Build a Better Business Model - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Build a Better Business Model

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
rustedhalo
Dec 11, 2010 13:40:50 The publishing industry is not what it once was, and it will probably never be as lucrative again. Over the past decade and a half, the internet has made free information accessible to anyone who wants it. I won't say that there haven't been problems with DDI, but overall, it's helping WotC (and a game that I love) survive in today's market.

I mean, this is a company that has dozens (I'm assuming) of employees working to put out a handful of books every month, within a niche market, and that are typically shared by groups of their consumers.

In order to stay afloat, WotC needs to be the primary avenue through which people receive their product. DDI lets them do that. If people say, "I don't need to buy books when I can just get torrents," then WotC is trying to say, "Well, if you're going to be playing through your computer anyway, give our services a shot." They may not be perfect, and they're certainly not free, but that's the cost of supporting the hobby you love (or at least like enough to play once every few weeks).

Books have always been pricey. Buying minis, tokens, accessories, and new editions of all your books every few years isn't cheap for a hobby with which you spend a few hours a week. But, for those of us who want to keep playing a supported game, it's a necessary evil of the hobby. I wish that I could come up with a better business model for WotC, but I think they're doing a good job of keeping up with market trends (read: the internet) in a time full of new problems (and opportunities) for the publishing and gaming industries.

I invite you to come up with a working business model that does a better job at getting consumers the product they want while turning a profit for the company that makes it.

Do I miss sitting in my room, cross referencing a score of books that are spread out all over the bed, all while making a first level character? Yeah, sure. Will I ever go back to that? Hell no.

(Note: I didn't think I'd ever feel the need to go on a pro-WotC rant, especially as my first post on the forums, but there it is.)
#2
rhianni32
Dec 12, 2010 9:58:30 Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online?
#3
slobo777a
Dec 12, 2010 13:52:51 D&D for the players is not really about the books, despite the many zealous collectors posting on these forums. It's about the game. A successful gaming company in the future has to find ways to deliver gaming in more ways than just the books. Only a fraction of players collect all the books.

I think that the OGL in v3 was a very interesting and brave move, but it was a little underpant gnomish ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_%28South_Pa... ) for turning a long term profit. Of course that experiment continues with Pathfinder . . . and to be fair, as far as RPG players are concerned, we don't absolutely need a big centralised company organising things. Perhaps fully open-source and not-for-profit will be the future of this hobby.

Back to corporate land, DDI is already a step in a new direction. Perhaps a bit slow and faltering, and awkward to watch as well, but then I haven't heard of any similar organisation to WotC that has found a solution.

In addition we have to worry about the total size of our little hobby. Does anyone have stats on trends in players? I love RPGs in general, but I'm not always convinced that we are a growing community, any more than Prog Rock audiences are growing :-)

#4
Damon_Tor
Dec 12, 2010 14:12:29 It's true, I bought the D&D books I have and paid for my DDI subscription for a year not because I had to, but because WotC was a company I wanted to support.

Note the past tense. WotC's business model doesn't work without the goodwill of the community because their products are all freely available on the internet. We have to want to support them. This is why bonehead plays like adandoning PDF sales and torching the CB will not work. They cannot beat the pirates: no IP company can anymore, it simply isn't possible. Instead, they need to bank on the fact that most people will, if given the option, pay a reasonable price for a good product, even if stealing it was easy and risk-free.

I'll support WotC when they start focusing on quality again.
#5
rustedhalo
Dec 12, 2010 16:15:54
Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online?

No, that wasn't what I was trying to say, I'm sorry if it came off like that. I just meant that they're doing what they can to work within an ever-more digital world, and they at least seem to be doing fairly (better than most, as far as I can see).
#6
lokiare
Dec 14, 2010 22:51:51
It's true, I bought the D&D books I have and paid for my DDI subscription for a year not because I had to, but because WotC was a company I wanted to support.

Note the past tense. WotC's business model doesn't work without the goodwill of the community because their products are all freely available on the internet. We have to want to support them. This is why bonehead plays like adandoning PDF sales and torching the CB will not work. They cannot beat the pirates: no IP company can anymore, it simply isn't possible. Instead, they need to bank on the fact that most people will, if given the option, pay a reasonable price for a good product, even if stealing it was easy and risk-free.

