Yep. I hear about stuff for 4Ed that I'd love to buy, but its DDI only. Meaning for me, at least, I won't get to evaluate it myself without paying for it- completely unlike browsing in a bookstore- which then means I won't buy it at all.
So it's finally happened? D&D reduced to board games...
- Thread starter Erdrick Dragin
- Start date
Firebeetle
Explorer
Personally, instead of constantly grousing about WotC and their market strategy, I'm going to focus on making my campaign as cool as possible.
That and my superfly blog, check it out below.
That and my superfly blog, check it out below.
TheAuldGrump
First Post
First off - not a fan of 4e here. (Pretty well documented, that.)
Secondly - I don't consider 4e to have suddenly become a board game. I may find it too caught up in the minutiae of encounters and combat, but that does not make it a board game. I dislike the collectible card idea, but that still does not make it a board game. Nor are they the first time Collectible Cards have reared their ugly heads in an RPG, anyone remember Cantrip Cards for Changeling, first edition?
Thirdly, I agree with Byron D - the boardgames look like they might be fun, at least if they avoid the things that annoy me with 4e. I still play Warhammer Quest, and have for years. Heck, I played Heroquest, by Milton Bradley/GW last week.
Nothing wrong at all with a beer and pretzels dungeon crawl board game. I am more likely to play a Ravenloft board game than 4e.
So, if anything, I think that the boardgames are not a bad idea.
The Auld Grump
Secondly - I don't consider 4e to have suddenly become a board game. I may find it too caught up in the minutiae of encounters and combat, but that does not make it a board game. I dislike the collectible card idea, but that still does not make it a board game. Nor are they the first time Collectible Cards have reared their ugly heads in an RPG, anyone remember Cantrip Cards for Changeling, first edition?
Thirdly, I agree with Byron D - the boardgames look like they might be fun, at least if they avoid the things that annoy me with 4e. I still play Warhammer Quest, and have for years. Heck, I played Heroquest, by Milton Bradley/GW last week.
Nothing wrong at all with a beer and pretzels dungeon crawl board game. I am more likely to play a Ravenloft board game than 4e.So, if anything, I think that the boardgames are not a bad idea.
The Auld Grump
catsclaw227
First Post
El Mahdi said:
While I totally agree with this, remember when they were doing it and everyone railed on WOTC for putting preview material up? It was crazy.
"WOTC is putting all this damn advertising in the free area of DDI site! They just want us amped up to buy their product, those capitalist pig-dogs!"
Dannager
First Post
The missing part of my post- missing because I didn't put it in there- is that I don't buy entertainment products as pdfs, mp3s or any similar electronic formats.
IOW, even if I could preview the stuff, that it has no existence outside of a computer means I won't be buying it.
catsclaw227
First Post
I understood your post.
I was simply pointing out that WOTC is damned if they put the preview material inside the paywall, and damned if they put it outside the paywall. (Pointing more towards El Mahdi's post)
I was simply pointing out that WOTC is damned if they put the preview material inside the paywall, and damned if they put it outside the paywall. (Pointing more towards El Mahdi's post)
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
I understood your post.
I was simply pointing out that WOTC is damned if they put the preview material inside the paywall, and damned if they put it outside the paywall. (Pointing more towards El Mahdi's post)
LOL! Yeah. I understand the predicament for WotC. You're 100% correct that it's a bit of damned if you do, damned if you don't.But it doesn't change the facts that in order to generate buzz and excitement for your products, you first need to have products (a bit difficult with cancelling so many upcoming releases
), you need to advertise them (which since we're talking about RPG's, that rules out most typical avenues, and requires easily accessed samples), and can't be limited to only the portion of your potential customer base that's already going to buy it anyways.If you do all of the above only where subscribers can see it, then you're limiting your potential customer base to only subscribers. Doesn't sound like a very sound marketing philosophy to me...
If you want to win over customers and make money, then you have to get out there and suffer the slings and arrows that come with it. Or you can choose the quiet path and attempt to avoid such messy interactions...and slowly fade away as a result...
catsclaw227
First Post
I am in agreement 100%. I liked that they used to consistently have preview and promotional material in the free area - IMHO, your point makes complete sense.If you do all of the above only where subscribers can see it, then you're limiting your potential customer base to only subscribers. Doesn't sound like a very sound marketing philosophy to me...
If you want to win over customers and make money, then you have to get out there and suffer the slings and arrows that come with it. Or you can choose the quiet path and attempt to avoid such messy interactions...and slowly fade away as a result...
I also remember a lot of nerd rage and hand-wringing when they were doing it.
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
Yeah, I remember it too.
I think it's kind of always been like that. I remember similar sentiments in letters during the print days of Dungeon and Dragon. "Why is there so much Forgotten Realms...", "Can Dark*Matter be in it's own magazine so we don't have to be bothered by it...", etc. An unfortunate part of doing business. But yeah, people get downright angry!Customers! Such an unsatisfied and contradictory lot...
And speaking of contradictory, even though I won't buy the boardgames (as I won't buy any WotC product until ownable electronic older edition products return), I think they're pretty cool. A fun and interesting diversion from regular game sessions...and a good source of minis! I hope they work out as a financially successful product for WotC.
