Why WOTC shouldn't have gotten rid of the Dungeon and Dragon magazine

[Aus_Snow]

I agree. Though I am far from 'hyped about 4e', regarding D&D (Dragon and Dungeon) I couldn't agree more in fact.

Bring them back, please.

 

[The Merciful]

What I don't get is this idea that digital content and old fashioned paper products are somehow mutually exclusive. Even this thread seems to subscripe to that dichotomy. Why?

Anyway, I'm firmly in "chancelling Dragon and Dungeon magazines was bad" camp.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

What I don't get is this idea that digital content and old fashioned paper products are somehow mutually exclusive. Even this thread seems to subscripe to that dichotomy. Why?

Actually, I think that people would like to have both, but print is more important to them.

I guess only Wizards were the ones thinking that print and digital would be mutually exclusive, or they hadn't killed Dungeon and Dragon for those DI (Digital Impostors)

As I said: As much as I like PDFs (great for preparation and the like), nothing beats a nice book or magazine you can read in bed, on the toilet, or just about everywhere.

 

[Mark Hope]

I voted for back in print... but not if WotC produces them. Realistic or not, I have no faith in them to deliver the goods. I'd want Paizo to do it. Of course, that can't happen now that Paizo have moved on, so it's just wishful thinking. Damn shame either way.

 

[danbuter1]

I will never pay for DI. I happily bought at least every other issue of Dragon, and 3 or 4 issues of Dungeon every year (depending on the issue contents). This is money that is now spent on LOTRO.

 

[Festivus]

I'm not voting until I see everything DI has to offer.

As I have mentioned on the WoTC boards, content wise it's no comparison. Paizo left some very big shoes to fill in terms of both quality and content. They were doing a stellar job, and continue to do so with their Pathfinder/Gamemastery stuff. But I also think it's too soon to draw judgement (at least personally). I can't wait to see how they integrate things like the character vaults, virtual tabletop and the Dungeon magazine adventures. I can see adventures that have errors in stat blocks being corrected after they are released (I happen to be reading Dungeon 125 right now, stat block errors galore).

Having little kids, I am rather starting to like the PDF concept, however I too wish they would have gone the Paizo Pathfinder route, discount for the subscription and free PDF content. At present, if my kids shred a Dungeon (paizo) I would flip out. If they shredded the PDF I would just reprint.

I think they need to work out technical matters and ramp up the production machine. I get the feeling they underestimated the resources required to produce two monthly magazines, regardless of format. And bi-monthly issues won't fly at $10 a month.

 

[Fifth Element]

In the worst case, this could lead to the Digital Initiative simply falling flat. And, if it is a catastrophic failure, WotC would have to write off the money invested in it. Suddenly, the 'line item' that is D&D to Hasbro goes from a negligible profit to a big loss. All it would take then is for Hasbro to have a bad quarter, to look for things to cut, and D&D is cancelled.

This assumes, of course, that they're not writing off the expenditures as they're incurred to begin with.

But presumably a catastrophic failure would mean revenue falling far short of expectation, which would have the same effect.

 

[Midknightsun]

I agree wholeheartedly about bringing the magazines back in print. While 4e seems so far to be very interesting to me as well, they really messed up by cancelling the mags. I highly, highly doubt I'll by an online subscription. Its just not the same, and as has been said before, I'm not overly impressed with the articles so far.

 

[KingCrab]

Bring em back and give em to Paizo. Seriously, I understand what WotC was trying to do. Paizo was doing such a good job with the magazines, it makes it really hard to try to sell a lesser product under the same name.

Keep up the minis and playing online in the DI. Give back Dungeon and Dragon.

 

[KingCrab]

I voted for back in print... but not if WotC produces them. Realistic or not, I have no faith in them to deliver the goods. I'd want Paizo to do it. Of course, that can't happen now that Paizo have moved on, so it's just wishful thinking. Damn shame either way.

I'm sure paizo hasn't moved on that much that they wouldn't be able to start back up again. They know how to make these magazines great, which is what's most important. They may have to work out the pathfinder/dungeon overlap but in this case, I think they could go back.