Wizards 2008 releases?

[Kae'Yoss]

*pauses*...

Okay. You need a vacation my friend.

And leave this ninjamancer-proof room? No way!

 

[DaveMage]

I have been watching the trades and certain signs point to Hasbro selling off D&D IPs or just abandoning it all together.

point one-the ending of Dragon and dungeon magazine

point two- lack of any catalog or even HINTS on what is coming next year.

Point 3-Hasbro is bleeding money (mostly from there WOTC aquisition things)

So Some signs look to be a sell off. I wouldnt be surprised.

And then there's this....

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=26857

 

[DM_Jeff]

ANOTHER SIGN! Now I have always been skeptical on 4E rumors, but I am seeing a lot of signs now and this is definitely another one. It's too much of a coincidence now. I have to start my own conspiracy theory now.

I haven't cracked yet. WotC at D&D Experience earlier this year said "It's a long ways away. You'll get an announcement when that happens, but it's a long ways away. We have a lot of good stuff coming out through 2008."

Add to that the fact that I doubt Paizo would begin a multi-part adventure series with Pathfinder and not hold back if they felt a new Edition would be coming so soon.

As far as the lack of WotC staff here: Rememebr Scott Rouse mentioned there would be a diminished presence as they prepped for GenCon. Maybe when the con is finished they might come on board, or GenCon may reveal products not yet on the schedule.

I feel safe from the evil for now.

And at the moment my wallet will feel safe the first quarter of 2008.

-DM Jeff

 

[JustKim]

I have been watching the trades and certain signs point to Hasbro selling off D&D IPs or just abandoning it all together.

point one-the ending of Dragon and dungeon magazine

Reclaiming the license on Dragon and Dungeon is exactly the opposite of selling off IP. If you followed the issue, you would know that the decision was made to strengthen WotC's Digital Initiative, which is in the works.

point two- lack of any catalog or even HINTS on what is coming next year.

Bob, look at the 5th post in this very thread. We have products up to Spring 2008. That's roughly 9 months ahead, which is how WotC has announced their products for quite some time. Nothing strange is going on there.

Point 3-Hasbro is bleeding money (mostly from there WOTC aquisition things)

Please quantify what you are talking about. Are you suggesting Hasbro is going to lose money because the Dragonlance, Kenzer and Paizo licenses are expiring? Are you suggesting the Transformers card game or Star Wars RPG are losing a lot of money? Where did you come by this unintuitive information?

So Some signs look to be a sell off. I wouldnt be surprised.

Frankly Bob, I would die of shock.

 

[bobacus]

here is some stock info. notice articles on right.

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=HAS

As for the dungeon/dragon thing. from what i read they are just gonna go thru website for info. Why? cause printing is costing too much. I dont think licsensing is REALLY the issue.

Also look at the shake ups over at the TCG part of WOTC. Lots of changes.

And generally when a corp starts cutting in an area they are trying to make it easier to sell. But hey, I could be wrong. But my opinion. Wotc needs to go back solo.

Plus I found they are letting more and more liscenses expire....curiouser and curiouser...

http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=23865

 

[Hamburger Mary]

Why? cause printing is costing too much.

This would be perfectly logical... if WotC had been printing Dungeon or Dragon. They weren't. Whatever those costs were, they were born by Paizo. And WotC wasn't paying PAIZO; presumably, Paizo was paying WotC for use of the license. So the idea that WotC pulled Paizo's license because it was costing WotC too much money (directly) doesn't hold water. With that said...

Plus I found they are letting more and more liscenses expire....curiouser and curiouser...

Doesn't seem curious to me at all - seems quite obvious. They're trying to put the genie back in the bottle.

D20 is a limited market. WotC likely isn't making as much money from it as they hoped. So now they want to do what they can to make ALL the money. Paizo had the ability to produce official D20 material. Now that's back in the hands of WotC. Again, it's not a sign that Paizo was failing; it's a sign that they were doing well, and that WotC would like to regain control of that revenue stream. Letting the licenses of other INDEPENDENT contractors lapse works the same way: at the end of the day, it makes WotC the one true source for official material. When 4E finally comes out - whether it's year or years from now - I'm sure it won't have an OGL associated with it. At which point WotC will be, once again, the sole source for D&D material.

So you're right. WotC probably isn't making as much money as Hasbro wants. But I see no signs that they're planning to throw in the towel. They have products announced nine months ahead. They're starting new trilogies of novels, which won't be completed for two or three years. They're starting the Digital Initiative, and the set-up up work on that is taking time - which means money. They aren't giving up - they're trying to regain full control over what has become a very diffuse market.