[Rant] random WotC/Hasbro bashing

[Blacksad]

Some random basing on WotC/Hasbro management

WotC decided to splint itself between WotC U.S. and WotC Europe, probably for fiscal reasons, and is now an Ettin.

WotC Europe now has to buy products from WotC U.S.
WotC U.S. wants more money from WotC Europe.
WotC Europe doesn’t want to pay more.

Direct consequences:

Master of the wild isn’t available
Neither Call of Cthulhu
Deities&Demigods and Epic-Level Handbook probably won’t be available

Indirect consequences:

Suppose that in the futur someone wants to buy a d20 modern or futuristic setting

The U.S. customer has to choose between:
Call of Cthulhu
Star Wars (revised)
d20 Modern
Spycraft
Dragonstar
Fading-Sun

The average customer will probably choose a WotC product (same price, full color), the above average will buy every WotC product and some non-WotC product.

The European customer must choose between:
Spycraft
Dragonstar
Fading-Sun

Guess what ? he (or she) won’t buy any WotC product.

So, do you want a bit of Hasbro bashing ? and a bit more of WotC bashing ? You didn’t ask for it, but you’ve got it !

Hasbro bought WotC who had bought Avalon Hill, and Avalon Hill is now an Hasbro subsidiary.

Hasbro and Avalon Hill produces great board games : Risk 2210 and Diplomacy both at 40$.
Risk (not the latest version) is widly know in Europe (at least in France, it got TV ads and is mentioned for comparison purpose in video games review [link]).
Those games are hard to get in retail store, and they are immediatly sold at 80$ in english.
They aren’t translated because it would cost too much/isn’t profitable enough (in Hasbro’s eyes) and nobody want to pay the huge fee that Hasbro ask to get the license.

You might say, it doesn’t affect me I’m a RPG gamer. Well, it still mean less money than Hasbro could get, so it rise the needs for its subsidiary to provide benefits that can’t be invested back in the subsidiary or small benefit sector, and it does matter for WotC.

I don’t know how the other European translation were made, but it took 2 years to get the 3 Core Rulebook in french translated by Eric Holweck (famous for his translation of the Rod of seven part, where he translated spells, monsters and magic items with different terms than those in the PHB, DMG, MM in 2nd edition, dismissed any cross-compatibility between 2nd and 3rd edition by giving new names to spell, monster and magic items, and translated feat in gift), and its only recently that asmodee (a french company) took the license and now translate books (with french speaking person, that means no needs to translate the text from french to english and back to french to understand the book) at a pace of one or two books per months. And they didn’t want to take chainmail as it wasn’t a seller (so it tends to confirm the rumor of the end of chainmail).

Another clever move on WotC Europe side this time, the Baseball CCG transformed into a Soccer CCG, their is already collectible card in France, widly distributed in every newspaper/magazines store, a game on soccer distributed in hobby store didn’t had any chances to sell (remeber first that people in hobby store are geek and don’t like Soccer most of the time and that Soccer is the most practiced game in France, and that even myself who didn’t like Soccer would prefer the sport instead of a lets pretend card game).

Ah, I fell better now, I’ll stop for a moment

 

[Sulimo]

Hasbro and Avalon Hill produces great board games : Risk 2210 and Diplomacy both at 40$.

Risk 2210? whats the diff between it and classic risk?

 

[trancejeremy]

You'll have to do what I do for trance cds - buy imports. Only a handful of trance released in Europe ever comes out in the US, and when it does, it's usually half a year afterwards.

And you don't have to worry about a book getting broken in transit. Vinyl & Cds are break depressingly easy.


(I would also point out that on the translation issue, there are zillions of cool European and Japanese RPGs that never get translated into English. )

 

[Blacksad]

I'll buy some import but...

You'll have to do what I do for trance cds - buy imports. Only a handful of trance released in Europe ever comes out in the US, and when it does, it's usually half a year afterwards.

And you don't have to worry about a book getting broken in transit. Vinyl & Cds are break depressingly easy.


(I would also point out that on the translation issue, there are zillions of cool European and Japanese RPGs that never get translated into English. )

I can buy most product via amazon.fr or amazon.de, the problem is I want to support my Hobby store (great service, and the possibility to look at a product before buying it), and the problem for Wizards Europe is that those books come directly from WotC U.S., already at a cheaper (1 or 2$) via amazon and WotC Europe couldn't sell them at a higher price (in fact the Star Wars book cost 15$ less if it is bought via amazon.uk), so I think it's stupid on WotC U.S. to ask more money from WotC Europe, blocking product, and making store owner angry.
[edit]
and real store represent 90% of the sales in Europe
[/edit]

The translation part doesn't really bother me, it bother store owner and most customer who don't speak a word of english, so yes we get INS/MV, and the d20 setting Archipel, but on the other hand the translation of Star Wars d220 that we'll get for episode II will be the non-revised, and the revised in english won't be available, those things are seller and I think that the management at WotC U.S. do not apraise correctly the market in Europe. It's a pity.

It doesn't affect me directly, but it affect the RPG market, even if L5R and Cthulhu are more popular in France, D&D and WotC product are still quite popular, but then can't be sold at a higher price, then the move from WotC U.S. to ask more seems stupid.

Also, perhaps they should think about the ESD program for Europe now that WotC Europe is a separate entity, perhaps that would be what will give more money to WotC Europe.

[edit]
Risk 2210: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/A...8098015/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-1118045-2168926
[/edit]