D&D General Mike Mearls sits down with Ben from Questing Beast

[Henadic Theologian]

I don't think we will have a good grasp on where WotC is headed or how 2024 edition is doing until the 4 settings books (2 FR, 1 Eberron, & Shadowmoore), are released, because alot of the lore/flavour/innovation/toys were shunted to setting books so the Core does not seem to be enough on its own anymore, 2014 core seemed to have the expectations of having to do the basic setting work because setting books were nor expected nor were they the focus of the design team until mid to late 5e, compared to 5.5 where within a year of the core being fully releases their are 4 or 5 (of you include Exodus) settings at least. This is a huge change in tactics by the design team.

 

[Hussar]

Saying MtG is essentially flat feels very justified, esp given that D&D should be doing better than average with its new revision

So, you look at a chart that doesn't break out MtG and D&D, and decided that it means that MtG is flat based on ... feelings?

Yeah. Shock. People with an axe to grind are claiming that WotC is incompetent and failing and if they would only listen to just the right fan, they'd be back on track, producing the game that you want them to produce.

Funny how that works. I mean, good grief, I'm not even playing D&D right now. I'm not defending WotC at all. I'm simply pointing out that this axe to grind has been around for years and years. In the Venn diagram of claims that WotC is failing and People who have an axe to grind with D&D, the overlap is nearly a perfect circle.

 

[mamba]

So, you look at a chart that doesn't break out MtG and D&D, and decided that it means that MtG is flat based on ... feelings?

more based on the fact that the vast majority of that bar is MtG. Add to this that the D&D books are supposedly selling fast and you start running out of options

If you want to Google MtG revenue, you find eg

Magic: The Gathering Sales Down 1 Percent In 2024

Hasbro CEO expects growth in 2025, reveals Spider-Man set will not have Commander Decks

articles.starcitygames.com

“Hasbro, parent company of Wizards of the Coast (WotC), has released its Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Financial Report which states tabletop gaming sales for Wizards of the Coast (WotC) were down three percent for the year and Magic: The Gathering sales were down one percent for the year.”

To be fair they also say

“The Q4 sales saw a dip of seven percent due to the lap of the Holiday release of The Lord of the Rings set.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks noted that the solid performance of Magic was key in the growth of the Licensed and Digital Gaming segment. He also predicts more growth in 2025 as active player count continues to go up”

So I guess we will know more in a year

 

[Hussar]

So I guess we will know more in a year

This should be the mantra for the next year. All this reading tea leaves is exhausting.

 

[KYRON45]

When i was in my formative years we bought this stuff because the covers were cool. We figured out what to do with it later.
All of this arguing over sales and whose in charge of what...it hurts my heart.
Just play the game friends....just play the game.

 

[aiouh]

This should be the mantra for the next year. All this reading tea leaves is exhausting.

I mean we don't have to read tea leaves. Hasbro is a publicly traded company. A 1% decline is a nothingburger especially if you look at prior revenue. I can't believe it took this many pages for someone to look up what WotC made prior to 2023.

(These are actually wotc numbers, whoever made this graphic didn't delineate between mtg and dnd)

Annual Report 2023

Net revenue from Hasbro’s Total Gaming category, including all gaming revenues, most notably
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and Hasbro Gaming, totaled $2,074.4 million,
$1,997.5 million and $2,098.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, December 25, 2022 and
December 26, 2021, respectively, of which MAGIC: THE GATHERING contributed $1,085.8 million,
$1,065.2 million and $992.1 million.

SEC 10-K for 2024

As you can see from WotCs net revenues have been doing fine and a 2-3% decrease in 2024 is still at a much higher sales level than pre-covid. I dislike Universes Beyond and foreign IP as much as the next Grognard, but the proof is in the pudding. MtG is selling better than ever, to the point where WotC is making about 36% of Hasbro's Revenue. That's a little over a third.

 

[KYRON45]

Board meetings and Accountants.
You too can be bored to death by corporate financial statements. Part of verisimilitudinous well balanced gaming diet.
Coming soon to a FLGS near you.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

I mean we don't have to read tea leaves. Hasbro is a publicly traded company. A 1% decline is a nothingburger especially if you look at prior revenue. I can't believe it took this many pages for someone to look up what WotC made prior to 2023.

A 1% decline for a public company is a big deal as stockholders expect constant growth. The fact revenue was growing for years doesn't matter, since stockholders care about what their stock will be worth tomorrow, not what it was worth 2 years ago.

A CEO who delivers flat revenue several years in a row will soon be looking for a new job.

 

[Zardnaar]

A 1% decline for a public company is a big deal as stockholders expect constant growth. The fact revenue was growing for years doesn't matter, since stockholders care about what their stock will be worth tomorrow, not what it was worth 2 years ago.

A CEO who delivers flat revenue several years in a row will soon be looking for a new job.

In real terms it's also a decline. Ideally your growth rate is above inflation.

Acouple of years or 3 of -1%can take years to recover from.

 

[mamba]

MtG is selling better than ever, to the point where WotC is making about 36% of Hasbro's Revenue. That's a little over a third.

that the Hasbro side of things keeps shrinking considerably each year does help WotC making up an ever bigger part even if WotC themselves stagnate…