Hasbro was hit hard in Q4 and even WotC seems to be in trouble now. On slide 18 of their Powerpoint presentation for the Earnings Conference Call, Hasbro states, "Growth in MAGIC: THE GATHERING tabletop revenues offset by declines in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ahead of 5 th edition release." I guess they either mean "ahead of 6th edition release" or "ahead of 5th edition re-release", although I wouldn't be surprised if the people at Hasbro's Finance department don't know that 5e was released ten years ago. A sale of D&D to Tencent doesn't sound so far-fetched to me anymore after all. Further job cuts are also a possibility.
A fuller article on this topic can be found here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/13/hasbro-has-earnings-q4-2023.html (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/13/hasbro-has-earnings-q4-2023.html)
The Powerpoint can be found here: https://investor.hasbro.com/static-files/f5f1a394-b6ab-48a7-becc-8c9dd4a730d9 (https://investor.hasbro.com/static-files/f5f1a394-b6ab-48a7-becc-8c9dd4a730d9)
All I have to say is this:
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/RG3lm5VlrbDV7YNana/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952ar2gf7avorco62v93hj14be3yzfpekupjax0lf9x&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
I love to see them having problems. They aren't getting another dime from me and when I sell off my 5e books I know that I am getting the money and WOTC isn't.
Quote from: GhostNinja on February 13, 2024, 09:22:38 AM
All I have to say is this:
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/RG3lm5VlrbDV7YNana/giphy.gif?cid=6c09b952ar2gf7avorco62v93hj14be3yzfpekupjax0lf9x&ep=v1_internal_gif_by_id&rid=giphy.gif&ct=g)
I love to see them having problems. They aren't getting another dime from me and when I sell off my 5e books I know that I am getting the money and WOTC isn't.
My sentiments exactly.
Fuck 'em in the eye! ;D
Agreed. Fuck em!
They strangled the golden goose and wonder why no more eggs.
The miasma of ill will has permeated so deep that even the casuals in my circles are moving on to other games.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on February 13, 2024, 09:54:19 AM
My sentiments exactly.
Fuck 'em in the eye! ;D
There is a ton of good OSR material out there and people have enough to play a good game of D&D.
I have trimmed my 5e books down to only what I use to run my current game. And I am working to find a system that I can convince them to switch over so I can dump 5e totally and get it out of my collection for good.
Quote from: rytrasmi on February 13, 2024, 10:42:34 AM
Agreed. Fuck em!
They strangled the golden goose and wonder why no more eggs.
The miasma of ill will has permeated so deep that even the casuals in my circles are moving on to other games.
Do you think the corpos at Hasbro will punish the idiots they hired at Wizards for this downfall? Probably not. Probably lay off more low level people as blame them. That's the way with idiot companies.
The get woke, go broke maxim holds true for yet another company. Producing quality content for your loyal fanbase doesn't seem to be a difficult concept yet so many companies are pissing all over their fanbase for the sake of DEI virtue signaling. All lemmings want to go over the same cliff.
See what you do is make a beer commercial with a tranny in it, even though 99% of your customer base is a bunch of rednecks and Catholics, then wonder why your company tanks. This just reminds me of the JRRT "superfans" who made videos on Youtube to push the Amazon Rings of Power and it was obvious they had no clue wtf they were even talking about. The only requirement for being a "superfan" was apparently having blue hair and writing a blog post about how LotR is misogynistic because you discovered it has like two female characters after you hatewatched half of the Peter Jackson movies.
What's really odd to me is how WotC has pandered to people who don't actually buy anything. The customer base for D&D has and always will be nerds, and now a lot of those nerds who grew up playing D&D have a lot of disposable income to spend on gaming. Keyboard warriors sitting in their mom's basement extolling the virtues of diversity in RPG art don't BUY those books, so why the fuck would you ever listen to them? When your real customer base is basically begging you to maintain the status quo and publish books about killing vampires instead of having heartfelt talks with them about bigotry, but you tell them to fuck off, how can you possibly be surprised you're gonna make no money?
Quote from: Brad on February 13, 2024, 12:07:20 PM
See what you do is make a beer commercial with a tranny in it, even though 99% of your customer base is a bunch of rednecks and Catholics, then wonder why your company tanks. This just reminds me of the JRRT "superfans" who made videos on Youtube to push the Amazon Rings of Power and it was obvious they had no clue wtf they were even talking about. The only requirement for being a "superfan" was apparently having blue hair and writing a blog post about how LotR is misogynistic because you discovered it has like two female characters after you hatewatched half of the Peter Jackson movies.
What's really odd to me is how WotC has pandered to people who don't actually buy anything. The customer base for D&D has and always will be nerds, and now a lot of those nerds who grew up playing D&D have a lot of disposable income to spend on gaming. Keyboard warriors sitting in their mom's basement extolling the virtues of diversity in RPG art don't BUY those books, so why the fuck would you ever listen to them? When your real customer base is basically begging you to maintain the status quo and publish books about killing vampires instead of having heartfelt talks with them about bigotry, but you tell them to fuck off, how can you possibly be surprised you're gonna make no money?
The executives live in a DEI bubble. They go to DEI conferences to learn how their peers are enbiggening DEI culture at other companies, showcasing carefully curated case studies. The only winners are the companies who host the DEI conferences and unqualified people who get DEI jobs. It will come crashing down at which point the DEI people will blame "the bigots" while continuing to bleat about how they are on the "right side of history."
Quote from: Brad on February 13, 2024, 12:07:20 PM
What's really odd to me is how WotC has pandered to people who don't actually buy anything. The customer base for D&D has and always will be nerds, and now a lot of those nerds who grew up playing D&D have a lot of disposable income to spend on gaming. Keyboard warriors sitting in their mom's basement extolling the virtues of diversity in RPG art don't BUY those books, so why the fuck would you ever listen to them? When your real customer base is basically begging you to maintain the status quo and publish books about killing vampires instead of having heartfelt talks with them about bigotry, but you tell them to fuck off, how can you possibly be surprised you're gonna make no money?
