Wizards of the Coast throwing out the Member Berries again.
Unlike a lot of D&DTube, I don't see this as WOTC signalling weakness.
Recall that WOTC is now a Brand-focused business. That means Franchise All The Things, and the first step in taking IP that's been riding the pine back into play is to give it a new uniform and shake off the rust. That's what this is, and you can expect certain Current Yearisms to be inserted (or willfully omitted) under the guise of reducing Brand risk.
Once the target for this release is hit, the next step will be revitalizing the existing tie-in media; expect old games to get sales run on them in Steam and GOG, old novels to get new covers and republished, maybe even older edition materials given POD offerings (where applicable) and put on sale. Whatever gets more eyeballs and attention of that very desirable sort on the Brand.
New tie-ins will be done, aiming at the current young adult audience--expect a Free To Play offering, heavily monetized--with the secondary aim of drawing them into Tabletop; the primary aim is to build Brand awareness and demand for AAA videogames and film/TV productions along with all related merchandise. Depending on what is going on in WOTC's offices, the plan will be to begin annoucing these by this time next year. Don't be surprised to see WOTC appear at GamesCom, Tokyo Game Show, or at platform/publisher Direct Livestreams over the next 12-18 months.
To that end, it does not matter if there is more than just this one Tabletop release. If there is sufficient demand, WOTC can always cut a license deal to a third party to fulfill that demand according to their internally-developed Franchise Bible. (And yes, WOTC, you had better have one for each and every Brand; that's how this game is played- just ask all the other successful Brand companies.)
The objective is to build back up to a major movie production by 2030, only by using Dark Sun instead because DS has the Regime-approved Oppressor/Oppressed conflict strucuture that Very Online Commies of the Cultural Marxist sort presume to be the default state of being, first by revitalizing the existing Brand through renewed public attention-seeking and then through a campaign of select tie-in media releases that all serve to expand Brand awareness and demand. WOTC can do this because WOTC--and only WOTC--is in the Normiesphere where the money is.
These moves are why I see the Critical Role thing as chump change for chump players. WOTC's C-Suite is still moving the company out of Tabletop, same as G-Dubs, but faster and with closer proximity to where it wants to go, and that's where the real money remains- and shall for the next generation or two, minimum.
"...the primary aim is to build Brand awareness and demand for AAA videogames and film/TV productions along with all related merchandise."
ReplyDelete100% their goal. Because the WotC suits do not really understand rpgs and they make too little money for their squiggly line charts.
But it is all predicated on the idea that they will be able to Stick the Landing. And I maintain that as a converged corporation that they will be found to be incapable of it.
Their ideological fellow travelers screwed up Dr.Who, Star Wars, and more than a few AAA vidya studios have gone under due to their convergence.
WotC's Sigil Vtt was a BUST. It is No Where. The gradual transing of the core game continues. Honor among thieves Flopped. The current people in charge do not have what it takes to turn it around.
There will be a crash and realignment of the RPG space in 10-15 years, but IMO it will be due to WotC continued incompetence.
The current C-Suit and 'creatives' in charge of D&D do not understand what makes D&D popular. I do not think that they even have it in them to hire another Mearls to do a 'Good Enough' reboot...
Only a cleansing of WotC personnel top to bottom will signal a return to basic competence.