D&D General Why grognards still matter

[kayakingpoodle]

The only metric of concern is total profit.

Exactly, which means maximizing purchases from the brodest customer base possible, not focusing on a single portion of that group at the expense of other parts based on title sales. Otherwise why print more than the PHB?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes, sure. So after one complaint TO THE MANAGEMENT AND NOT THEIR CUSTOMERS, you go find another restaurant you do like. You don't return, not buy anything, but sit down next to their current customers and complain about how much you liked their old menu and think this new menu stinks every day for years, right?

Fair enough, and you definitely shouldn't be a jerk, but I do feel the equation changes a bit (a bit) when the restaurant you don't like is by far the most popular, and all most people ever talk about, and every other restaurant is compared to it as it sets some kind of objective standard. That's a little annoying if you still like to eat at restaurants, especially if what you do like is close enough to the popular place that conversation has a fair amount of overlap.

Still no excuse for rudeness, of course.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The only metric of concern is total profit.

What a sad thing to be all one cares about if your business is making things people use for fun.

 

[Umbran]

It really comes down to which customers the restaurant wants, they can keep both groups if they want, by adjusting the menu to end up with the maximum number of customers.

But, there are expenses associated with that. You cannot, for example, serve both kosher meals and non-kosher ones out of the same kitchen. You can keep both groups, but you need two kitchens (technically, three, but hey), and double the costs associated with them.

And goodness help you if one group says that they are allergic to pineapple, and cannot have it in the same restaurant as they are eating...

Edit to add: It has been suggested that my reference to keeping kosher has issues, and that's fair enough. The point was that different groups of customers may have different requirements that makes a hard line between them, such that serving both groups means trying to serve a market that's actually not one market, but two.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

Or, they can change with the times and keep most of their customers Its not on them that one angery guy walks around with a sandwich board that says, "the end is nigh" all day; every day.

If it was just one angry customer sure, but that is not the case.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I've never once seen someone say or imply that you are obligated to buy RPG products you dislike in order to prop up Hasbro. There is little we all agree on here, but I think it's pretty universal that people encourage you to buy and play whatever brings you joy.

I've occasionally seen people say that lack of support will destroy the hobby. Its not common but it does happen.

 

[kayakingpoodle]

But, there are expenses associated with that. You cannot, for example, serve both kosher meals and non-kosher ones out of the same kitchen. You can keep both groups, but you need two kitchens (technically, three, but hey), and double the costs associated with them.

And goodness help you if one group says that they are allergic to pineapple, and cannot have it in the same restaurant as they are eating...

How did we get to kosher and allergies from vegan?

 

[Thomas Shey]

It is the nature of the game that the few will be the biggest buyers, and the masses will be the small purchasers that rely on the few that buy the most. In a game that doesn't require a single purchase from the IP holder to play.

Perhaps if you're talking D&D specfically (though obviously your last part applies to almost all of them). There are a lot of games where a single corebook is all that's needed, and most non-corebooks are player-facing.

 

[Thomas Shey]

Exactly, which means maximizing purchases from the brodest customer base possible, not focusing on a single portion of that group at the expense of other parts based on title sales. Otherwise why print more than the PHB?

In some cases, because the other books help sell more PHBs. That doesn't mean it makes sense to print as many of them as PHBs.

 

[Thomas Shey]

What a sad thing to be all one cares about if your business is making things people use for fun.

The larger a business is, the more likely that's true, however.