# Remember when D&D was sold to a gamer and then he turned around and sold it to Hasbro



## DarkCrisis

Peter Adkison bought D&D from the failing TSR and gamers rejoiced because the beloved franchise was returning to the hands of a fellow gamer... and then he turned around (after a bit of time) and sold it to Hasbro (along with MtG etc). (Cant fault him though, he had health issues) Who of course promised to keep it run by "gamers". .......

Good times.

So for the record D&D went from Gamer - Business - Gamer - Business.  So some rich gamer should be buying the possibly failing D&D license in another 5 years or so... if the pattern holds.  Anyone got a spare $44 Billion they want to throw down a trash chute?

Of course Hasbro has enough clout they may just hang onto it forever because they can.  Even if it ends up as just a brand name on a piece of paper in a filing cabinet at HQ somewhere.

Anywho I'm just partially joking.  D&D isn't really going anywhere.  Just thought the Gamer/Business/Gamer thing is/was hilarious.


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## payn

WHY IS THIS POST ALL IN BOLD?


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## Ruin Explorer

payn said:


> WHY IS THIS POST ALL IN BOLD?



_I don't know, but it scares me._


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## Snarf Zagyg

With Hasbro, D&D will *LIVE FOREVER!





*


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## Ruin Explorer

Snarf Zagyg said:


> With Hasbro, D&D will *LIVE FOREVER!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *


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## DarkCrisis

payn said:


> WHY IS THIS POST ALL IN BOLD?



Thats weird. Ill try to fix it


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## Frozen_Heart

No way is it ever leaving Hasbro. If it stops doing well, they will shelve it indefinitely, and then take the IP to the grave with them.


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## DEFCON 1

It's almost like if a Gamer makes their Gaming a Business... their Gaming becomes a Business and stops being a Game.


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## GMforPowergamers

DarkCrisis said:


> So for the record D&D went from Gamer - Business - Gamer - Business.  So some rich gamer should be buying the possibly failing D&D license in another 5 years or so... if the pattern holds.  Anyone got a spare $44 Billion they want to throw down a trash chute?



the problem is the new buisness (hasbro) wants the IP to grow. 

GI Joe, Transformers, My little Pny, Magic the Gathering, and D&D can all sit on a shelf for 4-10 years then make a resurgence. I doubt they WOULD sell it unless it was for crazy money just to get Hasbro to consider it.


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## Irlo

Snarf Zagyg said:


> With Hasbro, D&D will *LIVE FOREVER!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> *



The winner is the first player who revokes the OGL and gets all the cash.


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## Ruin Explorer

GMforPowergamers said:


> the problem is the new buisness (hasbro) wants the IP to grow.
> 
> GI Joe, Transformers, My little Pny, Magic the Gathering, and D&D can all sit on a shelf for 4-10 years then make a resurgence. I doubt they WOULD sell it unless it was for crazy money just to get Hasbro to consider it.



So here's the issue.

Shareholders, at least as of late last year, were pressuring them to sell it. They were also pressuring them to sell eOne (their movie/TV arm, which is surprisingly profitable, it owns Peppa Pig and all sorts).

Hasbro refused to sell either.

Except then they changed their mind on eOne, and Hasbro is now actively attempting to sell it.

It's entirely possible Hasbro will decide WotC is also worth either selling, or spinning off, which is what the shareholders want.


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## GMforPowergamers

Ruin Explorer said:


> So here's the issue.
> 
> Shareholders, at least as of late last year, were pressuring them to sell it. They were also pressuring them to sell eOne (their movie/TV arm, which is surprisingly profitable, it owns Peppa Pig and all sorts).
> 
> Hasbro refused to sell either.
> 
> Except then they changed their mind on eOne, and Hasbro is now actively attempting to sell it.
> 
> It's entirely possible Hasbro will decide WotC is also worth either selling, or spinning off, which is what the shareholders want.



it is possible, I don't want to put forward the idea that it isn't possible, just that it is not the most likely out come. The movie studio is not IP itself it is a 'manufacturing wing' that uses the IP... and I will withhold my thoughts on that.


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## Alzrius

DarkCrisis said:


> So for the record D&D went from Gamer - Business - Gamer - Business.  So some rich gamer should be buying the possibly failing D&D license in another 5 years or so... if the pattern holds.  Anyone got a spare $44 Billion they want to throw down a trash chute?



