Why do we dig the marketing and sales?

[Ry]

For me it's about watching the hobby grow or not. I mean, the hobby doesn't necessarily equal the industry, but watching the performance of the industry is the most frequently used gauge for the health of the hobby. I care how D&D gets marketed because I want to see the hobby grow.

I also care because how Wizards intends to market D&D can have a big impact on the evolution of the game in terms of rules (both actual game mechanics and the quasi-mechanics that govern player-DM interaction).

 

[WayneLigon]

I can go see a movie without worrying about the ad campaign for it on national TV reaching other consumers. I can eat at a fast food restaurant without worrying that their sales may dip if no one else orders the cheeseburger that I do. I don't go around evangelizing about my cell phone service to people that I think might be interested in it.

With things like this.. one is as good as the other. If Burger King went out of business tomorrow, I can't say I'd miss it. Hardee's or Wendy's or nost other chain burger places would be just as good.

WoTC is not a national brand like that. It's a small niche in a big company that serves a small and apparently shrinking number of gamers. It's not Wendy's; it's the Mom and Pop Sandwich Place that has the best hamburgers in the world. The entire upper and middle management staff of Wendy's could go over a cliff tomorrow and it probably wouldn'tr affect things that much. There would still be a Wendy's. I care very much about Mom and Pop because without them, there is no Mom and Pop's Sandwich Place. Their rich uncle who subsidizes them could decide to sell off the place at any moment with no notice and no forthcoming reason other than 'it was a business decision'. I care about their direction because if they drive poorly, Mom and Pop die in a firey auto accident and again the place closes. And I can't eat anymore of the best hamburgers in the world.

Now, also imagine that if Mom and Pop's closes, all the other Mom and Pop places in the entire US close at the same time, because Mom and Pop supported a vast network of independent shops. Because that's what'll happen without the massive engire of WoTC to effectively subsidize the rest of the industry. No WoTC also means 'no Magic', which will mean pretty much every gaming store in the US will close. A few companies, like Steve Jackson Games, might survive because they have party games that will keep them afloat as companies but they'd drop their gaming lines.

Not even a collection of the other companies has the solvency to buy D&D and produce it themselves, even if Hasbro were willing to do so (I don't see them allowing that to happen, but I have no idea what the contract between them and WoTC said; I assume it's theirs to do with as they please). It would be available only as pirated PDFs on the net, and after a few years that would die as well.

So, I like to know if Mom and Pop are doing well and what their strategy is for continuing to hang in there.

 

[jinx crossbow]

So why are we interested in the business end?

Because this is the board of the EPIC LEVEL GEEKs.

Look who's around here:
- writers (e.g. Mouseferatu)
- bosses (e.g. Mathew Sprange)
- myth (e.g. The Father of the Game & Monte C.)
- experts (e.g. Diaglo)

Such people have big brains which allways need something
to think about and are open for new ideas from others.
This causes them to talk also about themes like buisness and marketing.

Jinx Crossbow

PS: When I am big I also hope to become a EPIC LEVEL GEEK

 

[Maggan]

So why are we interested in the business end?

I work in a marketing related field. Simple as that.

 

[Shadowslayer]

Well, in my case, I just happen to feel the entry level for new players needs a lot of work.

Once you hit a certain age, it becomes really tough to recruit new players. RPGs, as they've been presented thus far, have some pretty wonky principles as far as the averge Joe (who's gaming experience is limited to the odd game of Trivial Pursuit, Clue, or Monopoly) is concerned.

I'd really like to see a lead in that breaks the mold and would make it a lot easier to bring new guys in.

As far as marketing the main game...all the optional rulebooks and whatnot, it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I don't buy a lot of extras anyway.

 

[kenobi65]

My own theory:

1) As WayneLigon notes, it's an organization / brand in which many folks here have an intense personal interest. In that respect, it's no different from football fans commenting on / criticizing the decisions of their favorite team's coaches or managers.

2) WotC doesn't operate with total transparency to its stakeholders (i.e., us); they don't always tell us *why* certain decisions are made (nor should they, IMO). Because of this, we don't always understand why WotC does what it does, which makes some people feel that WotC must be "stupid".