No official WotC presence again...
1 3 4
1 3 4
Posted by patellis15

WotC has released their official convention calendar for 2017.  Gen Con was again left out.    I'm 100% certain that D&D will have a presence via Baldman Games, and I assume that Magic will be well represented by Pastimes.  That said, it's still not the same as an official booth presence.  Now, they haven't had one in several years.m yes, I understand that a big booth is expensive.

I wasn't shocked the last couple of years at their lack of presence.  However, with D&D/TSR's role in making Gen Con a major convention, I tried to remain optimistic that they would be back, even if only for this year, to celebrate 50 Gen Con's.   I used to ridicule Games Workshop for not having an official presence at the largest analog gaming Convention in America...   I guess that ridicule needs to be shifted to WotC..

Pat E

Posted by ryric

It's sad. It seems to me that WotC is determined to fade into obscurity as a game company.

Posted by glory

It's kind of a bummer since it's the 50th anniversary and all. 

Posted by njseahawksfan

Pasttimes is just running MtG events.  They are not officially representing WotC. 

Posted by wavester ryric

ryric wrote:
It's sad. It seems to me that WotC is determined to fade into obscurity as a game company.

Due to the growth of D&D being astronomical the past few years, and the fact every show I run I cannot remotely keep up with the demand we will just have to differ on what fade into obscurity means.

Would love for them to be there but Wotc and Gen Con both will do just fine this year.

Posted by patellis15

Dave: Has it gown enough for you guys to get back into the Sagamore this year?   Last year you guys were out of sight.  And since WotC didn't have a booth, that meant out of sight, our of mind for a lot of attendee's...

Posted by wavester patellis15

patellis15 wrote:
Dave: Has it gown enough for you guys to get back into the Sagamore this year?   Last year you guys were out of sight.  And since WotC didn't have a booth, that meant out of sight, our of mind for a lot of attendee's...

Growth has nothing to do with Sagamore. TBH our numbers are probably not that far off from PFS numbers. It's all about $$$. Paizo is a tier 1 sponsor at Gen Con which starts at $75,000 and goes up from there. With their decorating costs, booth, demurage, and banners you can probably do some basic math to get their astronomical cost to attend. As long as they spend that much they will always get whatever they want and it would be dumb for someone to try and out spend them.

Posted by rhone1

Baldman Games does a great job running D&D games, actually, I think they do a better job than the "old days" run by RPGA folks during 3.5/4e.  However, not having WotC at Gen Con again this year is simply bad news.  D&D started Gen Con!  This is the 50th anniversary!  Gen Con is the biggest game convention, yet WotC thinks it is a better idea to go somewhere else?  What a crock!  

Posted by jm.spellslinger rhone1

rhone1 wrote:
Baldman Games does a great job running D&D games, actually, I think they do a better job than the "old days" run by RPGA folks during 3.5/4e.  However, not having WotC at Gen Con again this year is simply bad news.  D&D started Gen Con!  This is the 50th anniversary!  Gen Con is the biggest game convention, yet WotC thinks it is a better idea to go somewhere else?  What a crock!
 
Well Gen Con actually started (through in person meeting of GG and DA) D&D, but your point still stands. Its a shame D&D isn't supporting the Con this year. Maybe on year 100?

Posted by gib_rebeg

Supporting or not, it would be nice to see a presence at the convention. After all, this convention started as, and in many respects still showcases many aspects and products of D&D.

I understand it's costly to by a top tier supporter. But I fear it's more Hasbro then cost. This convention is not really inline with Hasbro's core products.

Posted by unsoundergnome wavester

wavester wrote:
Would love for them to be there but Wotc and Gen Con both will do just fine this year.

Is it because they can't get a hotel?  I'm a local so if you get a chance let them know they can crash on my futon for free if it'll get them to come back, haha.  

Posted by ryric wavester

wavester wrote:
ryric wrote:
It's sad. It seems to me that WotC is determined to fade into obscurity as a game company.

Due to the growth of D&D being astronomical the past few years, and the fact every show I run I cannot remotely keep up with the demand we will just have to differ on what fade into obscurity means.Would love for them to be there but Wotc and Gen Con both will do just fine this year.
It's not so much the events, as the seminars, previews, new releases, exhibit hall both, and so forth. D&D used to do all those things at Gen Con, and now they don't, and that's sad.