I'll support WotC when they start focusing on quality again.

I completely agree with this. I mean instead of just hoping no one will torrent their products, why don't they just torrent a half version with a link to amazon.com to buy it at the end? You know 15 levels of powers, or whatever for classes. That kind of thing. Use it as a marketing tool rather than acting like its the plague...

Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online?

No, that wasn't what I was trying to say, I'm sorry if it came off like that. I just meant that they're doing what they can to work within an ever-more digital world, and they at least seem to be doing fairly (better than most, as far as I can see).

You say they are doing better than most. Can you cite some examples. I'm really curious to see what you are talking about...
#7
rhianni32
Dec 15, 2010 7:54:34
Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online?

No, that wasn't what I was trying to say, I'm sorry if it came off like that. I just meant that they're doing what they can to work within an ever-more digital world, and they at least seem to be doing fairly (better than most, as far as I can see).

That makes a lot more sense lol. Yeah I started typing up a "wtf you cant get rid of books and all the customers..." then thought maybe I read it wrong.

Fully agree that they have to make use of what is available in getting their product to their customers in the formats desired.
#8
talok55
Dec 15, 2010 9:43:23
It's true, I bought the D&D books I have and paid for my DDI subscription for a year not because I had to, but because WotC was a company I wanted to support.

Note the past tense. WotC's business model doesn't work without the goodwill of the community because their products are all freely available on the internet. We have to want to support them. This is why bonehead plays like adandoning PDF sales and torching the CB will not work. They cannot beat the pirates: no IP company can anymore, it simply isn't possible. Instead, they need to bank on the fact that most people will, if given the option, pay a reasonable price for a good product, even if stealing it was easy and risk-free.

I'll support WotC when they start focusing on quality again.

Well said!
#9
daddicus
Dec 17, 2010 13:19:00 I would LOVE to be able to financially support WotC/D&D. I've bought books, subscribed, played, and done everything imaginable. But, I simply cannot in good conscience give them any more money until they right the shipwreck they've created. Making a decision in a complete vacuum like they did is just horrendous, business-wise. They're current business model isn't just bad, it's insanely stupid.

Clearly it is related to poor thinking regarding online vs. paper materials. But, that thinking has also changed recently. They had the makings of a decent model in 2008, but they made some mistakes (like one subscription unlocks all content to-date). The current model tries to correct for the previous poor decisions (not stupid, just not the right ones) by locking down everything. They simply can't do that and survive as a company. They've completely alienated most of their strongest supporters over the years. City walls were made to keep invaders out. WotC has built walls to keep their customers out.

What business model SHOULD they use? Simple: Release every book as a PDF that's only partly complete, but includes unlock codes one can purchase. Release it to the world. The "unlock" does NOT simply unlock data in the existing file, but taps into their online (only) connection to grab the data.

Further, make the unlock codes be required to keep current. Not necessarily with ongoing paid subscriptions, though. That would mean that past customers couldn't keep reading the book they bought. No, simply require a check-in periodically to keep using the materials purchased.

This is what SHOULD have happened with DDI. You pay for, say, March, 2009, and you get March 2009's content. You get it forever, but you do NOT get all of their other content. The original CB had the heart of this ALREADY built in! Just make the checkboxes for unpurchased content be unavailable until actual purchase.

And, again, require periodic check-ins in order to keep using the stuff. So, you have to have a "subscription" always, but that subscription keeps track of what you have purchased. Very similar to the way Steam works, actually, but on a much broader scale.

NOTE: Just because they release as PDF (or other format) does NOT mean they can't use paper. I would still buy the paper books as well as the PDFs. But, I would primarily use the computer versions.

Also note: The PDFs could be updated as the "subscription" is re-applied. This value-add could be something one would pay for, or could be free, or (probably best) a combination.

Implementing the above would mean a HUGE boon to marketing. They could make special offers over time to rope in new customers. "Buy all three books and get perpetual updates for free. 10 days only!" Things like that.

