Ryan Dancey on WOTC's Decision to Pull PDF Sales
Ryan Dancey has some interesting comments on what may be driving some of WOTC's weird decisions -- like the public relations fiasco with PDF sales this week -- in a comment on RPGPundit's blog. Even if you don't agree with RPGPundit's opinions, drop by to read Ryan Dancey's comment. It's speculation, of course, but it makes sense.
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April 8, 2009 at 3:30 PM
Very interesting. It doesn't seem that far fetched, really, and certainly isn't an angle I was seeing.
The real questions are 1) can the industry as a whole survive without a WotC in the flagship role and 2) Do I really care if it can't?
Thanks for pointing this one out!
April 8, 2009 at 4:32 PM
Meepo,
If WOTC dies or Hasbro forces it out of the RPG business as not profitable enough, many current companies may fold with it (including distributors and local game stores). However, as long as the hobby survives, I think an industry of some type will rebuild around it.
If people keep playing RPGs, an industry will likely rebuild itself around the hobby. They will be smaller companies focused even more on Internet sales, but they will be there. The OGL will even keep what are basically versions of D&D alive under other names.
Why am I so sure? This has already happened to the board wargame community. All the major companies that used to produce the board (and computerized board) wargames died or moved to other products. Production of these games slowed for a while, but there are now a number of small companies producing the same types of games SPI and AH used to make. They just have little or no visibility outside the hobby.
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