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Message: <blockquote data-quote="am181d" data-source="post: 4410960" data-attributes="member: 3576">[with the preface that I don't believe that this will happen...]If WotC shut down their RPG production tomorrow there would be:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"> a lot of ex-WotC folk looking for work </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"> a lot of gamers looking for product</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"> a lot of retailers looking to sell it to 'em</li> </ol>I don't think anyone could recreate D&D overnight, but Paizo certainly has a head start with Pathfinder, and if WotC veterans moved en masse to Paizo (or to Green Ronin or to some other publisher), it would add an heir of legitimacy to whatever company they "invaded."Similarly, if a group of publishers formed as "New Fourth" coalition around Pathfinder or some new 3.5-driven OGL system, it would probably produce the critical mass to keep the industry going at roughly the current size.(If 4th Edition fails, no one is going to waste time trying to recreate 4th edition. They're going to revert to what's worked before.)Certainly, the loss of the D&D brand name would make it a *little* harder to attract new gamers. But let's be honest, whatever negative connotations D&D may have among the mainstream, it also helps to attract a steady stream of outcasts, geeks, and "the mainstream is for tools" fans. The good news is that these demographics (i.e. "our people") are also early adapters, most willing to take a chance on something new and least likely to be swayed purely brand loyalty.My assumption is that if D&D was shut down, within a year, we'd have 3-4 mid-sized "D&D Legacy" publishers working in concert, a slight uptick in sales to stalwart publishers/systems like White Wolf, Hero, and GURPS, and at least 1-2 new "Zeitgeist Games" (like "Rifts" which was huge when it was first released). Overall sales might dip (which would hurt the retailers), but the other major publishers would likely benefit. Of course, an equally fair question may be "What happens if 4e succeeds?"</blockquote>

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