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Message: <blockquote data-quote="dmccoy1693" data-source="post: 6195855" data-attributes="member: 51747">You hit the nail on the head exactly how I am trying to use it. I said <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?343310-Licensing-OGL-and-Getting-D-amp-D-Compatible-Publishers-Involved&p=6195282&viewfull=1#post6195282" target="_blank">that I am thinking like a corporate executive</a> that <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?343310-Licensing-OGL-and-Getting-D-amp-D-Compatible-Publishers-Involved&p=6195603&viewfull=1#post6195603" target="_blank">may or may not understand the nuances of our industry</a> or even what goes into making a good game. Most gamers (on both side of the debate) banter about the OGL from an almost philosophical prospective: "Did Paizo steal Wizards' customers?" "Is it good for the industry as a whole?" "Does it encourage good game designers?" etc. But the decision to use or not use the OGL rests (or rested, if the decision has already been made and they are just hanging onto that little tidbit) with an executive wants to hear the bottom line: "Will it help this company sell more books?" and not someone that is wax philosophical about the OGL. So using a buzzword like "sense of ownership" helps them understand why the OGL will help them sell more books. And yes, as far as that same executive is concerned, the OGL is a marketing tool. It does not contribute directly to the bottom line but it will have an impact on it. How much that impact is a guess, but my educated guess is is that it would have a significant impact on 20% of their customer base that make up 80% of their revenue. The 80% of their customer base (i.e. @<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/member.php?u=80342" target="_blank">morris</a> whole gaming group) will buy the PHB and maybe a supplement or two afterwards. For them the OGL doesn't mean a thing. But to the 20% of their customers that buy almost every single book they produce (aka most of us that hang out on message boards talking about things like the OGL) will buy probably compatible books as well (perhaps not as frequently as the D&D books, but still, more than the 80% of D&D's customers who are never even going to hear about anyone other than Wizards). It is that 20% that drive the remaining 80% of their customers to buy anything. if the GM says to his 4 players, "I don't like D&D 4e. I like Pathfinder and that is what I'm going to run." Well, that 1 person just cost wizards 4 copies of the PHB. Does it matter to the players that the reason the GM wants to use a monster book produced by another company such as the <a href="http://www.rpgnow.com/product/98600/Book-of-Beasts-Monsters-of-the-Shadow-Plane-%28PFRPG%29?affiliate_id=231528&src=ENWorld" target="_blank">Book of Beasts</a> because the group munchkin is going to buy the monster books produced by whichever company produced the game and he wants to surprise him. To that GM, the OGL matters. Or the GM doesn't have much time and makes frequent use of pre-published adventures and feels that Wizards doesn't really produce good adventures. To that GM, the OGL matters. Or there's the GM that makes his own NPCs and wants to throw something new and unique that the players had never seen before or is tired of always using options in the main company's books. To that GM, the OGL matters. And things like that make the difference for a GM deciding which game to play and who's books to buy on a regular basis.So while it does not contribute directly to the bottom line, the OGL makes a difference in sales to Wizards. And before someone calls my 80/20 numbers into question, the 80/20 rule is a pretty well known business rule. Lisa Stevens was part of the study for Wizards (back when she worked at Wizards) that proved that it was true for them and she talks about that on a not-infrequent basis.</blockquote>

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