “wierd” comment.
Seriously, let it go.

 

[Bolares]

That being said, it's not like this absolves Justin DeNasa, Ernie Gygax, and other TSR3-ish people of everything, as much as they want us to believe that.

It certainlly does not.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Wil Wheaton made a comment about this, which had 11,000 likes and 1000 shares, so who knows how many people saw that (we can safely bet more than 11,000)

 

[Mistwell]

I did exactly what the words you quoted says. It doesn’t make the claim you think it does. You made that up. And you made it personal with the “wierd” comment.
Seriously, let it go.

Nevermind...