Posted by rhone1

It's ridiculous that they aren't coming.  No idea if there is any truth here but I heard that WotC has been trying to distance themselves from Gen Con for some time now.  No clue why there would be a rift between the two but it is crazy they haven't been able to get it worked out.  Even if gamers at Gen Con don't play any WotC games it is better for the convention as a whole if the big player (company in this case) is there.

Posted by mhayward1978 rhone1

rhone1 wrote:
It's ridiculous that they aren't coming.  No idea if there is any truth here but I heard that WotC has been trying to distance themselves from Gen Con for some time now.  No clue why there would be a rift between the two but it is crazy they haven't been able to get it worked out.  Even if gamers at Gen Con don't play any WotC games it is better for the convention as a whole if the big player (company in this case) is there.

Wizards doesn't care about what's good for Gen Con - they care about what's good for Wizards.

Given that they used to have a huge presence, and have decreased it over the years, and are having record high and growing sales of their main product (Magic), I would trust them to correctly evaluate whether going to Gen Con is good for them or not - and it appears the answer is that it's not good.

Why is it "ridiculous" that a company doesn't do what is not good for them exactly?

 

Posted by austicke mhayward1978

mhayward1978 wrote:Why is it "ridiculous" that a company doesn't do what is not good for them exactly?

That's the wrong question. Some of us disagree that it isn't not good for them (to use your double negative).

And, even if we agree, we can still lament the loss of a mainstay of Gen Con's past.

Posted by andrewj.rager

Wizkids does not come to Gen Con either. I would love to see a bigger Dice Masters presence at Gen Con, but they decided to leave as well. Instead they hold their big events at Origins. Which I do not know much about other than location & dates. Doesn't seem to be as big as Gen Con.

Posted by genconkeeper

Ceo's come and Ceo's go. It was a past Hasbro CEO who wanted to get out of the game convention biz and sold Gen Con back to Peter. The next one might decide that it's to much of a bother for them to pay to have a show and thing will go back to WotC back at Gen Con.
Randu

Posted by turbostar

Isn't Pathfinder pretty much this generations D&D anyway?  I find it far too common seeing friends playing D&D or saying they're doing a "D&D night" but they're actually just playing Pathfinder.

Go Paizo!

Posted by mhayward1978 austicke

austicke wrote:
mhayward1978 wrote:Why is it "ridiculous" that a company doesn't do what is not good for them exactly?

That's the wrong question. Some of us disagree that it isn't not good for them (to use your double negative).And, even if we agree, we can still lament the loss of a mainstay of Gen Con's past.

I truly appreciate the lamentation of a loss of a premiere sponsor and corresponding activity at Gen Con, I'd never criticize someone for observing that they missed those things, or stating they'd be happy if they came back.

On the other hand, I'm gobsmacked by a bunch of forumites who behave as if they know better than Wizards/Hasbro what is good for those businesses, and who phrase their complaints not as:

"It would make me happy for Wizards to blah blah blah.", but as:

"It is rank incompetence, and proof of poor management, that Wizards does not blah blah blah." 

I assure you - public corporations don't leave money on the table if they can help it.  

Given the deeply intertwined history of the organizations and that Wizards made a proactive choice to stop attending, it's clear that Wizards analyzed the situation and determined attendance was a net negative for them.

In case those people are actually concerned about Wizards viability as a business, they should take comfort in Hasbro's annual report - the most recent of which repeatedly referred to Magic as one of the premier brands, indicated it's growing in sales and popularity, and routinely breaking their own records for sales and participation.  Evidently Wizards is not a brand in decline.

 

Posted by austicke mhayward1978

mhayward1978 wrote:I'm gobsmacked by a bunch of forumites who behave as if they know better than Wizards/Hasbro what is good for those businesses, and who phrase their complaints not as:
"It would make me happy for Wizards to blah blah blah.", but as:
"It is rank incompetence, and proof of poor management, that Wizards does not blah blah blah." 
I assure you - public corporations don't leave money on the table if they can help it. 

Your faith in corporations to make the best decision is overblown. Corporations make very bad decisions all the time. Is that the case with WOTC? I have no idea, but everyone is welcome to share their opinions and criticize corporations for their seemingly bad decisions.

If I were a betting man, I'd gladly err on the side of corporations making stupid decisions. That's a good bet.

This topic is locked. New posts cannot be added.
1 3 4
1 3 4