What do you want to ask WotC?

[diaglo]

Will any new OD&D(1974) content be available in the new format?
How about old OD&D(1974) content?

 

[Ghendar]

A little forthcoming info would have been nice WotC

This may have been asked already, or possibly something like it, so please disregard if that is true.

To WotC...
Paizo followed up the announcement of the Dragon and Dungeon licenses being pulled with their plans for the future, specifically the new mag/book Pathfinder. That leads one to believe that they (Paizo) knew this was coming and planned for it. They even showed us some previews of what Pathfinder would be like.

This may be awfully simplistic, but if Paizo could do that, why couldn't WotC do the same and follow up this announcement with a press release giving the fans some tangible examples of what was coming instead of vague assurances that the DI stuff would be good?

It could have been as simple as someone at WotC saying, "Okay, Dragon and Dungeon as print mags may be going away but here's some examples of what will be replacing it" Followed up by a web link so we could all see for ourselves.

 

[meomwt]

Here are some concerns I don't believe have been addressed by other posters:

1. How do WotC plan to promote the DI to people who don't frequent their website, or Paizo, or ENWorld?
2. Will the site be user-friendly to gamers from countries outside the USA and Canada (i.e. pricing options in € or £, etc.)?
3. There is a growing feeling that role-playing in general is not competing with the console game or MMORPG markets in attracting the next generation of players. The loss of the magazines to the news-stand or bookshop may mean loss of a valuable route to attracting younger players. How do WotC plan to market D&D so as to bring in today's teens?
4. Will the new media production carry adverts (in-house or external) in the same way that the magazines did?
5. What do WotC estimate the readership of the new DI would be? Does it compare to the circulations of the individual magazines which are being replaced?

I'm sure I'll think of some more, but that's all for now. Thanks to Morrus for structuring this thread.

 

[jeff37923]

Not trying to be a pushy dork here, but when can we expect to see the answers to our questions from WotC?

 

[JoeGKushner]

How will errata be handled in the electronic products? You are selling e-books but they are not updated with any errata. How will errata be handled for a product line whose selling point is that it's online?

Will accounts be per PC or per user? i.e. can I log onto my account anywhere or does it have to be from a specific PC.

How searchable will it be? Will it be like Pyramid where I can serach pretty much anything?

Will it incorporate older material ala Pyramid?

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

This may have been asked already, or possibly something like it, so please disregard if that is true.

To WotC...
Paizo followed up the announcement of the Dragon and Dungeon licenses being pulled with their plans for the future, specifically the new mag/book Pathfinder. That leads one to believe that they (Paizo) knew this was coming and planned for it. They even showed us some previews of what Pathfinder would be like.

This may be awfully simplistic, but if Paizo could do that, why couldn't WotC do the same and follow up this announcement with a press release giving the fans some tangible examples of what was coming instead of vague assurances that the DI stuff would be good?

It could have been as simple as someone at WotC saying, "Okay, Dragon and Dungeon as print mags may be going away but here's some examples of what will be replacing it" Followed up by a web link so we could all see for ourselves.

I am speculating in the worst way, but I have a feeling WotC probably couldn't do this because they were not at the same point, content planning-wise, as Paizo was. Since WotC is part of the larger Haboro corporation, decisions may have been made and legal moves set in motion before clearance for things like hiring of key people and early design development could be completed. This will be a big change for them, if they are truly committed to providing good online content in a revenue generating form. It isn't as simple as having their current web designers throw up some ideas. In addition, because they are a publicly traded company, I believe there are rules about disclosure of changes like this, they may not have been able to sit on the decision until everything was suitably in place.

Paizo, as a smaller, more nimble company was able to respond more quickly, especially since it didn't change their core business model, other than their next AP being published under their own brand name, and removing any non-OGL material.

 

[LeaderDesslok]

As I write this it's only 7:45am on the left coast, which means the early birds at WotC are just getting their coffee and turning on their PCs. On top of that, it's Monday. I'd give'em a few hours to get settled before they start defending the walls.

I'm not affiliated with ENWorld or WotC, but I think it's probably a safe bet that questions asking Wizards to detail their decision-making process aren't going to get anything but the vaguest of answers at best. While I am very saddened by the cancellation of Dragon and Dungeon, the deed has been done, there's no use in beating a dead horse. We need to focus on working with Wizards, not against them, to ensure they give us a product we can enjoy, however begrudgingly.

Remember, there is historical precedent that changes once thought to be great, but that flopped on an epic scale, can be reversed. I present you with New Coke, ladies and gentleman.

Despite a poor online presence in the past, I'm willing to try and work with the new tools at my disposal.

Now, to validate this post for Morrus, a question:

Will we be seeing any type of special event at GenCon to celebrate the transformation of Dragon/Dungeon to the Digital Initiative? (I don't want to say a memorial or a wake, cuz I sure don't want to go to one of those).

 

[Morrus]

Not trying to be a pushy dork here, but when can we expect to see the answers to our questions from WotC?

I haven't even compiled a list of questions yet, let alone sent it along. I'll be doing that later today/this evening; I don't know how long it will take them to return the replies, but I'll try to get a rough ETA.

 

[D.Shaffer]

My only question is this.

When will we see some concrete facts about what the 'Digital Initiative' will include? Price structure? Formating? What'll be included? What sort of perks will there be? Will it all be available at once or will they slowly filter in? Related to pricing, but what about other online WotC products such as MTG Online or the new Goblins game? Will that also be part of the price?

 

[Felon]

Morrus,

Thanks for doing this. I noticed you clearly said "no soapboxing, questions only". I can't help but notice a few folks seem to have interpreted that as meaning "blatant soapboxing is OK, as long as you couch it as a question". Case in point:

How will WotC repair relations with D&D/d20 hobbists considering our righteous anger stirred up by such a grossly mis-managed announcement? Anyone with real marketing savy would agree this was badly handled. I am absolutely flabbergasted that such a bomb was dropped and nothing of substance was immediatedly presented to mute the utterly predictable explosion. (Vague marketing claims of future cool stuff is definitely not "substance" - it is just plain hot air compared what was done to us.) How come a detailed "compensating" presentation of what was to replace the loss of our gaming icons was not immediately ready? A smooth finish to a new beginning would have at least stilled the anger if not the skepticism. If I continue to be a customer of WotC it will always be tainted by this atrocious "gaff".

Most of my other questions have already been asked by others, but one big one remains: Would WotC like to apologize for the sorrow and outrage their announcement and subsequent handling of the backlash has caused? I'm dead serious--this question has a 0% snark factor. Even their talk about being afraid of being ripped to shreds on these boards intimates that the fans--not WotC--are responsible for all the craziness of the last few days. I'm not expecting them to reverse their decision (although I'd love to see that); they seem to truly believe that their digital initiative will rock, and perhaps it will. I expect them to stick to their guns and follow through on the path they've chosen. What I DO want, however, is for them to 'fess up and admit that the way in which they mishandled this fiasco was horrendous. Anything less will leave a sour taste in my mouth.

This is not in keeping with the spirit of the "no soapboxing" imperative--in fact it seems like coy disregard for it--and I would beg you to put your foot down on the matter; these are not the kinds of games I enjoy seeing people play.