You're the Head of WOTC. Now What?

[delericho]

In addition, many CEO's of companies that are divisions of larger corporations have surprisingly little influence over their own products. Any change often requires approval from above (e.g. Hasbro) who also requires approval from its board of directors.

Yeah. I have no interest in working for WotC (or Hasbro) in its current incarnation.

Now, if I were to somehow become absurdly rich, and be able to buy the D&D brand and IP out of Hasbro's hands (everything's for sale if you write enough zeroes on the cheque...), that's an interesting thought experiment...

 

[pawsplay]

Well, I'll try to be serious.

1. Launch Gamma World as intended. I would not let it hit the printers until I was absolutely sure every possible ounce of radioactive madness had been stuffed into the design.
2. Make the core D&D books available for about 1/3 of hardcover price as PDFs.
3. Put someone in charge of a "D&D vintage" product line. Their first duty would be to recruit volunteers to turn existing 3e books into generic text files, then release them as OGC as they pass editorial muster. Job two is to produce quality PDFs of older edition products and put them back into PDF. Job three is to get some T-shirts or something going with old Erol Otus covers. Apart from the nostalgia value, gen xers and gen y love that stuff. It's at least as fascinating as Hello Kitty.
4. Freakin' CGI D&D mini-series. Ideally something decent, but honestly, who cares? Could certainly be done on a fairly modest budget. If you can't get it on TV, release it straight to Blu-Ray and put it up on Hulu.
5. Fix the D&D minis line. Create smaller numbers of quality figures of things people actually want. A prepaint player's handbook set is a must; sell them as single. Put out some thematic sets. Lease out the D&D brand to someone to make quality unpainted metals.
6. D&D Clix. Come on, surely some kind of deal could be worked out.
7. Magic: The Gathering, Fury of the Dark Sun expansion pack.
8. D&D Heroscape is a good idea. Keep doing that.
9. Relaunch Chainmail as a miniatures wargame. Six figure skirmishes are cute, but if you want to touch this market, you need armies. Don't try to compete with GW, don't overproduce, just come up with some nice figures that can be produced in volume.
10. Rather than re-inventing the wheel, buy or license existing software. If there is something free that does something you like, hire the developer to make an even better exclusive version.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Do everything in my power to reacquire or otherwise terminate Atari's electronic license, including revocation and litigation.

Secure $200,000,000.00 in development funding for D&D MMO to be released in 2015. Make sure I get a significant cut convertible into share warrants.

Convince Hasbro it's time to sell the brand now that the electronic rights have been reacquired. Secretly do deal with John Reticello and arrange for EA to acquire the entire D&D brand. Spin off print house company for paper products and plastic minis; electronic brand goes to EA to be managed by BioWare.

In response to uproar of community, announce that Dungeon and Dragon are going back into print. Leverage that street cred for all it's worth for longer than I can get away with.

Begin blog where I expose "the truth" about all the mistakes that were made in the past with the brand and how now, finally, it will all be better. Emphasize my predecessors errors and paper over my own failings. Make Hasbro execs the scapegoats - even if it isn't actually true.

Arrange for the babalicious (and maybe sixteen years old) AF Twins to become the "love angels" for the very married Vice President of Toys and Games (boys) at both Toys R Us and Wal-Mart to "meet" the AF Twins. Ensure said AF Twins fulfill all of said managers darkest fantasies whilst compromising video cameras whirl. Use videos to leverage access and ensure my companies mini lines get on the shelf at both Wal-Mart and Toys R US with significant rack space.

Retire.

 

[haakon1]

3. Put someone in charge of a "D&D vintage" product line. Their first duty would be to recruit volunteers to turn existing 3e books into generic text files, then release them as OGC as they pass editorial muster.

Job two is to produce quality PDFs of older edition products and put them back into PDF. Job three is to get some T-shirts or something going with old Erol Otus covers. Apart from the nostalgia value, gen xers and gen y love that stuff. It's at least as fascinating as Hello Kitty.

4. Freakin' CGI D&D mini-series. Ideally something decent, but honestly, who cares? Could certainly be done on a fairly modest budget. If you can't get it on TV, release it straight to Blu-Ray and put it up on Hulu.

