After treating us so poorly, are you ready to shout Wotc's praises when they finally open up and throw us what really only amounts to a few crumbs?
Because in all likelihood, that is what will happen. At some point, Wotc will throw us a concession or two, which in a normal year, wouldn't make us bat an eyelash. However, Wotc has us so starved for news, that right now they could probably read random names out of a phonebook and some people would say "at least we are now talking."
When Wotc finally does come around... when 'soon' finally happens... Don't be sheep! Do not accept any news as good news.
In the novel Dune, the evil Baron deliberately set a stupid cruel man to oppress a populace so that when they were on the edge of a rebellion, the Baron could replace him with a smart cruel man who would oppress the populace a little less, and the populace would love him for it.
Do not shower Wotc with love when they start treating us only slightly less like *&^$
My prediction for the future...
WotC will release their "Web Tools" Which will only be onlince versions of the character builder and monster builder.
This means that for over a year now they have done nothing but rehash old content instead of working on a way to bring us the things they announced as part of DDI so long ago. They will not announce these "new" tools in any fashion that will bring in customers. Instead just relying on good ol word of mouth and high expectations to carry them through.
They will then spend the next 16 month rehashing the same tools they just made, maybe release a flash version of a map tile dungeon builder, and expect that to placate the masses.
All of this will be done without one single employee raising concerns, or even posting on the forums.
Well, as a customer, I plan to resubscribe if WotC offers services that are worth the cost paid for them. I know, crazy, right?! But I don't think it would be especially rational to base my decisions on either spite over past behavior or blind hope for future products.
Right now they've had a poor showing for the past two months. And, notable, have refunded those who desired it during those periods. I've been seeing more Dragon and Dungeon articles that have impressed me, which is one thing I was hoping for. I'm letting my subscription lapse at the end of the month simply due to uncertainty about what direction DDI is going in - but when they make that direction clear, that alone will decide whether I resubscribe or not.
But if WotC offers an up-to-date character builder and monster builder, along with new web tools that are genuinely useful (say, a campaign manager), and the magazines continue to include quality content... then yeah, I'm absolutely back in the fold as a customer. That doesn't mean I'll remain that way if things again go south - but if the service being provided is worth the price I pay, that's pretty much all that matters to me.
I sense a jihad on the way. Who's bringing the nukes?
My Feday-kittens shall lead our glorious Jihad.
