Licensing, OGL and Getting D&D Compatible Publishers Involved

[Umbran]

Arguing about whether or not it is relevant doesn't exactly advance the thread, guys.

Official ruling:

1) It is relevant, as an example of another license. If you're going to sit around speculating, some examples of what exists and can be done are relevant. Not that WotC is listening to *your* speculations, as they have a legal team and all that which trump any messageboard duffer about tenfold...

2) It is irrelevant, insofar as line-by-line dissection of legal language is useful to real lawyers, and perhaps actual publishers, but useless to the rest of the world, however hip the author is trying to make it sound.

Thus - discussing the general structure of Numenera's license as an example of possibilities is fine. But discuss the spirit of the license, please, and leave the letter of the law to the professionals.

Thanks, all!

 

[carmachu]

The problem is many 3pp companies are going to be VERY skittish over doing products via 5th OGL or not, given how the last round of OGL discussions and methods were used in 4e, and frankly the lackluster and short run 4e had. I mean at this point would you jump onto 5th and take real chances or run with something proven that is much easier to produce 3pp for like pathfinder or other?

 

[Morrus]

The problem is many 3pp companies are going to be VERY skittish over doing products via 5th OGL or not, given how the last round of OGL discussions and methods were used in 4e, and frankly the lackluster and short run 4e had. I mean at this point would you jump onto 5th and take real chances or run with something proven that is much easier to produce 3pp for like pathfinder or other?

Any serious publisher is simply going to do what benefits them most, and will evaluate risks and potential reward as best they can. Any serious 3PP publisher would also be an idiot to completely dismiss third party support for 5E out of hand at this stage. Speaking for ENP, we'll likely write for both if the licensing environment works for us.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Any serious publisher is simply going to do what benefits them most, and will evaluate risks and potential reward as best they can. Any serious 3PP publisher would also be an idiot to completely dismiss third party support for 5E out of hand at this stage. Speaking for ENP, we'll likely write for both if the licensing environment works for us.

What he said.

 

[carmachu]

Any serious publisher is simply going to do what benefits them most, and will evaluate risks and potential reward as best they can. Any serious 3PP publisher would also be an idiot to completely dismiss third party support for 5E out of hand at this stage. Speaking for ENP, we'll likely write for both if the licensing environment works for us.

Any serious publisher is going to look around in 2014 and realize the game is very fractured edition wise. Its not 2000 OGL era nor is it even 4e time. Depends on the market, but at this time I'm not seeing a ton of rah rahs for 5th. Especially coming on the heels of a bitter short run of 4e.

 

[Mistwell]

Any serious publisher is going to look around in 2014 and realize the game is very fractured edition wise. Its not 2000 OGL era nor is it even 4e time. Depends on the market, but at this time I'm not seeing a ton of rah rahs for 5th. Especially coming on the heels of a bitter short run of 4e.

Nothing you said contradicts what Morrus said.

For what it is worth, I am seeing a whole lot of enthusiasm for 5e (I'd say more than I saw for 4e). But, obviously we each have different experiences. Morrus fairly comprehensive tool that tests what people are talking about shows that 5e, at least last I saw it, was the #1 game people were talking about, with Pathfinder #2. So I suppose that has some meaning.

 

[Zireael]

People are talking about 5e because it's not yet out.

And about OGL - any news from WotC?

 

[Hussar]

I highly doubt you're going to hear anything this year. Even if they're shooting for Gen Con release next year, I don't think they're looking too hard at licenses before next spring. My gut prediction anyway.

 

[billd91]

I highly doubt you're going to hear anything this year. Even if they're shooting for Gen Con release next year, I don't think they're looking too hard at licenses before next spring. My gut prediction anyway.

And even if they are looking at licensing now, which they might be, Hasbro will hem and haw over it in committees and be late with it like they were with 4e. So, despite the fact that lessons should have been learned with the 4e licensing experience, I expect there to be no indication that they've learned anything significant.

 

[Hussar]

And even if they are looking at licensing now, which they might be, Hasbro will hem and haw over it in committees and be late with it like they were with 4e. So, despite the fact that lessons should have been learned with the 4e licensing experience, I expect there to be no indication that they've learned anything significant.

That, of course, presumes that they consider the OGL to be a good thing. They may have learned that every single time they license out the product, they get screwed, so, I can't really blame them for being gun shy. Whether it's movie rights, digital media rights or OGL rights, they've gotten bitten in the ass every single time.