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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 3484394" data-attributes="member: 32164">I hear you Odhanan, and I even understand and empathize. I run a small company myself that's being squeezed out of the business by rising costs of all kinds. I've had a few marginal victories over the years, winning some battles, but I'm losing the war. I had a situation a few years back where I encountered "irreconcilable differences" of opinion with a VERY large media conglomerate. I bluffed and we ended up playing chicken over one particular issue and they blinked first. That doesn't change anything in the world, but it kept me in the business a bit longer.Big corporations do take on a life of their own. Consumerism is an entity of its own, and for good or ill, it drives much of what goes on in society. That said, I'm aware that for roleplaying to continue to exist as a hobby, it needs to attract NEW players. That means Dungeons & Dragons, as the standard bearer for RPGs, has to do what it can to broaden its appeal.This is where we differ. I DO want them to be popular. I'm in a somewhat different case than you, I think. I don't have an active game group. I'm frustrated by my inability to play on a regular basis. Why? Because very few people I know PLAY. Actually, that's not true, but many of my friends who do play live too far away (half a state) for us to game together on a regular basis. So the simple fact is that despite the fact that I know people who game, I don't know enough gamers to game on a regular basis. And that means I don't get to enjoy the hobby as much as I'd like.I have friends I've known for years without finding out they were gamers. Guys I went to college with, work at Renaissance Faires with, or work with who game (or would like to game) on a semi-regular basis but don't, because they don't know enough other gamers. And they don't TALK about their gaming. As a niche hobby, gaming loses gamers.So I applaud WotC's efforts to increase the appeal of the game. If it works, there will be more gamers, and more active games. To my way of thinking, that's not at all a bad thing. I suppose the unfettered hyperbole was getting to me grim. And I didn't mean to insult anyone. I am sorry to see the magazines go. But I can't get angry about it, because I didn't read them on a regular basis. Yeah, I checked them out at the bookstore sometimes, and occasionally bought an issue or two, but I didn't read them every month. Part of my resigned acceptance also comes from something I've seen happening in the publishing industry. Periodicals are dying. If someone had come up with an inexpensive, lightweight, and easily portable tablet, they'd be dead already. We'd all be getting our "magazines" and "newspapers" as SIM cards for uploading into said tablet, or as files downloaded via email or some website. It's practical, it's coming, it saves tons and tons of needless paper waste, and within 20 years, I'll be surprised if printed periodicals exist at all. So the way I see this is that the RPG magazine industry is the proverbial canary in a coalmine. It doesn't make sense to spend money producing something for 40,000 users that you could potentially produce for 400,000 or 4 million, without spending any more money.WotC talks all the time about the fact that the highest cost of developing RPG product is paying writers, designers and developers. Newsprint and paperbacks won't make game products cheaper. Spreading out the fixed costs of creating products over more consumers will. It's not the book that's pricey, it's paying Mike Mearls, Steve Kenson, Ari Marmell, the layout people, the accountants, the insurance, paying for the lights, and so on. WotC can make money on hardcovers because at the volume they do it, producing a glossy paper book with a hardcover costs about $2 per book more than making a paperback in black & white. And the consumer (us, that is) is willing to pay $30 or $35 rather than $20. That can be the difference between a product that loses money (like Sword & Fist) and one that makes money (like Complete Warrior).When you factor in retailer margins and everything else, just consider that if subscribers went from 40,000 to 400,000, WotC could keep the price the same and deliver 10x the content, or 20x, or more. Quite honestly, the fact that the guys "in the know" at WotC are excited makes me excited too. Remember that many of them used to work at, for, or on Dragon and Dungeon. So, if they're excited, there's probably a good reason. And I'd hate to see the anger of a few people sink what could be a great move for both Dungeons & Dragons specifically and the roleplaying game community in general.However, you guys have made me understand where your anger comes from. And for that I thank you.</blockquote>

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