Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6015412" data-attributes="member: 996">When the OGL was introduced, 3pps didn't rush to create rivals to D&amp;D - d20 FRPGs - they rushed to create adventures and supplements /for/ D&amp;D.&nbsp; When that worked, they also started creating some of their own d20 games, in other genres.&nbsp; And, in the RPG space, having multiple games that use the same 'core system' is a plus for /all/ those games, because it means players need learn only a single system to play a variety of games.And there's very little barrier to entry in the RPG market, so WotC has always faced a lot of competition.&nbsp; The OGL actually tended to reduce competition by turning competitors making rival products into partners making complementary ones (or, at least, splitting their efforts between the two).In the hands of any other RPG publisher, that would be just /so/ true.&nbsp; But, WotC is a unit of Hasbro, which is a huge company and expects it's products to make more than a few paltry millions - a unit with a much more successful line of products in it's CCGs.&nbsp; Hasbro may very well shelve D&amp;D at some point.&nbsp; It has probably been cutting the investment it makes in D&amp;D for a while (ie cutting designers) - thus the falling quality, slower releases, and re-trenching of design philosophies to make what design work is being done easier.&nbsp; Really, though, it doesn't matter.&nbsp; &quot;D&amp;D&quot; as a trademark may be shelved, but the d20 open-source versions of the game can continue indefinitely - as long as there's some RPG fanatic with some free time and an internet connection to create content for it.&nbsp; <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink&nbsp; &nbsp; ;)"&nbsp; data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />That's up to Hasbro.&nbsp; Large companies can account for overhead in a variety of ways.&nbsp; Some of them let a unit generate some (sometimes false) savings by using less office space, others don't.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tony Vargas, post: 6015412, member: 996"] When the OGL was introduced, 3pps didn't rush to create rivals to D&D - d20 FRPGs - they rushed to create adventures and supplements /for/ D&D. When that worked, they also started creating some of their own d20 games, in other genres. And, in the RPG space, having multiple games that use the same 'core system' is a plus for /all/ those games, because it means players need learn only a single system to play a variety of games. And there's very little barrier to entry in the RPG market, so WotC has always faced a lot of competition. The OGL actually tended to reduce competition by turning competitors making rival products into partners making complementary ones (or, at least, splitting their efforts between the two). In the hands of any other RPG publisher, that would be just /so/ true. But, WotC is a unit of Hasbro, which is a huge company and expects it's products to make more than a few paltry millions - a unit with a much more successful line of products in it's CCGs. Hasbro may very well shelve D&D at some point. It has probably been cutting the investment it makes in D&D for a while (ie cutting designers) - thus the falling quality, slower releases, and re-trenching of design philosophies to make what design work is being done easier. Really, though, it doesn't matter. "D&D" as a trademark may be shelved, but the d20 open-source versions of the game can continue indefinitely - as long as there's some RPG fanatic with some free time and an internet connection to create content for it. ;) That's up to Hasbro. Large companies can account for overhead in a variety of ways. Some of them let a unit generate some (sometimes false) savings by using less office space, others don't. [/QUOTE]

Verification