Re: WOTC pulls plug on Dragon & Dungeon mag

--- Bill Olander <brainhurts@?????.com> wrote:

> Have they said that they're going for the pay site
> model? As it is right now, I do actually use the web
> site a lot, even on the train, I'll be running my
> Google News feed and flipping through the new
> articles that came through that morning. I'm not
> prepared to start paying for that however.

Its part of what WotC is calling their "Digital
Initiative".  Nobody outside of WotC (and probably
inside, too) knows what it will entail.  Speculation,
largely driven by the cancellation of E-Tools,
Dungeon, & Dragon, has it that this will involve a pay
site that has a database-driven character generator,
online magazine-style content, and possibly a "virtual
gametable".  From what I've heard, it sounds a LOT
like what they promised with MasterTools before that
thing went belly-up due to massive scope-creep.

Personally, and I do have experience in this field,
the whole thing is 10 years too late.  I just don't
see them drawing a large enough subscriber base to
justify the costs.  Running these types of sites can
get very expensive, and it appeals to a small subset
of a very niche market.  Eight years ago, when they
were building up to 3e, that would have been the time
to do it.  At that time, they had enough momentium &
attention from enough casual gamers they might have
gotten a large subscriber base.  Now?  They'll be
lucky to break even.  Who knows?  Maybe they can
piggyback on some equipment & staff at Hasbro to cut
costs.  I still think it'll bomb, though.

All, of course, IMHO :)

Adam

Adam

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