NOTE: The definition of "perpetual" would not be the usual meaning of the word, though. It would have to include some kind of "life of the product" statement.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 rustedhalo Dec 11, 2010 13:40:50	The publishing industry is not what it once was, and it will probably never be as lucrative again. Over the past decade and a half, the internet has made free information accessible to anyone who wants it. I won't say that there haven't been problems with DDI, but overall, it's helping WotC (and a game that I love) survive in today's market. I mean, this is a company that has dozens (I'm assuming) of employees working to put out a handful of books every month, within a niche market, and that are typically shared by groups of their consumers. In order to stay afloat, WotC needs to be the primary avenue through which people receive their product. DDI lets them do that. If people say, "I don't need to buy books when I can just get torrents," then WotC is trying to say, "Well, if you're going to be playing through your computer anyway, give our services a shot." They may not be perfect, and they're certainly not free, but that's the cost of supporting the hobby you love (or at least like enough to play once every few weeks). Books have always been pricey. Buying minis, tokens, accessories, and new editions of all your books every few years isn't cheap for a hobby with which you spend a few hours a week. But, for those of us who want to keep playing a supported game, it's a necessary evil of the hobby. I wish that I could come up with a better business model for WotC, but I think they're doing a good job of keeping up with market trends (read: the internet) in a time full of new problems (and opportunities) for the publishing and gaming industries. I invite you to come up with a working business model that does a better job at getting consumers the product they want while turning a profit for the company that makes it. Do I miss sitting in my room, cross referencing a score of books that are spread out all over the bed, all while making a first level character? Yeah, sure. Will I ever go back to that? Hell no. (Note: I didn't think I'd ever feel the need to go on a pro-WotC rant, especially as my first post on the forums, but there it is.)
#2 rhianni32 Dec 12, 2010 9:58:30	Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online?
#3 slobo777a Dec 12, 2010 13:52:51	D&D for the players is not really about the books, despite the many zealous collectors posting on these forums. It's about the game. A successful gaming company in the future has to find ways to deliver gaming in more ways than just the books. Only a fraction of players collect all the books. I think that the OGL in v3 was a very interesting and brave move, but it was a little underpant gnomish ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_%28South_Pa... ) for turning a long term profit. Of course that experiment continues with Pathfinder . . . and to be fair, as far as RPG players are concerned, we don't absolutely need a big centralised company organising things. Perhaps fully open-source and not-for-profit will be the future of this hobby. Back to corporate land, DDI is already a step in a new direction. Perhaps a bit slow and faltering, and awkward to watch as well, but then I haven't heard of any similar organisation to WotC that has found a solution. In addition we have to worry about the total size of our little hobby. Does anyone have stats on trends in players? I love RPGs in general, but I'm not always convinced that we are a growing community, any more than Prog Rock audiences are growing :-)
#4 Damon_Tor Dec 12, 2010 14:12:29	It's true, I bought the D&D books I have and paid for my DDI subscription for a year not because I had to, but because WotC was a company I wanted to support. Note the past tense. WotC's business model doesn't work without the goodwill of the community because their products are all freely available on the internet. We have to want to support them. This is why bonehead plays like adandoning PDF sales and torching the CB will not work. They cannot beat the pirates: no IP company can anymore, it simply isn't possible. Instead, they need to bank on the fact that most people will, if given the option, pay a reasonable price for a good product, even if stealing it was easy and risk-free. I'll support WotC when they start focusing on quality again.
#5 rustedhalo Dec 12, 2010 16:15:54	Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online? No, that wasn't what I was trying to say, I'm sorry if it came off like that. I just meant that they're doing what they can to work within an ever-more digital world, and they at least seem to be doing fairly (better than most, as far as I can see).
