Yet "another" competition from Wizards of the Coast: Sell Your Sole (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4news/20090625).
"Yet another" coming from this ENW thread (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/258237-sell-your-sole.html). When were the last WotC contests? What where they about?
I read ggroy writing jokingly that it's very odd and asking if WotC wants to get in the shoe business. So... why is it odd? The frequency of the contests? What's the big deal about this?
Just trying to understand, and since I don't post on ENWurld any more, I'll post it here.
D&D shoes? hmmm... not for me. Also, I will not do their work for free either as I will not be entering this 'contest.'
I think it's pretty cool. Some of the designs were interesting. I don't wear sneakers in general (more of a lace-up boot guy), but I might wear a pair of these around the house or some-such.
I'm not sure why it would seem odd to anyone. I mean, there are scads of concert-type shirts with garish designs meant for gamer consumption, so I don't see shoes as a big leap in logic. WotC hasn't done much like this for D&D, but it doesn't seem unusual that they'd try making some (very) peripheral stuff. Matter of fact, I would rather see a bit more stuff like this than "yet another" book each month.
I agree with the Colonel. It doesn't strike me as "odd" at all, actually. Hence this thread: I wonder if I missed anything, and if so, what.
There were some cool designs in there.
Quote from: Benoist;315763Yet "another" competition from Wizards of the Coast: Sell Your Sole (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4news/20090625).
"Yet another" coming from this ENW thread (http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/258237-sell-your-sole.html). When were the last WotC contests? What where they about?
I read ggroy writing jokingly that it's very odd and asking if WotC wants to get in the shoe business. So... why is it odd? The frequency of the contests? What's the big deal about this?
Just trying to understand, and since I don't post on ENWurld any more, I'll post it here.
Getting into the shoe business is how the original West End Games went bankrupt.
Bit of an odd move, symbolically and historically.
And here I thought this thread would be about selling the competition to your favorite games/personal games. Ah well
Quote from: Benoist;315763I read ggroy writing jokingly that it's very odd and asking if WotC wants to get in the shoe business. So... why is it odd? The frequency of the contests? What's the big deal about this?
Just trying to understand, and since I don't post on ENWurld any more, I'll post it here.
A company suddenly entering into a completely unrelated business different from their area of expertise, is generally not a good sign to shareholders.
But if this is just a contest, most likely they're just contracting it out to an actual real shoe company. On the other hand, WotC entering into the shoe business for real would not be a good sign.
Well...one of Gary's jobs he held while writing D&D was a shoe repair business.
Maybe it's ending as it started: with shoes.
Quote from: ggroy;315971A company suddenly entering into a completely unrelated business different from their area of expertise, is generally not a good sign to shareholders.
But if this is just a contest, most likely they're just contracting it out to an actual real shoe company. On the other hand, WotC entering into the shoe business for real would not be a good sign.
Pretty sure it's just a fun contest, all done through a subcontractor. I do not think they are getting into the shoe business.
This is crazy.
RPGpundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;316154This is crazy.
RPGpundit
Why?
That's cute. I doubt it's going to be a serious push, just a bit of fun with a tiny sideline. There is a growing market for custom sneakers so it's somewhat timely.
I'd never buy them but I don't see the harm. It's no different than any other accessory, such as shirts or dice bags.
Because with all the shit they are failing to handle effectively, they have time for this bullshit?!
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;316254Because with all the shit they are failing to handle effectively, they have time for this bullshit?!
RPGPundit
More dog and pony shows or parties and circuses, to distract themselves from the earth crumbling away underneath them? :p
Nero fiddling away while Rome burns? ;)
Quote from: ggroy;316263Nero fiddling away while Rome burns? ;)
That's more or less the gist of my thinking, yes.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;316254Because with all the shit they are failing to handle effectively, they have time for this bullshit?!
RPGPundit
It's contracted out and probably revenue neutral so...what time is really required for a contest like this?
Quote from: RPGPundit;316368That's more or less the gist of my thinking, yes.
Heh. While Rome burns part 2.
Here's "while Rome burns part 1":
http://www.montecook.com/arch_review26.html
According to Monte Cook back in 2003, in the above link:
See, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, which might make you mad: 3.5 was planned from the beginning.
Even before 3.0 went to the printer, the business team overseeing D&D was talking about 3.5. Not surprisingly, most of the designers -- particularly the actual 3.0 team (Jonathan Tweet, Skip Williams, and I) thought this was a poor idea. Also not surprisingly, our concerns were not enough to affect the plan. The idea, they assured us, was to make a revised edition that was nothing but a cleanup of any errata that might have been found after the book's release, a clarification of issues that seemed to confuse large numbers of players, and, most likely, all new art. It was slated to come out in 2004 or 2005, to give a boost to sales at a point where -- judging historically from the sales trends of previous editions -- they probably would be slumping a bit. It wasn't to replace everyone's books, and it wouldn't raise any compatibility or conversion issues.
...
So, one has to surmise that the new business team determined that sales were slumping slightly earlier than predicted and needed 3.5 to come out earlier. One also has to surmise that someone -- at some level -- decided that it was to be a much, much more thorough revision than previously planned. Some of this is probably just human nature (two of the 3.0 designers were out of the way, and one would only work at Wizards of the Coast for about half the design time) and some of it is probably the belief that more revenue would be generated with more drastic changes. The philosophy of 3.5 has changed from being a financial "shot in the arm" into something with significant enough changes to make it a "must-buy." Perhaps they thought to strive for the sales levels of 2000. Perhaps there was corporate pressure to reach those sales levels again.
Wonder if they are seeing a "slump" already for 4E this time around. A lot sooner than the slump 2-3 years after 3E D&D.
Quote from: RPGPundit;316254Because with all the shit they are failing to handle effectively, they have time for this bullshit?!
RPGPundit
They could be engaging in even more frivolous promotions.
An example would be WotC doing a 4E D&D cross promotion with Viagra. :rotfl:
:voodoo: