WotC Hasbro Rejects Plan to Spin Off Wizards of the Coast

[J.Quondam]

I bet this is part of nu-TSR's clever plan.

 

[Charlaquin]

This was a huge mistake by the board.

What makes you think that?

It's not over, it's just going to get alot nastier.

How so?

 

[Guest 7034872]

Weaponizing nerds has been lucrative of late.

I blame "The Big Bang Theory." They did this to us.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I'm a bit surprised given how little interest they seem to take in actually using the corporate synergy of the toy company owning the rpg company. They license out the minis rather than having some division of Hasbro make them, and license out the rpgs based on other Hasbro properties rather than have WotC make them. I'm not saying I want to see WotC producing a Transformers rpg, but if they aren't going to pursue such synergies then there's really no reason for the two entities to be one.

 

[LordEntrails]

I'm a bit surprised given how little interest they seem to take in actually using the corporate synergy of the toy company owning the rpg company. They license out the minis rather than having some division of Hasbro make them, and license out the rpgs based on other Hasbro properties rather than have WotC make them. I'm not saying I want to see WotC producing a Transformers rpg, but if they aren't going to pursue such synergies then there's really no reason for the two entities to be one.

What division of Hasbro has current capabilities to manufacture minis? Just because certainly one or more division(s) has the ability to one type of plastic injection molding, doesn't mean they are setup to do mini's. Then they have to decide if setting up such production facilities fits in their plan and would be profitable enough. It is often wiser to license someone already setup to make something and make a 10% licensing fee than it is to invest money that might take3-10 years to pay off the investment.

Similar with the RPG side, WotC's D&D group doesn't have the capacity to support more RPGs. Sure they could grow it, but is that the right decision?

I don't know any of those answers, and your questions are good ones, its just that there are a lot of details that we won't now before we could make those decisions intelligently.

 

[Parmandur]

I'm a bit surprised given how little interest they seem to take in actually using the corporate synergy of the toy company owning the rpg company. They license out the minis rather than having some division of Hasbro make them, and license out the rpgs based on other Hasbro properties rather than have WotC make them. I'm not saying I want to see WotC producing a Transformers rpg, but if they aren't going to pursue such synergies then there's really no reason for the two entities to be one.

Why should they invest in niche products and take a risk, when they can take payment from other companies and take no risk? They actually do make quite a few D&D themed things, such as board games, and man...next year, when the movie hits, Hasbro is going to go absolutely bananas with merchandising.

 

[MGibster]

Why should they invest in niche products and take a risk, when they can take payment from other companies and take no risk? They actually do make quite a few D&D themed things, such as board games, and man...next year, when the movie hits, Hasbro is going to go absolutely bananas with merchandising.

Devil's advocate here, it could reach the point where WizKids don't really need a relationship with D&D any more. WizKids could grow so big that they can produce their own line of fantasy miniatures, or maybe even their own game, without the D&D license and still sell very well to D&D players. And if Hasbro wanted in on the miniatures market that could be a problem.

 

[Parmandur]

Devil's advocate here, it could reach the point where WizKids don't really need a relationship with D&D any more. WizKids could grow so big that they can produce their own line of fantasy miniatures, or maybe even their own game, without the D&D license and still sell very well to D&D players. And if Hasbro wanted in on the miniatures market that could be a problem.

I mean, the issue seem to be that it is a niche market, and Hasbro wants bigger game. They would have to invest funds to "make it" in the mini market, which they did, and the ROI apparently wasn't good enough to keep it up. Now, they collect money, and if they ever wanted to, the D&D brand name is probably enough to go big.

 

[MGibster]

I mean, the issue seem to be that it is a niche market, and Hasbro wants bigger game. They would have to invest funds to "make it" in the mini market, which they did, and the ROI apparently wasn't good enough to keep it up. Now, they collect money, and if they ever wanted to, the D&D brand name is probably enough to go big.

As a Warhammer 40k player, I would love to see someone as big as Hasbro enter the miniatures market. But what I'd love to see and what's likely to happen are two different things. I see where you're coming from. But then I figured at some point in the past WotC said, "Publishing adventures just isn't worth our time. Let's farm this out to Paizo, let them live off our scraps."

 

[Parmandur]

As a Warhammer 40k player, I would love to see someone as big as Hasbro enter the miniatures market. But what I'd love to see and what's likely to happen are two different things. I see where you're coming from. But then I figured at some point in the past WotC said, "Publishing adventures just isn't worth our time. Let's farm this out to Paizo, let them live off our scraps."

True, and if they change their mind, they could easily. The rumblings are that they are doing that with digital tools, so time wil tell.

In the mean time, they have a new D&D Clue, Betrayal in Baldur's Gate, the Adventure Begins game, and so on.

I tell ya, when the movie marketing ramps up, Hasbro will use the opportunity to go full Star Wars or marvel with the IP. Within a year.