Most of these companies have Vanguard and Blackrock as very large shareholders. Shareholders who don't care about the stock price as long as their agenda gets pushed. Lower stock prices and other shareholders selling just means that they can buy up more at lower prices. They don't care about the companies or the customers, they only care about implementing communism. This is why only private companies can really give their customers what they want because any publicly traded company will have these Sith shareholders buy up the stock and dictate what they have to do.
Quote from: Brad on February 13, 2024, 12:07:20 PM
See what you do is make a beer commercial with a tranny in it, even though 99% of your customer base is a bunch of rednecks and Catholics, then wonder why your company tanks. This just reminds me of the JRRT "superfans" who made videos on Youtube to push the Amazon Rings of Power and it was obvious they had no clue wtf they were even talking about. The only requirement for being a "superfan" was apparently having blue hair and writing a blog post about how LotR is misogynistic because you discovered it has like two female characters after you hatewatched half of the Peter Jackson movies.
What's really odd to me is how WotC has pandered to people who don't actually buy anything. The customer base for D&D has and always will be nerds, and now a lot of those nerds who grew up playing D&D have a lot of disposable income to spend on gaming. Keyboard warriors sitting in their mom's basement extolling the virtues of diversity in RPG art don't BUY those books, so why the fuck would you ever listen to them? When your real customer base is basically begging you to maintain the status quo and publish books about killing vampires instead of having heartfelt talks with them about bigotry, but you tell them to fuck off, how can you possibly be surprised you're gonna make no money?
Because the people at WOTC and Hasbro, who have made these changes; are true believers in their cause. These Changes, were more important to them, than financial success.
Quote from: Rhymer88 on February 13, 2024, 09:04:40 AM
Hasbro was hit hard in Q4 and even WotC seems to be in trouble now. On slide 18 of their Powerpoint presentation for the Earnings Conference Call, Hasbro states, "Growth in MAGIC: THE GATHERING tabletop revenues offset by declines in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ahead of 5 th edition release." I guess they either mean "ahead of 6th edition release" or "ahead of 5th edition re-release", although I wouldn't be surprised if the people at Hasbro's Finance department don't know that 5e was released ten years ago. A sale of D&D to Tencent doesn't sound so far-fetched to me anymore after all. Further job cuts are also a possibility.
A fuller article on this topic can be found here: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/13/hasbro-has-earnings-q4-2023.html (https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/13/hasbro-has-earnings-q4-2023.html)
The Powerpoint can be found here: https://investor.hasbro.com/static-files/f5f1a394-b6ab-48a7-becc-8c9dd4a730d9 (https://investor.hasbro.com/static-files/f5f1a394-b6ab-48a7-becc-8c9dd4a730d9)
Before you all think this means gloom and doom for D&D, check this out from page 12 of the Powerpoint:
"Fourth quarter and full year growth in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (+54% and +76%, respectively)."
Yes that growth was offset by declines in other brands, but companies don't sell brands with growth like that.
Lou Prosperi
I'm pretty sure that is BG3 You are seeing right there.
I don't think they will ever sale. Not unless their company is about to go under or something.
I think they will mothball it for a decade or so first.
Quote from: LouProsperi on February 13, 2024, 03:28:18 PM
Before you all think this means gloom and doom for D&D, check this out from page 12 of the Powerpoint:
"Fourth quarter and full year growth in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (+54% and +76%, respectively)."
Yes that growth was offset by declines in other brands, but companies don't sell brands with growth like that.
...
Lou gets it.
Wotc with D&D, and especially MTG, is the golden goose keeping the entire Hasbro ship afloat.
Wotc IP will be the last thing Hasbro will unload, even if they do go into full blown bankruptcy.
Anyone else getting their hands on the D&D IP in this lifetime is a pipe dream.
...and now they are blaming Disney. I couldn't make this shit up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLP2MHdzJk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLP2MHdzJk)
Quote from: BadApple on February 13, 2024, 08:54:04 PM
...and now they are blaming Disney. I couldn't make this shit up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLP2MHdzJk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMLP2MHdzJk)
In fairness, Disney is kind of a trail blazer when it comes to systematically destroying everything that people love about characters and good storytelling, while still profiting off of the remains of good will built up over generations. Hasbro wasn't forced to follow them, but they aren't the first, and won't be the last. ;D
If I lose any sleep over Hasbro's woes, it will be because I can't stop chortling whenever I think of it. But I'm still salty over the fate of Avalon Hill under
them.
Hasbro: "I don't understand, we fired all the gamers and hired guys who shove zucchinis up their ass and identify as 15 year old girls to write content. We are talking the spiciest of spicy content, the gayest of gay characters. How come all these socialists who are not working, are nihilistic and just want to spend time on Tik Tok talking about their time spent during the great revolution of 2020 in the CHAZ won't buy from us?"
Customer: "You know we have spent thousands on D&D that went to your company for years. Can you just put out good modules and rules and STFU on your fucked up political views?"
Hasbro: "Look fat, we are trying to protect you from all the evil content from Mike Mearls and earlier. Look you need to look about how a living legal document is better than the US Constitution. You need to buy the blackiest of blackiest modules created by the darky of darkies, we have found the darkest black xir's from the jungles of Africa, taught them their genders, paid for their genital reassignment surgeries and put them up as writers. This has to be gold"
Customer: "I'm not buying a module where the bad guy is the white king called Trumptard. And where the protagonists are supposed to sing something about Shoot the Boeher's and then eat the white people because they will poison the wells? WTF you hired Julius Malema to write your latest module "How to kill white orcs in 5 easy steps""
Hasbro: "Malema is a race communist and HR decided we didn't have enough. We tried to hire Luis Farakhan but he killed our first white recruiter and the gay black transexual recruiter he crucified, so it was only Melema who could save D&D"
Customer: "Burn in hell"
Hasbro: "Dirty white supremacist"
Quote from: honeydipperdavid on February 13, 2024, 09:49:54 PM
Hasbro: "I don't understand, we fired all the gamers and hired guys who shove zucchinis up their ass and identify as 15 year old girls to write content. We are talking the spiciest of spicy content, the gayest of gay characters. How come all these socialists who are not working, are nihilistic and just want to spend time on Tik Tok talking about their time spent during the great revolution of 2020 in the CHAZ won't buy from us?"
