layoffs?

[Najo]

My experience, as the owner of a FLGS (in Michigan, no less), is that inexpensive entertainment tends to get hit less during an economic downturn, but it still gets hit. People simply have less discretionary income. Some of the comments here and on the WotC thread include the idea that if 4e were somehow "hot enough," then Wizards could safely ignore the economy. That's simply nonsense. Well-run businesses are always looking ahead, both in terms of obstacles and opportunities.

I am a FLGS too, and I can concur most of that. The real issue for game manufacturers right now isn't the game stores and their end customers, its the source materials and distribution costs for those products. With the dollar's value taking a hit and raw goods manufacturers having issues, the cost of production is going up. I think this is one of the factors leading to D&D miniatures game being overhauled (and basically cut from production as we knew it).

 

[Noumenon]

Firing two top designers at least should tell you they're not already working on D&D 4.5...

 

[xechnao]

I know that past editions had a boom/bust cycle over its lifetime in regards to revenue, which also explains the hire/layoff cycle we have seen. I also see what apears to be a level of failure with regards to the new strategy WotC was going with to try to stop that cycle in 4E. WotC made several decisions that were supposed to level the income stream over the life of the product. The core books were intentionally limited in scope with PHBx, MMx, and DMGx coming out every year so that the first 3 books would no longer be considered all that was needed. This would to some extent match the yearly MtG product cycle where new rules/power systems are introduced each year. Then the DDI was also designed on a subscription model so that a consistant revenue stream would be coming in each month. It seems to me that these attempts to flatten the revenue stream have not worked out so far.

PnP players and fans tend to get engaged in a much more profound level than a collectible card game or a video game. There are 2 options Wotc had to be able to achieve this goal you are talking about. Either lower the level of this aspect of the game and hook people with hype at a successful launch so it builds on momentum, either struggle to achieve the almost impossible task of solidifying a stable development of the most inspiring and invoking material possible in a monthly basis.
My opinion though is that even if they had achieved to take the best possible advantage of hype and momentum they would still fail in the long run. The majority of D&D customers would not cope with a minis skirmish rpg to the level of investing there their entertainment assets instead of what competition offers such as WoW. Indeed mini games tend to have a smaller overall public that tends to invest more on an individual basis that are hooked to it for reasons even beyond just gaming (collecting, assembling, even painting etch). This is not what D&D is about though. And Gamesworkshop is already the leader here.

But even if they realize this strategy will fail they will not want to drop D&D because of the novels. What I foresee is that the next edition of D&D will try to excell in simulationist and narrativist gameplay rather than gamist. If they manage to maintain the novels interest. OTOH I do not know if the novel business has been doing badly for them lately. If this might be so, I would not be so optimist for the brand from a business perspective. It could probably go on, on a much smaller level -by this I mean cutting on projects and staff and perhaps this is what these layoffs are all about. But then this model in today's market is best suited for lines that attract because of established reasons other than what one expects from D&D (for example a favorite writer or setting). For D&D to maintain and expand its community something different is needed. And what that is I do not honestly know. Perhaps they need to return to the OGL model but then there is the bloat problem they should somehow need to eliminate. How this could be done I still have no idea. Perhaps allow each publisher to publish just a limited number of various products per set period of time -one every month. This way perhaps publishers would invest in quality rather than quantity. Just an idea -most probably a bad one

 

[D.Shaffer]

My condolences go out to anyone who loses their job during the holiday season, ESPECIALLY during this economic downturn. I hope you guys get back on your feet soon.

 

[Zil]

You have it exactly backwards. Non-essentials are the FIRST thing people cut out of their budget. During a recession people spend their money on things like food, or rent, or mortgage, or clothing, or electricity, or gas. But the fact that WotC isn't in congress begging for $700 billion like the banks, or threatening to go out of business and lay off thousands upon thousands of employees like the car industry, suggests they're doing much much better by comparison.

Oh, I agree that people in difficult straits will certainly focus on the essentials first. However, if you can meet the essentials of food and shelter, then entertainment (and games) are things that people still spend money on, and in the context of entertainment options, RPG and board games are relatively affordable in comparison.

 

[Maggan]

And even if they did, as I said previously, when you're offered a permanent position the expectation is that it's permanent and that you'll have until until you're not longer capable or willing to do the job. At least that's what I'd expect

As an employer, I would not be able to offer a position to any applicant that requested a position to be truly permanent.

In Sweden, there were "permanent" positions once, but they went away quite some time ago, to be replaced by "until further notice" positions, which is the most common form of employment here, I believe.

I wouldn't have any expectations that a position at any company would be really permanent in the literal sense. Rather, it would be a position that could be terminated according to the contract signed, by both parties (employer and employee).

/M

 

[DaveMage]

Firing two top designers at least should tell you they're not already working on D&D 4.5...

Andy Collins is still there.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Have WotC cut into their "breeding stock" in their thinning of the herd? I can't help but feel that they have (but that is very much from a fan-based but ultimately uninformed point of view).

This kind of came up during the last round of big layoffs - one of the WoTC folks noted how many names were still there - big names that we might not have realized were still designing stuff for them. I think WoTC will be OK, I'm more concerned about the folks they let go. I'd love to see Jonathan Tweet and Dave Noonan (BTW, count me as thinking "Noonan the Barbarian" would be an excellent choice for user name) go the route of Green Ronin or Malhavoc and create new D&D-related gaming companies. I wish them well in whatever venture they choose.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

And true what Darrin said, who said they would write for 4e? If a company canned me, call me vindictive, but the last thing I would do is produce something that helps their bottom line in any way. Pathfinder, C&C, and many other OGL options await.

On the other hand, their expertise with that system would make them some of the best choices to design 3rd party products for it. The relative lack of 3rd party support means that if someone does it right, they stand to reap big gains.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Firing two top designers at least should tell you they're not already working on D&D 4.5...

[Conspirasy]Or that they need to get rid of the old gaurd so that they can bring in new people with new ideas who are less resistant to change.[/Conspiracy]

See, you can never stop the conspiracy folks.