9. Relaunch Chainmail as a miniatures wargame. Six figure skirmishes are cute, but if you want to touch this market, you need armies. Don't try to compete with GW, don't overproduce, just come up with some nice figures that can be produced in volume.

I like the ideas I quoted. The t-shirts is a no-brainer. (Coincidently, I always thought the Atari brand was worth more for Urban Outfitter t-shirts than video games.)

As for the actual D& product, though, I'd start a joint-venture with Paizo
1) Paizo owns the rights to D&D the RPG, but Hasbro gets half the profits
2) Hasbro owns the rights to D&D the computer game, movies, TV, t-shirts, etc.
3) Argue about who owns the books

I'd also donate for that statue of Gary in Lake Geneva.

And then I'd probably start looking for a job elsewhere! Execs don't tend to stick around too long anyhow!

 

[EP]

Look at ways to continue growth through further price options and the new Dragonborn book is the perfect example of it. Providing softcover books with a lower price to entice players with smaller budgets - it's the one thing I miss about 2e and early 3e days. Otherwise, just kick back and let the rest of the staff keep up the good work.

 

[Dire Bare]

Lots of good ideas in this thread. Also some bad ones, IMO. While I like the idea of making older D&D products available again (electronically only), I think it would be a terrible business idea to either produce new "classic" D&D products with older rules, and/or to license them out. Creating an OGL for each version of the rules would be kinda neat, though.

I'd fantasized before about winning the lottery, buying out WotC, Paizo, Lucasfilm, and DC Comics. Wrap them all into a new entertainment company under Paizo's leadership. Continue D&D 4e, slightly rebrand Pathfinder as "classic 3rd Edition D&D" and continue that, and create 4e type RPGs for Star Wars and the DC Universe, but without a taxing montly/regular schedule (something akin to the upcoming Gamma World releases).

Have what was Lucasfilm become the film/tv division of my new company and make new (quality!) Star Wars films, DCU films, and of course, D&D films starting with the Dragonlance trilogy a la Jackson's LotR style. I'd continue with the Clone Wars computer animated show, and I'd start a new cartoon (traditional animation or computer) based on "The Legend of Drizzt" books. I'd also start a new animated series on an "Ultimates" style DCU.

I'd continue the D&D miniatures line, perhaps with some tweaks, and definitely with higher quality. I'd also start a complementary miniatures wargame similar to GW's Warhammer model, but less draconian with pricing and customer relations of course! Also miniature games for Star Wars and DCU (but no clix!).

Also, quality toys, board games and CCGs for all properties.

Full D&D Insider support would be expanded to all RPGs, and we'd finally get an amazing virtual tabletop! I would release all older RPG material electronically and by subscription (maybe individual PDFs,maybe not), and each older game would have a virtual tabletop module so it can be played online. But no new products for older games, that just splits focus and the market.

I guess I should get out there and start buying those lotto tickets!!! Maybe a reality check too, anybody know where you can pick one of those up?

 

[Starglyte]

The next two settings for 4th would be Ravenloft and Known World/Hollow World(pre Wrath). Other than that, I would not change anything.

 

[haakon1]

One more idea . . .

Spin WOTC from Hasbro, and go public on NASDAQ.

Announce a shareholder vote will decide the editions war -- will we kill 4e, or not? -- and see if all the flamewars can be turned into filthy lucre!

 

[diaglo]

Maybe a reality check too, anybody know where you can pick one of those up?

reality checks are available all over the intrawebs.
unfortunately, most of them come back as "insufficient funds for withdrawal."

diaglo "bouncy, bouncy, bouncy" Ooi

 

[ashockney]

D&D - The pen and paper RPG (Char Development, Storytelling, Roleplaying)
D&D - The boardgame with miniatures/module expansion packs
D&D - The collectible card game (standalone or cross-over to RPG/B-game)
D&D - The online MMOPRG (Uses the same engine as boardgame)
D&D - The resource building RTS game (Uses the same engine as RPG)
D&D - Organized Play (Hosts conventions, expands market, grows fanbase)
D&D - Worlds (social media, novels, content, settings, tv, radio, movies, etc.)

It is on.