Customer: "You know we have spent thousands on D&D that went to your company for years. Can you just put out good modules and rules and STFU on your fucked up political views?"
Hasbro: "Look fat, we are trying to protect you from all the evil content from Mike Mearls and earlier. Look you need to look about how a living legal document is better than the US Constitution. You need to buy the blackiest of blackiest modules created by the darky of darkies, we have found the darkest black xir's from the jungles of Africa, taught them their genders, paid for their genital reassignment surgeries and put them up as writers. This has to be gold"
Customer: "I'm not buying a module where the bad guy is the white king called Trumptard. And where the protagonists are supposed to sing something about Shoot the Boeher's and then eat the white people because they will poison the wells? WTF you hired Julius Malema to write your latest module "How to kill white orcs in 5 easy steps""
Hasbro: "Malema is a race communist and HR decided we didn't have enough. We tried to hire Luis Farakhan but he killed our first white recruiter and the gay black transexual recruiter he crucified, so it was only Melema who could save D&D"
Customer: "Burn in hell"
Hasbro: "Dirty white supremacist"
Too much truth, for one post.
Hasbro stock dropped Oct 23, 2023 (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/hasbro-and-mattel-stocks-drop-on-poor-holiday-sales-guidance.html), along with Mattel, on lackluster toy sales for Christmas. It's been steady since, slightly increasing.
Instead of peddling in rumors, why not just google Hasbro Stock and see for yourself. Four months of fairly normal behavior for the stock.
(https://i.ibb.co/r7vXNtH/screenshot-www-google-com-2024-02-13-21-39-14.png)
Quote from: Brad on February 13, 2024, 12:07:20 PMJRRT "superfans" who made videos on Youtube to push the Amazon Rings of Power and it was obvious they had no clue wtf they were even talking about. The only requirement for being a "superfan" was apparently having blue hair and writing a blog post about how LotR is misogynistic because you discovered it has like two female characters after you hatewatched half of the Peter Jackson movies.
What's really odd to me is how WotC has pandered to people who don't actually buy anything.
1: Because they are fake fans. They latch onto something like parasites and suck the life from it before moving on to the next trendy thing. They are infiltrators who just want to fuck with something because they are hatemongers.
2: Marketing. Always damn marketing. Marketing says outrage marketing is the road to riches so of course nearly every product now has something tailor made to piss people off. And wotc will play this cagey and half the time what they claim is not even there in the product. They know people like Pundit will knee-jerk at the bait and work for them for free. Relying on the curiosity buys to keep the sinking shop floating.
And probably a chunk of marketing and the execs or staff by now are "Believers" in the woke cult. And wotc has been in the hands of the woke since the prior wave in the 90s. Its just now they are out in the open and in your face relentlessly.
And eventually this infestation spread to Hasborg and things accelerate going downhill. You see it in so many venues now.
Now let's look at 6 months.
(https://i.imgur.com/BWsZxdO.jpeg)
Now 5 years
(https://i.imgur.com/f2Uimo4.jpeg)
Quote from: Jaeger on February 13, 2024, 04:13:13 PM
Quote from: LouProsperi on February 13, 2024, 03:28:18 PM
Before you all think this means gloom and doom for D&D, check this out from page 12 of the Powerpoint:
"Fourth quarter and full year growth in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (+54% and +76%, respectively)."
Yes that growth was offset by declines in other brands, but companies don't sell brands with growth like that.
...
Lou gets it.
Wotc with D&D, and especially MTG, is the golden goose keeping the entire Hasbro ship afloat.
Wotc IP will be the last thing Hasbro will unload, even if they do go into full blown bankruptcy.
Anyone else getting their hands on the D&D IP in this lifetime is a pipe dream.
Wizards also includes Digital Gaming, which saw a big increase because of BG3. Wizards Tabletop, by contrast, declined in the fourth quarter.
The BG3 money for digital will be drying up. Video games have a short tail. And Larian studios is a gamer focused company, meaning they don't do microcontent to extend the tail and drain the gamer of money. They will still sell many units but they will not EA BG3.
Quote from: Mistwell on February 14, 2024, 12:37:13 AM
Hasbro stock dropped Oct 23, 2023 (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/hasbro-and-mattel-stocks-drop-on-poor-holiday-sales-guidance.html), along with Mattel, on lackluster toy sales for Christmas. It's been steady since, slightly increasing.
Instead of peddling in rumors, why not just google Hasbro Stock and see for yourself. Four months of fairly normal behavior for the stock.
(https://i.ibb.co/r7vXNtH/screenshot-www-google-com-2024-02-13-21-39-14.png)
Wow, do you really believe the shit you're shoveling?
Cutting off what's happened in the past 18 months fits the narrative you've manifested from out of your ass.
It's like being on a sinking ship and part of the bow just peaks above the water for a brief moment, but the ship is still sinking.
Wake up. The overall trend in down.
Companies never sell their IPs anymore. They get bought out by larger companies who inherit the IP that way. These corpos own ridiculous volumes of IPs. They aren't aware of most of what they own. They have no idea what to do with the IPs they know they own.
We need copyright reform. The copyrights on these decades old IPs need to expire now so that the minority of people who actually care can preserve and remix them.
Quote from: blackstone on February 14, 2024, 08:38:24 AM
Wow, do you really believe the shit you're shoveling?
Oh he absolutely does. Just like when gas prices quadrupled when Biden got installed, then dropped slightly and the retards were claiming how good a job he was doing because of the decrease. Yeah, instead of $1.20 I'm paying $3 in less than 4 years, but because it was $4 last year it's "better". Exactly the same bullshit. Manipulate the data to push a narrative.
