Only the Lonely: Why We Demand Official Product

[TwoSix]

Shared experience is definitely a thing. How many of us older gamers have experienced the Against the Giants/Demon Queen of Spiders adventures? The Slavelords series? Desert of Desolation? Ravenloft (in various editions - I've run it in 3 so far)?

Well, none, actually (I've never run a published adventure in 30 years of playing), but I see your point.

 

[jmucchiello]

Quality. When you go to the store, and you see a "name brand" as opposed to a "store brand," you assume a certain amount of quality associated with the name brand. It's the same with anything else; after all, that's one reason brands advertise; to give you the belief that they are big enough to provide a quality product. Even when the products are the same (store-brand ibuprofen or Advil, for example) there are those that will gravitate toward the "official" product solely on the basis of assumed quality. Which leads to the next issue ...

Ironically, most brand items and store brand items are made in the very same factories on the very same production lines. Only the labels at the end are different. The reason you think name brands are "better" is you've been conditioned to do so by advertising.

Consistency. A primary driving factor for many brands is consistency; both consistency within products (a Coke is a Coke is a Coke; a Big Mac in Seattle will taste the same as a Big Mac in Miami) and consistency between products (similar styling cues, like terribly ugly grills, for the Toyota and Lexus cars). If you buy a store-brand "Cola," you won't get the exact same corn-syrupy taste that Coke has, and if you go to McDowell's instead of McDonald's, you're going to miss out on the sesame seeds.

Actually, they aren't identical. The Coke purchased on the west coast is made with tap water from the west coast and east coast Coke is made with east coast tap water. The flavor is probably slightly different. I know Big Macs do not taste the same in Europe as they do in the US. The local source of meat is fed differently and thus the meat tastes different.

Interoperability. This might be a mouthful, but it's pretty easy to understand. If you buy an HP printer, you know that HP ink will work. If you buy a Ford car, you know that Ford parts will work. Purchasing official products ensures interoperability. Sure, maybe that off-brand ink will work in your printer .... but maybe it won't. Or maybe it won't work as well.

The difference here though is using an off-brand gaming element in your game isn't going to cause physical damage to your game. There's a difference between adding third party parts to a device and adding third party IDEAS to shared experience.

Authority. "If you use anything other than official Apple parts or Apple service, you will void your Apple warranty." Official products carry with them the authority of the brand.

D&D is sold without warranty, I believe. And I've already said brands have value only if the advertising has convinced you it has value.

Prestige. And finally there is the most important factor. This is what brands spend the big bucks on; associating their brand with prestige, with a good life, with a luxury lifestyle. Why buy off-brand sugar water when you can buy Coca Cola? But we see this more with true luxury goods; if you've ever been in the market for an expensive car, bottle of booze, handbag, or anything, you know that you are paying partly for the increased cost to make it, but partly because you can now say that you can spend that much for the good. Prestige matters. And buying an off-brand Rolex is cheaper than the real thing.

Generally, higher income people by off-brand stuff because it is cheaper and good enough. Expensive brands are designed to fleece the wannabe rich. Whether you believe that or not, I don't see how prestige applies here. WotC is a tiny, relatively unknown, subdivision of a larger company. And it doesn't have any cache' like Rolex does, does it?

 

[jasper]

That's because WotC didn't make Rise of Tiamat. Other than Phandelver, the first WotC made adventure path was Curse of Strahd. HotDQ + RoT were made by Kobold Press. PotA was made by Sasquatch Game Studio. OotA was made by Green Ronin (in collaboration with WotC). Those adventures were published by WotC, but weren't made by them. So, that really just reinforces the Consistency portion of Lowkey's post.

The Rise of Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons): Wizards RPG Team: 8601410707941: Amazon.com: Books

The Rise of Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons) [Wizards RPG Team] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Rise of Tiamat (Dungeons & Dragons)

www.amazon.com

author Wizards RPG Team and an OFFICAL WoTC product. andPublisher: Wizards of the Coast (November 4, 2014)

 

[billd91]

Generally, higher income people by off-brand stuff because it is cheaper and good enough. Expensive brands are designed to fleece the wannabe rich. Whether you believe that or not, I don't see how prestige applies here. WotC is a tiny, relatively unknown, subdivision of a larger company. And it doesn't have any cache' like Rolex does, does it?

I'm not convinced. How many rich people drive Kia? How many buy JCPenney suits? How many shop at Walmart or get their Mossimo jeans at Target? In some areas, I'm sure they do. But upscale designer brands, stores, and everything else exist for far more than the wannabes.

As far as prestige goes for WotC, it's a small company in the broader world - but not within the gamer subculture, and that's where the signals of prestige will matter. What looks better on display on the gaming shelves? WotC materials with the slick art and higher production values or some of the 3pp stuff? Some of the 3pp may have been lavish, but at significant expense. Most that I'm familiar with had less lavish art, less glossy paper, in part because they're small and can't rely on an economy of scale to defray that expense over more units sold. Plus, Knights of the Dinner Table has been lampooning "official" prestige material mania for decades now and I doubt Jolly would have been doing so if he too hadn't noticed it.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

There is still some lingering idea that it's not really official unless it's hard copy. A very interesting anachronism in this digital age.

well, it’s partly that. A lot of people do not like reading on a screen for any in depth reading. That includes kids raised with screens. All the “screens will completely replace books” futurism of the last 20 years appears to have simply been wrong, much to my surprise.

 

[prabe]

well, it’s partly that. A lot of people do not like reading on a screen for any in depth reading. That includes kids raised with screens. All the “screens will completely replace books” futurism of the last 20 years appears to have simply been wrong, much to my surprise.

Indeed, though the screens do seem to have mostly replaced periodicals.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Indeed, though the screens do seem to have mostly replaced periodicals.

Periodicals, yes. I think that small single issue type products just don’t seem worth buying to most people now.
I know a lot of folks who love comics but see buying individual issues as a waste of money (and added clutter, etc) compared to a subscription in digital form.

 

[Haffrung]

What looks better on display on the gaming shelves? WotC materials with the slick art and higher production values or some of the 3pp stuff? Some of the 3pp may have been lavish, but at significant expense. Most that I'm familiar with had less lavish art, less glossy paper, in part because they're small and can't rely on an economy of scale to defray that expense over more units sold.

I think we should remember that those of us who buy lots of stuff on DriveThru and the DMs Guild, or use kickstarter, are a hardcore minority in the RPG market. Hard copy books sold on the shelves of brick and mortar stores are the big part of the market. WotC and Paizo, who can fill whole shelves with their uniform and high-quality books, have a big advantage there.

 

[Morrus]

I do feel it's a bit of a shame that this particular edition of D&D seems to be the most "official canon only!" edition in terms of player opinions. I'm not sure why that is; even 3.x was much more DIY. My favourite thing about D&D is home-brew; to me that's what D&D is.

 

[Morrus]

Most that I'm familiar with had less lavish art, less glossy paper, in part because they're small and can't rely on an economy of scale to defray that expense over more units sold.

The economy of scale effect is enormous. If you get a print run for a few hundred book printed, it might cost you $7 per book to print. If you do a few thousand, it will cost you half that. If you print a few hundred thousand, you're paying pennies per book.