Hm, I've been tossing loose change in a jar for a few years now, let me check; might be enough for a down payment.


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## GMforPowergamers

Alzrius said:


> Hm, I've been tossing loose change in a jar for a few years now, let me check; might be enough for a down payment.



maybe we need a crows funded everyone throw a few bucks...


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## bedir than

GMforPowergamers said:


> the problem is the new buisness (hasbro) wants the IP to grow.



I want to grow too. I want more people to play, enjoy and learn from the game. 
I'm confused why anyone wouldn't want more people to have the same fun they have.


Ruin Explorer said:


> Shareholders, at least as of late last year, were pressuring them to sell it.



An extremely minority section of activist investors representing about 2% of share value.


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## Ruin Explorer

bedir than said:


> An extremely minority section of activist investors representing about 2% of share value.



That's absolutely right.

However, they were the same section asking for eOne to be sold. And WotC refused - presumably on the grounds that as you say, they were only 2% of value.

Then WotC suddenly did exactly what they wanted. Which suggests there's maybe a bit more going on.

I'm not saying Hasbro selling or spinning off WotC or just D&D from WotC is at all_ likely_. I am suggesting it is _not fundamentally implausible_.

If I'm going to Nostradamus this (why haven't we got a better D&D example of a prophet?), then I'd say there's no real chance Hasbro sells or spins off WotC _until _they've seen how the 3D VTT does, or_ until_ the 3D VTT has got so painfully delayed and expensive that it not longer seems worth it (which would 2025 at the soonest, I'd guess). If the 3D VTT isn't instantly looking good, and is costing a ton of money (as it will given 350 people on it!), I'd be unsurprised if WotC was given the boot, so long as D&D was generally still "riding high".


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## mamba

DarkCrisis said:


> Anyone got a spare $44 Billion they want to throw down a trash chute?



someone recently did, doubt he has another 44 lying around…


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## DarkCrisis

GMforPowergamers said:


> maybe we need a crows funded everyone throw a few bucks...



I'm in if we bring back weapon speed


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## bedir than

Ruin Explorer said:


> Then WotC suddenly did exactly what they wanted. Which suggests there's maybe a bit more going on.



I think the eOne shift is more related to the new CEO being in seat for more than a few weeks.
Plus, they discovered the bid process for the D&D TV show was likely to generate a huge amount of revenue. Rather than build in house while owning the global rights to Grey's Anatomy it probably makes sense to fold some of eOne into Toys (Peppa!) and then sell it.

Because their branded stuff is going to generate more money by letting Paramount, Netflix, Apple, Prime Video, HBO, etc bid against each other.


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## Staffan

Ruin Explorer said:


> If I'm going to Nostradamus this (why haven't we got a better D&D example of a prophet?),



The closest would likely be Alaundo, who along with Argautha the Mad is responsible for FR's "Roll of Years".


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## doctorhook

Staffan said:


> The closest would likely be Alaundo, who along with Argautha the Mad is responsible for FR's "Roll of Years".



I was gonna say that Nostradamus mostly wrote the kind of gibberish that was so vague that people interpreted it to fit whatever they want


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## Micah Sweet

Ruin Explorer said:


> So here's the issue.
> 
> Shareholders, at least as of late last year, were pressuring them to sell it. They were also pressuring them to sell eOne (their movie/TV arm, which is surprisingly profitable, it owns Peppa Pig and all sorts).
> 
> Hasbro refused to sell either.
> 
> Except then they changed their mind on eOne, and Hasbro is now actively attempting to sell it.
> 
> It's entirely possible Hasbro will decide WotC is also worth either selling, or spinning off, which is what the shareholders want.



Its possible that all the bad press this move is creating will encourage the shareholders to put forward those arguments again.


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## Ruin Explorer

Micah Sweet said:


> Its possible that all the bad press this move is creating will encourage the shareholders to put forward those arguments again.



The annual shareholder meeting isn't until June, I think, so it might not matter unless people are otherwise publicly threatening to or actually selling off shares ands using that as the rationale.


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## SkidAce

"Remember when D&D was sold to a gamer and then he turned around and sold it to Hasbro"


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## Lidgar




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