#6 lokiare Dec 14, 2010 22:51:51	It's true, I bought the D&D books I have and paid for my DDI subscription for a year not because I had to, but because WotC was a company I wanted to support. Note the past tense. WotC's business model doesn't work without the goodwill of the community because their products are all freely available on the internet. We have to want to support them. This is why bonehead plays like adandoning PDF sales and torching the CB will not work. They cannot beat the pirates: no IP company can anymore, it simply isn't possible. Instead, they need to bank on the fact that most people will, if given the option, pay a reasonable price for a good product, even if stealing it was easy and risk-free. I'll support WotC when they start focusing on quality again. I completely agree with this. I mean instead of just hoping no one will torrent their products, why don't they just torrent a half version with a link to amazon.com to buy it at the end? You know 15 levels of powers, or whatever for classes. That kind of thing. Use it as a marketing tool rather than acting like its the plague... Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online? No, that wasn't what I was trying to say, I'm sorry if it came off like that. I just meant that they're doing what they can to work within an ever-more digital world, and they at least seem to be doing fairly (better than most, as far as I can see). You say they are doing better than most. Can you cite some examples. I'm really curious to see what you are talking about...
#7 rhianni32 Dec 15, 2010 7:54:34	Before I continue I need to ask. Are you saying they should abandon the printed physical book media and go purely online? No, that wasn't what I was trying to say, I'm sorry if it came off like that. I just meant that they're doing what they can to work within an ever-more digital world, and they at least seem to be doing fairly (better than most, as far as I can see). That makes a lot more sense lol. Yeah I started typing up a "wtf you cant get rid of books and all the customers..." then thought maybe I read it wrong. Fully agree that they have to make use of what is available in getting their product to their customers in the formats desired.
#8 talok55 Dec 15, 2010 9:43:23	It's true, I bought the D&D books I have and paid for my DDI subscription for a year not because I had to, but because WotC was a company I wanted to support. Note the past tense. WotC's business model doesn't work without the goodwill of the community because their products are all freely available on the internet. We have to want to support them. This is why bonehead plays like adandoning PDF sales and torching the CB will not work. They cannot beat the pirates: no IP company can anymore, it simply isn't possible. Instead, they need to bank on the fact that most people will, if given the option, pay a reasonable price for a good product, even if stealing it was easy and risk-free. I'll support WotC when they start focusing on quality again. Well said!
#9 daddicus Dec 17, 2010 13:19:00	I would LOVE to be able to financially support WotC/D&D. I've bought books, subscribed, played, and done everything imaginable. But, I simply cannot in good conscience give them any more money until they right the shipwreck they've created. Making a decision in a complete vacuum like they did is just horrendous, business-wise. They're current business model isn't just bad, it's insanely stupid. Clearly it is related to poor thinking regarding online vs. paper materials. But, that thinking has also changed recently. They had the makings of a decent model in 2008, but they made some mistakes (like one subscription unlocks all content to-date). The current model tries to correct for the previous poor decisions (not stupid, just not the right ones) by locking down everything. They simply can't do that and survive as a company. They've completely alienated most of their strongest supporters over the years. City walls were made to keep invaders out. WotC has built walls to keep their customers out. What business model SHOULD they use? Simple: Release every book as a PDF that's only partly complete, but includes unlock codes one can purchase. Release it to the world. The "unlock" does NOT simply unlock data in the existing file, but taps into their online (only) connection to grab the data. Further, make the unlock codes be required to keep current. Not necessarily with ongoing paid subscriptions, though. That would mean that past customers couldn't keep reading the book they bought. No, simply require a check-in periodically to keep using the materials purchased. This is what SHOULD have happened with DDI. You pay for, say, March, 2009, and you get March 2009's content. You get it forever, but you do NOT get all of their other content. The original CB had the heart of this ALREADY built in! Just make the checkboxes for unpurchased content be unavailable until actual purchase. And, again, require periodic check-ins in order to keep using the stuff. So, you have to have a "subscription" always, but that subscription keeps track of what you have purchased. Very similar to the way Steam works, actually, but on a much broader scale. NOTE: Just because they release as PDF (or other format) does NOT mean they can't use paper. I would still buy the paper books as well as the PDFs. But, I would primarily use the computer versions. Also note: The PDFs could be updated as the "subscription" is re-applied. This value-add could be something one would pay for, or could be free, or (probably best) a combination. Implementing the above would mean a HUGE boon to marketing. They could make special offers over time to rope in new customers. "Buy all three books and get perpetual updates for free. 10 days only!" Things like that. NOTE: The definition of "perpetual" would not be the usual meaning of the word, though. It would have to include some kind of "life of the product" statement.