tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post6114171542604179181..comments2024-03-26T02:31:48.024-05:00Comments on Trollsmyth: "Go ahead. Get peanut butter in the chocolate."trollsmythhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-78649654302850983562008-05-01T16:41:00.000-05:002008-05-01T16:41:00.000-05:00Oh, I absolutely agree, though I think the real pr...Oh, I absolutely agree, though I think the real problem is in the word <I>publishing</I> rather than <I>book</I>. Yes, trying to sell games is closer to the needs of the hobby than trying to sell books, but let's be honest, here; there's little that's been done in the last quarter century that I couldn't do with my Moldvay/Cook D&D (and most of that didn't come from either TSR or WotC). That's why I'm rather supportive of the whole D&D Insider thing. Anything that better aligns the goals of the industry with the goals of the hobby (which is more people having fun playing games) is a good thing in my book. I just wish D&D Insider looked more like the killer ap it really needs to be.<BR/><BR/>- Briantrollsmythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-22869131058103117492008-05-01T16:29:00.000-05:002008-05-01T16:29:00.000-05:00WotC is in the book-publishing business.And that, ...<I>WotC is in the book-publishing business.</I><BR/><BR/>And that, right there, is the root of the problem. WotC should not be in the book-publishing business. They should be in the <I>game</I>-publishing business. Now, I think you're absolutely correct that WotC is in a tight spot, but it's a spot they themselves created, so my sympathy is rather limited. 3e, in its early days, had a much less prolific release schedule and part of the intention behind the D20 STL/OGL was to "farm" some of the minor products off to third parties, so WotC could stick to fewer, bigger, must-have releases that all <I>D&D</I> players would buy. Somewhere along the line, that plan got axed and here we are today on the hardbacks-as-periodicals model of publishing. Phooey on them.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-54733265905164717212008-05-01T14:18:00.000-05:002008-05-01T14:18:00.000-05:00I honestly think this one of those damned-if-you-d...I honestly think this one of those damned-if-you-do,-damned-if-you-don't situations. WotC is in the book-publishing business. They <I>must</I> publish a new book every month for D&D. If they publish core rule supplements, they risk inducing (or, rather, accelerating) rules-bloat and fatigue in their market. Setting books give the players a bit of a breather. "Ah, ok, it's FRealms this month. I can skip this one."<BR/><BR/>But they don't want their customers skipping too many books because that defeats the whole purpose of putting something out this month. <BR/><BR/>The solution, I think, is D&D Insider. If they can make that their primary revenue stream, then they can reshape their core business towards service and away from publishing. But before that can happen, they need to convince people that D&D Insider is too cool to pass up, and they're a long way from that right now.<BR/><BR/>- Briantrollsmythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01895349218958093151noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28751902.post-69787712892477238552008-05-01T13:37:00.000-05:002008-05-01T13:37:00.000-05:00It's much too late for WotC to take this stance. T...It's much too late for WotC to take this stance. They're as guilty as TSR in creating and promoting distinct "sub-brands" within <I>D&D</I>. In this case, it smacks of a rather desperate appeal to <B>buy more book</B>. WotC is discovering, much like TSR before them, that once you establish distinct sub-brands, people become loyal to them and them alone. If WotC were serious about this, they'd drop the concept of distinct pre-packaged settings entirely, but they aren't and they won't.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.com