Wil Wheaton Drops Dungeon Column

[Mouseferatu]

You mean like they did with Polyhedron, which (with all due respect to Mr. Wheaton) contributed a whole lot more to gaming than "Wil Save"?

Yes, I'm bitter. No, I won't get over it, so don't ask.

Only problem with that anology is that, as I understand it, the Polyhedron issue wasn't a loud minority. If it was, I doubt Erik would ever have dropped it. It was actually a financial/marketing issue.

When sales actually drop markedly over something, and pick back up when that something is gone, it can't really be called a "screaming minority" anymore, can it?

(For the record, while I'm happier without Poly, I didn't hate it. I wasn't really involved in those discussions except when a specific question was asked and responses sought.)

 

[DonTadow]

I consider Dungeon magazine more than just an adventure guide but a DM centered magazine. I'd like to see something similiar to Wil's column or something DM related that is not something they already have in the book.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I consider Dungeon magazine more than just an adventure guide but a DM centered magazine. I'd like to see something similiar to Wil's column or something DM related that is not something they already have in the book.

I would, as well.

In fact, the more I think of it, the more I like the "rotating" column idea put forth earlier in this thread. I think if Paizo could get a good and random mix of...

1) Celebrities who are gamers
2) Big names in the RPG industry
3) Other folks in the RPG industry*

...each of whom would write one or two columsn and move on, it would be a really great cross-section of views on the hobby.

*(I am not just suggesting we include option 3 because I want to be part of it, though I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an aspect of my motivation. The truth is, I like and respect the viewpoints of a lot of my contemporaries as much as--or in some cases even more than--the views of the classic "big names." I'd like to see the up-and-comers have a voice in this, alongside and with equal weight to the big guys.)

 

[Riley]

I thought a column in Dungeon by Wil Wheaton was a terrible idea, but it quickly became the first thing I read each month. He will certainly be missed.

 

[Henry]

You mean like they did with Polyhedron, which (with all due respect to Mr. Wheaton) contributed a whole lot more to gaming than "Wil Save"?

Yes, I'm bitter. No, I won't get over it, so don't ask.

Except that relatively few of its readers read Poly/Dungeon, myself included. My purchase of Dungeon has noticably (to me) picked back up since that design change.

And I wouldn't expect you to get over it - it was a handy magazine for those who used it.

 

[Erik Mona]

You mean like they did with Polyhedron, which (with all due respect to Mr. Wheaton) contributed a whole lot more to gaming than "Wil Save"?

With great respect to the people who still mourn Polyhedron (hey, I put it together!), I have to say that the vocal dislike on behalf of some customers was merely one element that ensured its demise. The sales numbers were the main reason we made the change.

While Dungeon with Polyhedron brought a bunch of new people to the magazine, it also drove off enough people that, at the end of the day, it was pretty much a wash. And when your circulation trendline is heading down, down, down, a "wash" doesn't quite do it.

The numbers on Dungeon have been quite positive for more than year now, no doubt in part because Wil Save brought some people to the magazine. What impact the loss of the column will have on sales remains to be seen, but I strongly believe we're releasing very high-quality material useful in a wide variety of games, so I have every reason to believe that Dungeon will continue to improve its business fortunes in the months ahead.

Paizo as a company is very, very pleased with the sales trends of Dungeon magazine.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon

 

[DonTadow]

I would, as well.

In fact, the more I think of it, the more I like the "rotating" column idea put forth earlier in this thread. I think if Paizo could get a good and random mix of...

1) Celebrities who are gamers
2) Big names in the RPG industry
3) Other folks in the RPG industry*

...each of whom would write one or two columsn and move on, it would be a really great cross-section of views on the hobby.

*(I am not just suggesting we include option 3 because I want to be part of it, though I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an aspect of my motivation. The truth is, I like and respect the viewpoints of a lot of my contemporaries as much as--or in some cases even more than--the views of the classic "big names." I'd like to see the up-and-comers have a voice in this, alongside and with equal weight to the big guys.)

Honestly, i woudln't mind seeing some third party publishers opinions on things. Most of my stuff is third party. I like this rotating idea as well. Perhaps the first column could be Vin Diesel lol... no i'm not kidding.

 

[takasi]

Am I the only one who didn't like the articles? It was like subscribing to a PC gaming magazine and opening up the back pages to read about some guy's random experiences while playing his gameboy. I won't miss them at all.

 

[The Shaman]

When sales actually drop markedly over something, and pick back up when that something is gone, it can't really be called a "screaming minority" anymore, can it?

I freely admit this is a subject in which rationality goes out the window for me, I'm afraid...

The people who stopped buying Dungeon because of Poly exerted a different sort of pressure on the publisher, one which hit the bottom line instead of the message boards. But it's the same kind of response, one in which ruining someone else's fun is okay if it means getting one's way. Don't like the mini-games? Boycott the magazine! Don't like the column? Bad-mouth the writer! It's small-minded, and it's ugly.

I stopped buying Dungeon after Poly was dropped, as it no longer offered useful content for me. The same can't be said of the people who complained about Poly's inclusion - they still had useful content in every issue that included Poly, but that still wasn't good enough. And please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've read Dungeon's circulation didn't jump by 51% after Poly disappeared - it was a minority of purchasers as well, and Paizo wasn't willing or able to ride it out and re-position itself in the market. (Yes, responsibility to shareholders and all that...but how does anything innovative grow if the bottom line is the only measure of success?)

Now a one-page column is dropped because the writer decides it's not worth the grief to subject himself to childish taunts anymore (the "straw that broke the back," as it was described earlier). Like I said, it's ugly, and it's also sad.

And I wouldn't have minded hearing what Wil had to say about poker. It's a game I play too.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Am I the only one who didn't like the articles? It was like subscribing to a PC gaming magazine and opening up the back pages to read about some guy's random experiences while playing his gameboy. I won't miss them at all.

Nope - you weren't alone. I have no feelings one way or another towards Wil Wheaton the person but I did not find his articles interesting and, after the first 1/2 dozen, never read them. I do hope that losing his article doesn't negatively affect Dungeon sale, however. The quality has really never been higher.