D&D General Kobold Press Going Down a Dark Road

[Parmandur]

No worries! We've all done that.

Yes, that's true. However, what's left still far outstrips $120 a month.

They should target the largest concentration of disposable income. That's where WotC/Hasbro get their profits. I put it at 25+. I don't remember if it was you or @Ruin Explorer who put it at 30-35+. Wherever that bulk of disposable income is coming from, though, is the target audience. And since opinions will vary a bit, some compromise has to happen among the demographics with that income.

WotC let's their partners like WizKids shoulder the risk for the older enthusiasts with deep pocket market, while reaping the benefits: WotC own product is cheap and low production cost, and services a wide range of people.

 

[deganawida]

Assuming those teens wouldn't rather go out to Denny's for a late dinner with friends, or a movie, or buy new earbuds, or... There are a lot of things teens want and even with the high end of $120 a month to use, they aren't going to be able to get anywhere near everything they want. Think back to when you were a kid and how many different things you wanted on a daily basis, shifting with each new thing you found out about. Then understand that there are about 10,000(slight exaggeration) times more things to attract current teens than there were when we were teens.

My 19 year old, who is employed, is constantly buying all kinds of weird stuff that has nothing to do with her main interests.

 

[Maxperson]

My 19 year old, who is employed, is constantly buying all kinds of weird stuff that has nothing to do with her main interests.

Yep. That just goes to my point, though. Kids spend money on all kinds of things. Those without jobs and relying on allowances aren't going to be able to buy more than a very small fraction of what they want. D&D can't be counted on to make that cut, even if it's only a $30 book every month or two.

 

[Maxperson]

WotC let's their partners like WizKids shoulder the risk for the older enthusiasts with deep pocket market, while reaping the benefits: WotC own product is cheap and low production cost, and services a wide range of people.

To an extent. Are you saying that they get the bulk of their profits on D&D from 3rd parties?

 

[MichaelSomething]

For reference I recommend checking out this thread where I try to advocate for the older markets...

 

[Parmandur]

To an extent. Are you saying that they get the bulk of their profits on D&D from 3rd parties?

I have no idea where they make the bulk of their profits, though I would guess t-shirts and other swag over any game elements. Cheap but highly reusable books, however, is something thst is going tonsell well to both older gamers and younger gamers. WotC puts a lot of their energy into converting young people into gamers, because that's how they get people on the train of buying books

 

[mamba]

Yes, that's true. However, what's left still far outstrips $120 a month.

really? How? There are 5 books at $40 a year (Amazon), for a nice round $200. How does that outstrip 120 per month?

I am not talking about minis or other TTRPG adjacent stuff, those are not WotC products / profit or affected by the game design (only its popularity)

 

[Parmandur]

really? How? There are 5 books at $40 a year (Amazon), for a nice round $200. How does that outstrip 120 per month?

Indeed, it's a product output thst seems designed to help the teenage customer.

 

[teitan]

No, that's not what I said at all.

I said that WOtC sets the standard. And it does. Setting the standard does not mean that no one can beat it. It means that if you want to be considered top in whatever category, WOtC is going to be the baseline. I remember the days when RPG books were all softcover and hardcover was for a fairly select couple of books. Then WotC started making all their books hardcover and, guess, what, now all the serious players have to publish hardcover. Full color art? Yup, that was WotC.

Heck, name 3 famous TSR artists. Or WotC for that matter. Now, name three famous artists for, say, Pathfinder that aren't Wayne Reynolds. Whose name do you think of when it comes to cartography in the game? Guess what, that artist started at either TSR or WotC to make their name.

So, no. I didn't say that WotC beats everyone. I said that everyone is judged relative to WotC. That's what setting a standard means.

To be fair I can name more artists who work on DCC than I can WOTC or Paizo because the artists at WOTC and Paizo have become sort of interchangeable. Outside of Reynolds.

 

[teitan]

It’s a great game

The only problem is the feat tax at mid level. It’s well designed and thought out.