D&D General Melf's Guide to Greyhawk Coming From Luke Gygax & WotC

[MacDhomnuill]

This reeks of a PR stunt, “DnD and Gygax back together again!” Who is the target audience for this? What market niche are they hoping to exploit by bringing back Greyhawk, an ancient and nearly forgotten setting and attaching the Gygax name (hallowed saints among the OSR).

 

[Morrus]

This reeks of a PR stunt,

What's the difference between PR and a PR stunt?

Who is the target audience for this?

People who like Greyhawk, I assume.

 

[Dire Bare]

Who is the target audience for this?

Me.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Well, it doesn't help when WotC tapped into people like Satine Phoenix to be a spokeswoman...

Sometimes I do wonder if that contributed to Wizards pulling back from celebrity-ish partnerships. I was at Origins when everything broke and her brand (and Jamison Stone's) completely disintegrated. It was wild.

 

[Remathilis]

This reeks of a PR stunt, “DnD and Gygax back together again!” Who is the target audience for this? What market niche are they hoping to exploit by bringing back Greyhawk, an ancient and nearly forgotten setting and attaching the Gygax name (hallowed saints among the OSR).

They get to say "Here is the original D&D setting, with information from one of its first players and son of it's Creator." That alone will peak curiosity beyond the usual ho hum, another setting book. Newer fans might be interested in seeing where it all began. Older fans to see if it does justice. And if rumors are true, Greyhawk might get the "grittier D&D setting" tag (as gritty as 5.5 will allow) to make it unique.

Lots of ancient video games get modern remakes (Final Fantasy 7, Elder Scrolls Oblivion) to cater both to fans who want to relive an old favorite and to newer fans who want to experience the legacy themselves. This might be WotC's attempt to fill a similar niche; old school game emulated on modern hardware with new graphics and better tweaked play.

 

[MacDhomnuill]

What's the difference between PR and a PR stunt?


People who like Greyhawk, I assume.

A stunt is designed to generate loud but short lived audience engagement vs most PR which is focused on building brand good will over the long term which is to be spent later when your C suite does some thing stupid or you have to take unpopular actions. Hasbro/WOTC has one of the worst comms teams in corporate history, chronically burning themselves with their consumer audience and having zero focus on long term building of good will. They survive because they have market capture with magic and DnD.

 

[Parmandur]

Who is the target audience for this?

Based on these panels, Dan Ayoub. And I'll be darned if "gamers making what they like" isn't usually considered a virtue...?

 

[Parmandur]

Sometimes I do wonder if that contributed to Wizards pulling back from celebrity-ish partnerships. I was at Origins when everything broke and her brand (and Jamison Stone's) completely disintegrated. It was wild.

I mean, yeah, they changed their whole marketing approach around then.

 

[Morrus]

A stunt is designed to generate loud but short lived audience engagement vs most PR which is focused on building brand good will over the long term which is to be spent later when your C suite does some thing stupid or you have to take unpopular actions. Hasbro/WOTC has one of the worst comms teams in corporate history, chronically burning themselves with their consumer audience and having zero focus on long term building of good will. They survive because they have market capture with magic and DnD.

OK.

 

[Clint_L]

Who is the target audience for this?

I am, for one. First, because I’ve loved the setting since I started playing more than 45 years ago. Second, because I’m a dad and Luke Gygax having the opportunity to revisit the setting he played in as the game was being developed by his father does things to my feelings.

I do not understand what is making some folks grumpy about this news.