Quote from: blackstone on February 14, 2024, 08:38:24 AM
Quote from: Mistwell on February 14, 2024, 12:37:13 AM
Hasbro stock dropped Oct 23, 2023 (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/hasbro-and-mattel-stocks-drop-on-poor-holiday-sales-guidance.html), along with Mattel, on lackluster toy sales for Christmas. It's been steady since, slightly increasing.
Instead of peddling in rumors, why not just google Hasbro Stock and see for yourself. Four months of fairly normal behavior for the stock.
(https://i.ibb.co/r7vXNtH/screenshot-www-google-com-2024-02-13-21-39-14.png)
Wow, do you really believe the shit you're shoveling?
Cutting off what's happened in the past 18 months fits the narrative you've manifested from out of your ass.
It's like being on a sinking ship and part of the bow just peaks above the water for a brief moment, but the ship is still sinking.
Wake up. The overall trend in down.
And this is why a forum without moderation always goes conservative because the best ideas rises to the top. The only way leftard ideas can flourish is when they are not allowed to be challenged. Its why the no platform concept came up. Leftard college professors know that their arguments are meritless and that a toddler can debunk easily. What better way to keep the cattle in the cult than make sure the cattle isn't allowed to talk to someone of 100 IQ who can call out their BS.
Quote from: honeydipperdavid on February 14, 2024, 10:53:31 AM
Quote from: blackstone on February 14, 2024, 08:38:24 AM
Quote from: Mistwell on February 14, 2024, 12:37:13 AM
Hasbro stock dropped Oct 23, 2023 (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/26/hasbro-and-mattel-stocks-drop-on-poor-holiday-sales-guidance.html), along with Mattel, on lackluster toy sales for Christmas. It's been steady since, slightly increasing.
Instead of peddling in rumors, why not just google Hasbro Stock and see for yourself. Four months of fairly normal behavior for the stock.
(https://i.ibb.co/r7vXNtH/screenshot-www-google-com-2024-02-13-21-39-14.png)
Wow, do you really believe the shit you're shoveling?
Cutting off what's happened in the past 18 months fits the narrative you've manifested from out of your ass.
It's like being on a sinking ship and part of the bow just peaks above the water for a brief moment, but the ship is still sinking.
Wake up. The overall trend in down.
And this is why a forum without moderation always goes conservative because the best ideas rises to the top. The only way leftard ideas can flourish is when they are not allowed to be challenged. Its why the no platform concept came up. Leftard college professors know that their arguments are meritless and that a toddler can debunk easily. What better way to keep the cattle in the cult than make sure the cattle isn't allowed to talk to someone of 100 IQ who can call out their BS.
What can I say, it's low hanging fruit. Easiest to pick, sweetest to eat.
Quote from: Mistwell on February 14, 2024, 12:37:13 AMInstead of peddling in rumors, why not just google Hasbro Stock and see for yourself. Four months of fairly normal behavior for the stock.
Now tell us about the chocolate ration.
Quote from: Sanson on February 13, 2024, 09:42:39 PM
If I lose any sleep over Hasbro's woes, it will be because I can't stop chortling whenever I think of it. But I'm still salty over the fate of Avalon Hill under
them.
RE: Avalon Hill.
Amen Brother. and SPI too.
When Hasbro falls, we should offer them $100 for all the AH/SPI titles.
Quote from: LouProsperi on February 13, 2024, 03:28:18 PMBefore you all think this means gloom and doom for D&D, check this out from page 12 of the Powerpoint:
"Fourth quarter and full year growth in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (+54% and +76%, respectively)."
Yes that growth was offset by declines in other brands, but companies don't sell brands with growth like that.
Look at page 18. Tabletop gaming for WotC was down -1.3% quarter to quarter. The massive growth they are showing for D&D is all Baldurs Gate 3. And that check is cashed.
Quote from: hedgehobbit on February 14, 2024, 05:17:03 PM
Quote from: LouProsperi on February 13, 2024, 03:28:18 PMBefore you all think this means gloom and doom for D&D, check this out from page 12 of the Powerpoint:
"Fourth quarter and full year growth in DUNGEONS & DRAGONS (+54% and +76%, respectively)."
Yes that growth was offset by declines in other brands, but companies don't sell brands with growth like that.
Look at page 18. Tabletop gaming for WotC was down -1.3% quarter to quarter. The massive growth they are showing for D&D is all Baldurs Gate 3. And that check is cashed.
I looked at p.12 and it didn't say anything about d&d.
Quote from: Brad on February 14, 2024, 09:08:20 AM
Quote from: blackstone on February 14, 2024, 08:38:24 AM
Wow, do you really believe the shit you're shoveling?
Oh he absolutely does. ... Exactly the same bullshit. Manipulate the data to push a narrative.
I don't think Mistwell does believe. I think he's just a liar with an agenda. When he gets squashed, he ignore the argument and goes radio silent. Until someone goes slightly off tangent so he can pounce again. That's not the behavior of a true believer, but someone trying to to cause trouble. Of course, I guess he could be a true believer trying to cause trouble. But mainly he lives to see if he can get someone here so riled up they'll go off-topic and get themselves banned. Don't fall for it.
What he really wants is to derail the topic--ideally enough that it gets shut down, but he'll settle for people not actually talking about the subject.
Anyway, back to focus: It appears to me that Hasbro and WotC are both in a classic race to the bottom. Who will hit first?
Quote from: Steven Mitchell on February 14, 2024, 05:30:28 PM
Quote from: Brad on February 14, 2024, 09:08:20 AM
Quote from: blackstone on February 14, 2024, 08:38:24 AM
Wow, do you really believe the shit you're shoveling?
Oh he absolutely does. ... Exactly the same bullshit. Manipulate the data to push a narrative.
I don't think Mistwell does believe. I think he's just a liar with an agenda. When he gets squashed, he ignore the argument and goes radio silent. Until someone goes slightly off tangent so he can pounce again. That's not the behavior of a true believer, but someone trying to to cause trouble. Of course, I guess he could be a true believer trying to cause trouble. But mainly he lives to see if he can get someone here so riled up they'll go off-topic and get themselves banned. Don't fall for it.
