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WotC Has Owned D&D Longer Than TSR Did
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<blockquote data-quote="innerdude" data-source="post: 8230173" data-attributes="member: 85870"><p>So on a certain level, it is interesting / cause for reflection that the D&D game has been owned by its "acquirers" longer than its creators. And were Gygax and Arneson still around, I'm certain they would have some interesting musings to share on the topic.</p><p></p><p>But as I think about it, on a broader level I don't know that the ownership of the Dungeons and Dragons game property really matters any more. </p><p></p><p>To be clear, I'm talking about ownership of the <em>game</em>, not the <em>brand</em>. Ownership of the D&D "brand" obviously matters a great deal to whoever is trying to monetize it. </p><p></p><p>But ownership of the <em>game</em> is really no longer even a "thing." Some of that is directly attributable to the OGL and the 3e game mechanics essentially being added to the public domain. Some of it is attributable to the internet, and the ability for gamers to meaningfully connect and share information in ways that weren't possible 25 years ago---homebrews, variants, the OSR movement, ready access and word of mouth around competitor products. As such, D&D the "game" is broadly available to literally anyone who wants access to it with a bare minimum level of monetary investment.</p><p></p><p>What's more interesting than the simple elapsing of time is the fact that in almost 50 years, nothing has come close to toppling "D&D - The Brand" as the #1 market leader in its space---even though IMHO there's objectively better <em>game</em> systems out there.</p><p></p><p>If anything it's an absolute testament to the power of market networking / mindshare / lifestyle interconnection / brand identification. D&D is a fascinating case study of the power of brand loyalty.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="innerdude, post: 8230173, member: 85870"] So on a certain level, it is interesting / cause for reflection that the D&D game has been owned by its "acquirers" longer than its creators. And were Gygax and Arneson still around, I'm certain they would have some interesting musings to share on the topic. But as I think about it, on a broader level I don't know that the ownership of the Dungeons and Dragons game property really matters any more. To be clear, I'm talking about ownership of the [I]game[/I], not the [I]brand[/I]. Ownership of the D&D "brand" obviously matters a great deal to whoever is trying to monetize it. But ownership of the [I]game[/I] is really no longer even a "thing." Some of that is directly attributable to the OGL and the 3e game mechanics essentially being added to the public domain. Some of it is attributable to the internet, and the ability for gamers to meaningfully connect and share information in ways that weren't possible 25 years ago---homebrews, variants, the OSR movement, ready access and word of mouth around competitor products. As such, D&D the "game" is broadly available to literally anyone who wants access to it with a bare minimum level of monetary investment. What's more interesting than the simple elapsing of time is the fact that in almost 50 years, nothing has come close to toppling "D&D - The Brand" as the #1 market leader in its space---even though IMHO there's objectively better [I]game[/I] systems out there. If anything it's an absolute testament to the power of market networking / mindshare / lifestyle interconnection / brand identification. D&D is a fascinating case study of the power of brand loyalty. [/QUOTE]
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