This entire thread is predicated on the idea that some person on the internet with qualifications impossible to verify knows more about the Role Playing Game sector then people who've made it their business to know about the Role Playing Game sector.
You might be right. You might be smarter then the influential people at Hasbro/WoTC.
But if we were in Vegas, I don't think anyone would put "smart" money on that proposition.
ETA: I love the posts about how its reasonable to assume everyone that plays a D20 game automatically, and inherently has a PHB. Not even everyone in my DECADE old DnD group (formed at the release of 3.0) owns a PHB. If a group likes a ruleset (i.e. D20), they're going to buy into that ruleset. They're however not necessarily going to buy unnecessary "official" books, simply because they've decided to play Spycraft.
In the end... like everything in life... the OGL helped WoTC in some ways, and hurt them in others. The *VAST* majority of people in this thread are focusing so fervently on the "helped" them part that this thread has nearly turned into parody.
Unless, that it, you think WoTC is run by monkeys who don't have a clue whats in their best interest. Especially with oversight by Hasbro, I find that supposition to be quite unlikely. WoTC will do what is statistically to their best advantage. That might be to support the OGL, that might be to discontinue the OGL. Either way, its (thankfully) in the hands of people who've decided to make it their life to study this *SPECIFIC* sector, and not people who think they know the "ins and outs" of capitalism because they own stock in a technologies company.
It might help your little computer company to share your innovations, so everyone can build upon your new paradigm. Thats fantastic! I wish you the best.
It doesn't however benefit Colonel Sanders to go around blabbing whats in his eleven secret herbs and spices.
The point?
Not every sector is identical, there are no "golden rules" for capitalism (or else no one would ever lose money), and you're entire post... as I said in my initial "pre-edit" post... is predicated on the assumption that you're more intelligent then a multi-billion dollar corporation.
I'm not saying I'm smarter then you. I'm not saying I'm right, and you're wrong. I'm just saying WoTC will make the decision it feels is best for itself, and any griping, whining, or pouting from the peanut gallery will simply be because that decision isn't *ALSO* best for them. Not because that decision wasn't best for WoTC.
(The argument that standalone books caused 'lost sales' of PHBs is pretty fallacious; while I'm sure a small minority started with M&M or Spycraft, for the vast bulk of customers, they already OWNED a PHB, so nothing was lost.)
The "vast majority" of a small group is still not really all that important. Thats like saying "most internet troll agree... the sky is red!" Consensus does not equal truth... especially when dealing with the largest contingent of a small demographic.
Jdvn1 said:
Precisely, and because of the OGL, there are tons of books that are designed for use with D&D. And, I know plenty of people who play a system like that but not D&D.
You realize the situation you've just outlined specifically harms WoTC... right? People who might have played DnD because its a fine system... but don't because they've chosen instead to play a game licensed through the OGL.
The vast majority of games utilizing the OGL, in my experience, have been in fantasy setting. "Me too" books. Spycraft, M&M, or Conan might not inherently detract from WoTC sales... but these "DnD clone" books certainly do. A player/DM has "X" dollars to spend per month on books/games. We aren't just talking about core books here. If that "X" goes to a DnD clone (as good as that clone might be), instead of another WoTC book, its lost WoTC money.