What he really wants is to derail the topic--ideally enough that it gets shut down, but he'll settle for people not actually talking about the subject.
Anyway, back to focus: It appears to me that Hasbro and WotC are both in a classic race to the bottom. Who will hit first?
Same company they are both trying to figure out how to put buttplay and genital mutilation in children's content. I would say its Disney and Hasbro are in a race to see which one can make themselves culturally irrelevant. They are both declining financially, but Disney has deeper pockets and Hasbro will go bankrupt first. That being said, cultural relevance though they are in a race to obsolesence.
Quote from: honeydipperdavid on February 14, 2024, 06:03:37 PM
Same company they are both trying to figure out how to put buttplay and genital mutilation in children's content. I would say its Disney and Hasbro are in a race to see which one can make themselves culturally irrelevant. They are both declining financially, but Disney has deeper pockets and Hasbro will go bankrupt first. That being said, cultural relevance though they are in a race to obsolesence.
Yeah, know they are the same company, but it's like two climbers tied together. Does WotC fall first, and pull Hasbro off the ledge they are clinging to? Or does Hasbro jump in, and drag WotC with them? Maybe they'll get into a fight over who gets the last part of the crumbling ledge to stand on, and push each other off.
Quote from: orbitalair on February 14, 2024, 03:48:42 PMRE: Avalon Hill.
Amen Brother. and SPI too.
When Hasbro falls, we should offer them $100 for all the AH/SPI titles.
Try being a fan of the pre-80s GI JOE line. Their 1970s Adventure Team was totally setup for "modern audiences" as the figures were a reaction to the anti-war sentiment of the time, so they are just a group of people that fly around and help other people. Sort of like Grizzly Adams crossed with the Thunderbirds. They didn't even have weapons. How this idea has been ignored by modern Hasbro I'll never know.
Quote from: Steven Mitchell on February 14, 2024, 05:30:28 PM
I don't think Mistwell does believe. I think he's just a liar with an agenda. When he gets squashed, he ignore the argument and goes radio silent. Until someone goes slightly off tangent so he can pounce again. That's not the behavior of a true believer, but someone trying to to cause trouble. Of course, I guess he could be a true believer trying to cause trouble. But mainly he lives to see if he can get someone here so riled up they'll go off-topic and get themselves banned. Don't fall for it.
You notice that he didn't do it on the Pundit's post with the video? Yep he is a true troll
Quote from: hedgehobbit on February 14, 2024, 06:18:24 PM
Quote from: orbitalair on February 14, 2024, 03:48:42 PMRE: Avalon Hill.
Amen Brother. and SPI too.
When Hasbro falls, we should offer them $100 for all the AH/SPI titles.
Try being a fan of the pre-80s GI JOE line. Their 1970s Adventure Team was totally setup for "modern audiences" as the figures were a reaction to the anti-war sentiment of the time, so they are just a group of people that fly around and help other people. Sort of like Grizzly Adams crossed with the Thunderbirds. They didn't even have weapons. How this idea has been ignored by modern Hasbro I'll never know.
Dude you don't know the quality art of GI Joe today like this homoerotic piece:
(https://imgs.search.brave.com/ebQgg3zG5I7e6OpmEFqboq1WXptbiUnYhgS9iaCBlDo/rs:fit:860:0:0/g:ce/aHR0cHM6Ly8xNDk2/MjU5MDgudjIucHJl/c3NhYmxlY2RuLmNv/bS93cC1jb250ZW50/L3VwbG9hZHMvMjAx/Ny8wNi9HSUpPRV9P/TkdPMjAxNl8wNy1j/dnJSSS02MDB4OTEx/LmpwZw)
I mean look at the package shripwreck is packing and Ripper is just asking for it. What father and mother wouldn't want their 10 year old boy learning about intersectionalism, communism and buggerey from Hasbro?
I saw that on comics youtube when it was released but it's even more horrible now years later. That's some bad tumblr art missing only the obligatory anthropomorphic furry in the background... and, IIRC, is indicative of the quality of the writing inside as well.
Quote from: Rhymer88 on February 13, 2024, 09:04:40 AMI guess they either mean "ahead of 6th edition release" or "ahead of 5th edition re-release", although I wouldn't be surprised if the people at Hasbro's Finance department don't know that 5e was released ten years ago.
Reading further into this I saw a line where it said, "upcoming update of the Fifth Edition." So they are going all in on the idea that D&Done is just an update to 5e.
Quote from: hedgehobbit on February 15, 2024, 12:04:13 PM
Reading further into this I saw a line where it said, "upcoming update of the Fifth Edition." So they are going all in on the idea that D&Done is just an update to 5e.
Yea they have used ideas like "the 2024 Player's Handbook" and will compare like, the "2024 Warlock" to the "2014 Warlock". Their new big revision, you know, "5.5" is intended to patch over existing older content. I'm sure there will be "5.0" and "5.5" purists, of course, as the players will need real terms, not marketing muckmuck.
More like idiots who will DM the new rules written after Mearl's have left D&D. If you remove everything rules wise Tasha's and later, the game runs fairly well at lower and mid levels and breaks at level 12. All the new power creep the idiots at WotC are shoveling in screams of fuckers who don't DM, they are only thinking what would be cool for the players and not things the DM's will hate who then stops DMing and 6 of their former players are no longer players.
I'm waiting for crawford to change Wish to a level 3 spell so that more 5th level Wizards get to use Wish because for some reason all their players quit playing D&D at 5th level and that would keep them playing. I could see that being their logic.
Quote from: honeydipperdavid on February 14, 2024, 07:30:39 PM
I mean look at the package shripwreck is packing and Ripper is just asking for it. What father and mother wouldn't want their 10 year old boy learning about intersectionalism, communism and buggerey from Hasbro?
That's not the worst art I've ever seen, but it's close.
Also that's Leatherneck (PROBABLY), not Shipwreck. But does it even matter? I can see they are shitting all over the property, but what else is new?
You're right, it doesn't matter, although I think it's Gung-Ho because of the tattoo on his chest.
