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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 8305889" data-attributes="member: 907"><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/ryan-dancey-acquiring-tsr.661632/" target="_blank">This</a> is probably the best account of why TSR failed, written by the person Wizards sent in to save the things that could be saved. The most relevant excerpt would probably be: I discovered that the cost of the products that company was making in many cases exceeded the price the company was receiving for selling those products. I toured a warehouse packed from floor to 50 foot ceiling with products valued as though they would soon be sold to a distributor with production stamps stretching back to the late 1980s. I was 10 pages in to a thick green bar report of inventory, calculating the true value of the material in that warehouse when I realized that my last 100 entries had all been "$0"'s.In other words, TSR published tons of junk. At their (seeming) height, they published something like a dozen products per month, spread out over a number of sub-product lines. Here's what they released in 1994, for example:[spoiler]Core (25):First QuestCouncil of WyrmsMonstrous Compendium Annual Volume OneThe Complete Paladin's HandbookThe Complete Druid's HandbookThe Complete Book of VillainsAge of Heroes Campaign SourcebookThe Crusades Campaign SourcebookEncyclopedia Magica, Volume IFighter's Challenge IITemple, Tower & TombWizard's Challenge IICity SitesFighter's ScreenPriest's ScreenThief's ScreenWizard's ScreenTreasure ChestDeck of Encounters, Set OneDeck of Encounters, Set TwoDeck of Psionic PowersFighter's Player PackPriest's Player PackThief's Player PackWizard's Player PackDark Sun (4):City by the Silt SeaThe Will & The WayBlack SpineForest MakerRavenloft (9):Ravenloft Campaign SettingMasque of the Red Death and Other TalesRavenloft Monstrous Compendium Appendix III: Creatures of DarknessVan Richten's Guide to the CreatedVan Righten's Guide to the Ancient DeadAdam's WrathThe AwakeningHour of the KnifeHowls in the NightPlanescape (7):Planescape Campaign SettingPlanes of ChaosPlanescape Monstrous Compendium AppendixThe Eternal BoundaryWell of WorldsIn the AbyssThe Deva SparkMystara (6):Karameikos: Kingdom of AdventureHail the HeroesNight of the VampireMystara Monstrous Compendium AppendixPoor Wizard's Almanac III & Book of FactsRed Steel Campaign ExpansionForgotten Realms (10):The Ruins of Undermountain II: The Deep LevelsCity of SplendorsElminster's EcologiesElves of EvermeetVolo's Guide to the Sword CoastCormyrBook of LairsMarco Volo: DepartureMarco Volo: JourneyMarco Volo: Arrival[/spoiler]That's a total of 61 products, or five per month (and I'm not counting novels in this). At least 12 of those were boxed sets, making for one per month. One was a revision of a setting only released four years prior (with a second revision coming three years later).All in all, the biggest problem was that TSR churned out so, SO much junk. And a major contributor of all that junk was that they were supporting five settings that year (including launching two), in addition to core D&D. I'm not saying there weren't some good things in that pile – throw enough stuff at the wall, and some of it will stick.</blockquote>

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