WotC WotC reported 50% growth over 2020!

[Scribe]

Totally different financial model. An apples to oranges comparison.

Fair.

I read recently enough that Blizzard however, could easily get by on just the money they make off of whales. Their subs are not completely relevant in comparison.

So the question is, are the D&D Whales, that buy every book and whatever else, sufficient to keeping the train going forward, without the casual players as you define them?

I would think, yes.

 

[Jaeger]

Fair.

I read recently enough that Blizzard however, could easily get by on just the money they make off of whales. Their subs are not completely relevant in comparison.
...

CRPGs need subs the way RPGs need new blood and a constant influx of casual players.

Generally speaking it is the GM's that buy the product and do the work to run the game.

Is there some crossover? Of course there is. But again, generally speaking the number of people that buy RPG product, and the number of people that play the game are two very different numbers.

But you do need those casual players to keep coming in to keep your game line going. And to keep the network effect of your game as big as possible.

It is a pure numbers game. For every X amount of casuals that start playing D&D a small number of them will go on to try out being a GM. And a smaller number of those will become the RPG hobbyists that will be the new 'old guard' in 20 years.

Which is good. RPG's need the hobbyist GM's as part of the the core player base the keeps the games network loop working.

Now for this:

So the question is, are the D&D Whales, that buy every book and whatever else, sufficient to keeping the train going forward, without the casual players as you define them?

Only if you want the game to die off in a few years. There are several RPG lines that have developed themselves into irrelevance by catering solely to their hardcore fans without thinking how a new player would approach their game.

People come and go in and out of RPG gaming all the time for various reasons. You want the new blood constantly coming in filtering through thousands of people to get that one person who will become the new Hobbyist.

So you need to keep your base more or less happy so that they are there as a readily available play network to help casual players try out your game.

It is a balance. In my opinion, WotC shifted the dial a bit too far to the 'player preferences' side of things; a.k.a. "D&D easy mode" and their retention after this current boom will not be what they think it should be.

 

[Hussar]

WotC didn't have to be savvy, it was all luck, it literally fell right into their lap.

Anyone who thinks WotC hasn't been incredibly savvy for the past ten years isn't paying attention.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We can't forget here the goal is D&D as multimedia franchise. Not only to sell the TTRPG, but also novels, comics, (mainly) videogames, cartoons, merchandising products and toys, even for people who know nothing about the lore. Then WotC would work like a idea laboratory/factory to create new lines.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Anyone who thinks WotC hasn't been incredibly savvy for the past ten years isn't paying attention.

Anyone who doesn't think it wasn't mostly luck and the public feedback rather then WotC being savvy hasn't been paying attention for the last 10 years.

WotC didn't plan on popping up on Community, Stranger Things, Big Bang Theory, etc..., or the rise of CR and other streamers or Corona virus, etc..., it doesn't take alot of savvy when it falls into your lap.

 

[Mind of tempest]

Anyone who doesn't think it wasn't mostly luck and the public feedback rather then WotC being savvy hasn't been paying attention for the last 10 years.

WotC didn't plan on popping up on Community, Stranger Things, Big Bang Theory, etc..., or the rise of CR and other streamers or Corona virus, etc..., it doesn't take alot of savvy when it falls into your lap.

it takes more than you would think as being able to use that to fuel you is harder than it looks.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

We can't forget here the goal is D&D as multimedia franchise. Not only to sell the TTRPG, but also novels, comics, (mainly) videogames, cartoons, merchandising products and toys, even for people who know nothing about the lore. Then WotC would work like a idea laboratory/factory to create new lines.

I already want all four of those.

 

[Echohawk]

Anyone who doesn't think it wasn't mostly luck and the public feedback rather then WotC being savvy hasn't been paying attention for the last 10 years.

I don't think those are mutually exclusive. WotC has been incredibly savvy for the last ten years and a big part of that savvy has been exploiting a lot of luck they've had during that same period of time. It is equally possible to fail to capitalise on good luck through lack of savvy (see also D&D and E.T.).

 

[Azuresun]

We can't forget here the goal is D&D as multimedia franchise. Not only to sell the TTRPG, but also novels, comics, (mainly) videogames, cartoons, merchandising products and toys, even for people who know nothing about the lore. Then WotC would work like a idea laboratory/factory to create new lines.

There is nothing, not one single thing that WotC could possibly do that you would not take as evidence of some imminent giga-crossover with Spiderman, GI Joe, Super Mario and The Munsters.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

That happens in all the homes where little children play with toys from different brands and franchises.

Mario Bros in D&D? Yes, it is possible, a mash-up version as a Delight Domain in the future Witchlight setting. The Munsters could appear as a Halloween thematic Deligh Domain. Marvel would rather to launch its own TTRPG with the "616 system".