Leatherneck is a more homo-erotic sounding name though.
Quote from: Bones McCoy on February 15, 2024, 07:51:33 PM
You're right, it doesn't matter, although I think it's Gung-Ho because of the tattoo on his chest.
Leatherneck is a more homo-erotic sounding name though.
No, you're right, it's Gung-Ho. But, again, does it even matter?
Quote from: Bones McCoy on February 15, 2024, 07:51:33 PM
You're right, it doesn't matter, although I think it's Gung-Ho because of the tattoo on his chest.
Leatherneck is a more homo-erotic sounding name though.
I dare you to say that out loud at your local veteran bar. Marines love being called gay. Go ahead. I'll look for the story in the news.
Quote from: BadApple on February 15, 2024, 08:28:09 PM
I dare you to say that out loud at your local veteran bar. Marines love being called gay. Go ahead. I'll look for the story in the news.
Sounds like something a sailor would say...
Quote from: Brad on February 15, 2024, 07:32:17 PM
Quote from: honeydipperdavid on February 14, 2024, 07:30:39 PM
I mean look at the package shripwreck is packing and Ripper is just asking for it. What father and mother wouldn't want their 10 year old boy learning about intersectionalism, communism and buggerey from Hasbro?
That's not the worst art I've ever seen, but it's close.
Also that's Leatherneck (PROBABLY), not Shipwreck. But does it even matter? I can see they are shitting all over the property, but what else is new?
Shipwreck, Leatherneck what's the difference, the sailors pick out their dancing partner by pulling out the marines pants out the laundry and look at the name tag on their butt pocket.
I did a joint service school in the military, the interservice jokes never ended.
Quote from: Brad on February 15, 2024, 08:53:42 PM
Quote from: BadApple on February 15, 2024, 08:28:09 PM
I dare you to say that out loud at your local veteran bar. Marines love being called gay. Go ahead. I'll look for the story in the news.
Sounds like something a sailor would say...
No intelligent sailor would.
Greetings!
Ahh, yes. LEATHERNECK! "Leatherneck", for Marines, is a long-standing general nickname for any and all US Marines. The expression has been honoured amongst the US Marines for many years, in honour of when Marines fought on board ships of sail of the US Navy. During such an era, Marines onboard the US Navy ships habitually wore a special, durable collar, crafted of leather, around their necks as part of the regular uniform. The Leatherneck collar helped to reduce damage while Marines engaged in hand-to-hand combat, which during this time featured swords, daggers, and axes as common weapons amongst sailors of all kinds.
"Leatherneck" has been an honoured nickname for all Marines ever since those times, remembering and honouring our days of service onboard sailing ships of the US Navy, and fighting with swords and daggers in the Age of Sail.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
https://icv2.com/articles/news/view/56771/tabletop-games-including-magic-up-hasbro?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook
TABLETOP GAMES, INCLUDING 'MAGIC,' UP AT HASBRO
As Company Recovers from Post-Covid Issues
Posted by Milton Griepp on April 24, 2024 @ 2:15 pm CT
Hasbro's total gaming sales, including Magic: The Gathering, were up for Q1 2024, as the overall company began to recover from post-Covid issues.
Hasbro total gaming sales, which include Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and the game products in the company's consumer products segment (i.e., Monopoly et. al.), were up 6%, from $386.5 million in Q1 2023 to $408.0 million in Q1 this year. Magic: The Gathering sales (including digital) grew 4% to $237.9 million from $229.1 million in the year ago quarter.
Sales in the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment were up 7%, from $295.2 million to $316.3 million, behind the segment's blockbuster licensed games, Baldur's Gate 3 and Monopoly Go!, and the growth in Magic: The Gathering.
Wizards of the Coast tabletop game sales (i.e., Magic: The Gathering plus Dungeons & Dragons) were up 5%, from $217.9 million to $228.2 million. The timing of Outlaws of Thunder Junction sales, some of which hit Q1 revenues, and the success of the Fallout set were cited as factors.
In the conference call, CEO Chris Cocks said that Magic: The Gathering tabletop sales were up about 4%, and since the overall tabletop sales in the segment were up 5%, there's some indication that sales of Dungeons & Dragons on the tabletop were recovering from Q1 2023, when the OGL controversy was turning off long-term customers. We estimated that year over year sales of D&D were down substantially in 2023, due in part to the OGL issue (see "Hasbro Loses $1.06B in Q4").
Magic: The Gathering "engagement," which we interpret as largely referring to organized play participation, is back at pre-pandemic levels, Cocks said in the conference call.
Digital and licensed game sales in the WotC and Digital Gaming segment were up 14% in Q1, from $77.3 million in 2023 to $88.1 million in Q1 2024.
Operating profit in the segment exploded, up 60% to $122.8 million from $76.8 million in Q1 2023, behind the growth in digital licensing revenue and "cost management" (translation: layoffs, see "Cocks on Layoffs"). Operating profit margins in the WotC and Digital Gaming segment were 38.8% of sales for the quarter.
Hasbro's overall revenues were down 24% for the quarter, from $1.0 billion in Q1 2023 to $757.3 million this year. Some of the decline was due to the fact that Hasbro included eOne revenues in Q1 2023, but did not in Q1 2024 (see "Lionsgate Closes on Hasbro's eOne"). Without that change, company-wide sales declined 9%.
Sales in the consumer products segment (toys, mass games, etc.) were down 21%, due to declines in the category and lower closeout sales compared to Q1 2023, when the company was dumping excess inventory at higher rates.
Hasbro's net earnings were $59.1 million in Q1 2024, compared to a $21.7 million loss in Q1 2023.
Hasbro declined to move its guidance for the year (which includes a predicted 3-5% decline in sales in the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment) despite a relatively good quarter, indicating that its cautious predictions for the year have not changed, yet.
Mistwell,
It's "earnings" came at the expense of massive cuts that ensure that they will not be able to keep this up for very long. Anyone really looking at the company over all, their public releases, total holdings, active projects, and open partnerships will see a company that dying.
