Wizards of the Coast flip the bird to Europe M:TG

www.deckconstruct.com/shows/dc-85-october-2010-wpn-changes

Now I worry that Wizards of the Coast not only killed Heroscape, but is going to kill Magic in rural areas outside of America because they're going to start doing pre-releases only in game stores instead of with local organisers.

They really don't see how this affects people outside of America do they?

The hobby of tabletop gaming exists outside of America, and many companies if they're too large forget this.

JacobMartin wrote:

www.deckconstruct.com/shows/dc-85-october-2010-wpn-changes

Now I worry that Wizards of the Coast not only killed Heroscape, but is going to kill Magic in rural areas outside of America because they're going to start doing pre-releases only in game stores instead of with local organisers.

They really don't see how this affects people outside of America do they?

The hobby of tabletop gaming exists outside of America, and many companies if they're too large forget this.

I seriously doubt that WotC's changes to the WPN are going to kill Magic anywhere.

sirkerry wrote:

JacobMartin wrote:

www.deckconstruct.com/shows/dc-85-october-2010-wpn-changes

Now I worry that Wizards of the Coast not only killed Heroscape, but is going to kill Magic in rural areas outside of America because they're going to start doing pre-releases only in game stores instead of with local organisers.

They really don't see how this affects people outside of America do they?

The hobby of tabletop gaming exists outside of America, and many companies if they're too large forget this.

I seriously doubt that WotC's changes to the WPN are going to kill Magic anywhere.

Kill it, no, of course not. I'm confused though as to what the real benefit is. I've read Hasbro's Annual Report (they actually control MTG; WOTC is just a name on letterhead for all intents and purposes), and the profits they report on MTG are just fucking staggering. What's the plus here? It reduces the marketing costs associated with a medium-sized division within Hasbro since WOTC would be sending out fewer promo kits, but that's kind of negligible considering that the costs are already sunk to a sizeable degree (it's not like they're going to print substantially fewer cards.) So what other benefit is there?

It promotes the FLGS over non-store venues. I don't see how giving more support to FLGS's is a bad thing.

Stormcow wrote:

It promotes the FLGS over non-store venues. I don't see how giving more support to FLGS's is a bad thing.

Considering that you can find MTG cards just about everywhere except maybe airport terminal sandwich stands, it still seems kind of counterintuitive. The Hasbro mothership cares very little (if at all) about "local game stores"; I guess this is the WotC division's last gasp at trying to drive traffic to shops where someone might accidentally see one of their remaining non-Magic properties (looks like all their boardgames now reside under the A&A imprint) and possibly buy something else. Otherwise, I still don't see the point as far as evangelizing the MTG product goes.

Wasn't there another lengthy thread here on the Fort that discusses this very topic? I believe it's point was that the international M:tG scene is very much club driven rather than store driven. Mostly due to the scarcity of specialized game shops in places like Europe and the UK. I have to agree that it seems like bad business practices to make it harder for your customers to organize and support events that promote your product.


-Will