BG3 is the only reason why Q1 saw earnings. Everything else was mitigating the flooding coming in through the holes in the hull. Now the partnership with Larian (the actual makers of BG3) is over. They aren't profitable with toys, they aren't profitable with board games, their Renegade Studios RPGs are tapering off. WOTC is on fire, and none of their digital projects are on time or on budget.
MtG sales have increased from last quarter but not nearly at the same rate of the rest of the CCG market. Looking at the reception the latest releases, it's bleak in the long term.
Over all, they've drained their creative talent pool and the business management side is saying stupid things and making even dumber decisions.
I don't say this with glee. Many of my happiest moments were brought to me by Hasbro. It's like watching my favorite uncle die of cancer.
Quote from: Brad on February 15, 2024, 08:53:42 PMQuote from: BadApple on February 15, 2024, 08:28:09 PMI dare you to say that out loud at your local veteran bar. Marines love being called gay. Go ahead. I'll look for the story in the news.
Sounds like something a sailor would say...
bwahah!
I'm from a Marine Corps family... even reading this on the screen has my skin crawling at the potential violence of such utterances would incur in the presence of my brother or father. Holy crap. And NONE of you are wrong.
Quote from: BadApple on April 25, 2024, 02:41:12 PMMistwell,
It's "earnings" came at the expense of massive cuts that ensure that they will not be able to keep this up for very long. Anyone really looking at the company over all, their public releases, total holdings, active projects, and open partnerships will see a company that dying.
BG3 is the only reason why Q1 saw earnings. Everything else was mitigating the flooding coming in through the holes in the hull. Now the partnership with Larian (the actual makers of BG3) is over. They aren't profitable with toys, they aren't profitable with board games, their Renegade Studios RPGs are tapering off. WOTC is on fire, and none of their digital projects are on time or on budget.
MtG sales have increased from last quarter but not nearly at the same rate of the rest of the CCG market. Looking at the reception the latest releases, it's bleak in the long term.
Over all, they've drained their creative talent pool and the business management side is saying stupid things and making even dumber decisions.
I don't say this with glee. Many of my happiest moments were brought to me by Hasbro. It's like watching my favorite uncle die of cancer.
It's revenue was up. They're quoting SALES. So this isn't from layoffs saving them money. They specified for example that MtG sales were up - that's not BG3. There is zero indication their offerings are over budget or not on time in this?
Of course you say it with glee. You just said a huge amount of unsupported bullshit. Only reason someone says that is for their personal gratification. Oh yes, poor you, you gleefully lying outright about facts is like you watching your uncle die of cancer - showing you're not just a liar but a drama queen to boot. You're such a victim of [checks notes] not liking a gaming company.
Quote from: Mistwell on April 25, 2024, 06:22:26 PMQuote from: BadApple on April 25, 2024, 02:41:12 PMMistwell,
It's "earnings" came at the expense of massive cuts that ensure that they will not be able to keep this up for very long. Anyone really looking at the company over all, their public releases, total holdings, active projects, and open partnerships will see a company that dying.
BG3 is the only reason why Q1 saw earnings. Everything else was mitigating the flooding coming in through the holes in the hull. Now the partnership with Larian (the actual makers of BG3) is over. They aren't profitable with toys, they aren't profitable with board games, their Renegade Studios RPGs are tapering off. WOTC is on fire, and none of their digital projects are on time or on budget.
MtG sales have increased from last quarter but not nearly at the same rate of the rest of the CCG market. Looking at the reception the latest releases, it's bleak in the long term.
Over all, they've drained their creative talent pool and the business management side is saying stupid things and making even dumber decisions.
I don't say this with glee. Many of my happiest moments were brought to me by Hasbro. It's like watching my favorite uncle die of cancer.
It's revenue was up. They're quoting SALES. So this isn't from layoffs saving them money. They specified for example that MtG sales were up - that's not BG3. There is zero indication their offerings are over budget or not on time in this?
Of course you say it with glee. You just said a huge amount of unsupported bullshit. Only reason someone says that is for their personal gratification. Oh yes, poor you, you gleefully lying outright about facts is like you watching your uncle die of cancer - showing you're not just a liar but a drama queen to boot. You're such a victim of [checks notes] not liking a gaming company.
First, what I've said IS supported by multiple news outlets in both the financial sector and the gaming sector. In fact, the issue is so extreme that it's shown up as major headlines in general news. Whether you believe the reporting is accurate, complete, or biased is another thing but it is there. Maybe Chris Cox has some super plan that we don't know that will make the company more successful and the rest of us just don't see it.
Second, revenue isn't up, profits are. They didn't sell more stuff, they cut expenses. They fired a bunch of people and shut down several departments so that the company didn't have as many mouths to feed. I'm not saying they didn't sell anything, I'm saying that what they sold didn't cover their expenses last quarter and they made up for it this quarter by not spending as much. This is all stated in their own earnings report, even if they buried the lead.
Finally, why the meltdown? Is your mental health really tied to how a toy company performs? It's just a company. Are you really that attached to the soulless bureaucracy that makes your plastic baubles?
Quote from: Brad on February 13, 2024, 12:07:20 PMSee what you do is make a beer commercial with a tranny in it, even though 99% of your customer base is a bunch of rednecks and Catholics, then wonder why your company tanks. This just reminds me of the JRRT "superfans" who made videos on Youtube to push the Amazon Rings of Power and it was obvious they had no clue wtf they were even talking about. The only requirement for being a "superfan" was apparently having blue hair and writing a blog post about how LotR is misogynistic because you discovered it has like two female characters after you hatewatched half of the Peter Jackson movies.
This made me laugh pretty loudly, but the actual matter at hand is much more serious. Whatever motivation has caused a bunch of ostensibly intelligent and well meaning people to embark on these absolutely disgusting missions- where profit is thrown away in exchange for what they earnestly believe is an unalloyed good, but is, in fact, socially ruinous- is really quite dire.
When it comes to Hasbro as a whole or even D&D in particular, I'm not even sure if the go-woke-go-broke is the main factor, or even all that large of a factor. Certainly, assuredly, it is
a factor, and when I see a video with a guy in it doubting that it matters at all, I know he's trying to take a politically neutral tract when the reality is actually somewhat political.
What I think is interesting though is that it's the players and DMs with the most passion, the ones who were bought in the most to the older, superior stuff, that are the ones who offer the pushback and then switch to some system that doesn't give the offender money. We also see this in other adjacent things, such as players of miniatures games trying to find ways to set up offbrand, older, and 3D printed alternatives. Tabletop has an advantage in that every real game is ultimately a circle of people; if you go to some competitive miniature event, arguably the ultimate use of such a collection, you are gonna have to play by all the corporate rules. D&D doesn't have this, and won't unless it achieves
incredible success with a virtual tabletop- and I don't think that they will.
The other thing that isn't considered is this; you take 100 gamers and DMs, and you push your shitty political agenda on them. Some of them like it- say, 10. Many don't care- say, 50. Of the remaining 40, you have people who will just shrug and get over it, and then you have a small core who become, for lack of a better term, radicalized. Even if that's just 1 guy in that 100, he'll lead his group away from that, suggest other games, find ways to deny WotC a revenue stream from himself and his buddies. By doing this, they create a non-ignorable group that will continue to push back against them. In other words, it's not just a matter of dollars, you end up making some people in the community simply
opposed to you.
And there's
no way that's a smart call in the long term, and yet, that's what so very many companies are doing. Why create "brand unembassadors" or whatever? How does that help?
Greetings!
It is all about corrupting everything in society, and forcing the culture to embrace the ideological changes into Marxism and Wokism. There are articles and such where executives and politicians have admitted that it isn't about money or profit--none of that matters. What matters is changing the culture as a whole--one way or the other.
This ideological foundation is what so many "normies" and middle-of-the-road mushy fence-sitters never really want to confront. There IS NO MIDDLE GROUND. CENTRISM IS A DELUSION. You are either on one side or the other. Either you embrace the Woke Utopia--or you will be destroyed.
Everyone must resist and fight against all of the Woke BS, everywhere it shows up.
Semper Fidelis,
SHARK
Quote from: Venka on April 26, 2024, 01:57:30 AMQuote from: Brad on February 13, 2024, 12:07:20 PMSee what you do is make a beer commercial with a tranny in it, even though 99% of your customer base is a bunch of rednecks and Catholics, then wonder why your company tanks. This just reminds me of the JRRT "superfans" who made videos on Youtube to push the Amazon Rings of Power and it was obvious they had no clue wtf they were even talking about. The only requirement for being a "superfan" was apparently having blue hair and writing a blog post about how LotR is misogynistic because you discovered it has like two female characters after you hatewatched half of the Peter Jackson movies.
This made me laugh pretty loudly, but the actual matter at hand is much more serious. Whatever motivation has caused a bunch of ostensibly intelligent and well meaning people to embark on these absolutely disgusting missions- where profit is thrown away in exchange for what they earnestly believe is an unalloyed good, but is, in fact, socially ruinous- is really quite dire.
When it comes to Hasbro as a whole or even D&D in particular, I'm not even sure if the go-woke-go-broke is the main factor, or even all that large of a factor. Certainly, assuredly, it is a factor, and when I see a video with a guy in it doubting that it matters at all, I know he's trying to take a politically neutral tract when the reality is actually somewhat political.
What I think is interesting though is that it's the players and DMs with the most passion, the ones who were bought in the most to the older, superior stuff, that are the ones who offer the pushback and then switch to some system that doesn't give the offender money. We also see this in other adjacent things, such as players of miniatures games trying to find ways to set up offbrand, older, and 3D printed alternatives. Tabletop has an advantage in that every real game is ultimately a circle of people; if you go to some competitive miniature event, arguably the ultimate use of such a collection, you are gonna have to play by all the corporate rules. D&D doesn't have this, and won't unless it achieves incredible success with a virtual tabletop- and I don't think that they will.
The other thing that isn't considered is this; you take 100 gamers and DMs, and you push your shitty political agenda on them. Some of them like it- say, 10. Many don't care- say, 50. Of the remaining 40, you have people who will just shrug and get over it, and then you have a small core who become, for lack of a better term, radicalized. Even if that's just 1 guy in that 100, he'll lead his group away from that, suggest other games, find ways to deny WotC a revenue stream from himself and his buddies. By doing this, they create a non-ignorable group that will continue to push back against them. In other words, it's not just a matter of dollars, you end up making some people in the community simply opposed to you.
And there's no way that's a smart call in the long term, and yet, that's what so very many companies are doing. Why create "brand unembassadors" or whatever? How does that help?
It looks a lot more to me like a humiliation ritual than a business plan to be honest.
I'm just afraid of more companies copying WOTC's playbook with worse results...
Quote from: Venka on April 26, 2024, 01:57:30 AMAnd there's no way that's a smart call in the long term, and yet, that's what so very many companies are doing. Why create "brand unembassadors" or whatever? How does that help?
The thing is that the entire business is completely pointless.
(https://i.imgur.com/poIyBLp.jpeg)
That one in the back there is a woman. Okay, but who even gives a shit? What difference does it make? None.
Quote from: yosemitemike on April 27, 2024, 03:41:46 AMThat one in the back there is a woman. Okay, but who even gives a shit? What difference does it make? None.
Thank you for the inch.
https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2023/03/warhammer-40k-the-emperor-is-genderqueer-and-4-other-major-reveals-from-the-end-and-the-death-volume-1.html
Quote from: Ratman_tf on April 27, 2024, 06:51:44 AMQuote from: yosemitemike on April 27, 2024, 03:41:46 AMThat one in the back there is a woman. Okay, but who even gives a shit? What difference does it make? None.
Thank you for the inch.
https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2023/03/warhammer-40k-the-emperor-is-genderqueer-and-4-other-major-reveals-from-the-end-and-the-death-volume-1.html
The Emperor molests!
I wager we'll see the Horus faction start to gain more popularity.