Rise and Fall of TSR (Remind you of anything?)

[Bigred]

You've GOT to read all of this...

[URL="http://dnd-realm.simplygaming.org/t34-the-rise-and-fall-of-tsr"]THE RISE AND FALL OF TSR[/URL]

Here's a little tidbit to whet your tongue...

...It also became incredibly hostile to everyone, especially its fans. As the Internet exploded onto the public consciousness in the early- to mid-90's, Dungeons & Dragons players naturally brought their chosen hobby online. TSR followed them, issuing dozens of cease and desist orders that shut down fan sites. The company even tried to prevent D&D fans from discussing the game in chat rooms and on message boards, earning the derisive nickname: "They Sue Regularly."

The company was hostile to its fans, business partners, and even former associates that didn't have much clout with the company. TSR became infamous for micromanaging its licensing partners, with draconian licensing managers that dictated everything that a licensor could do, from the color of a box to exactly which piece of licensed D&D artwork the licensee would be forced to use. Even Gary Gygax himself wasn't immune. When Gygax created a new RPG system with Game Designer's Workshop called Dangerous Journeys, TSR sued him for copyright infringement...

What's that thing they say about those who don't study history...

[DrLove42]

Except GW aren't stopping people talking about their hobby.

They're stopping people posting illegal copies of unreleased materials

[RGilbert26]

Yeah, I find it funny that people get angry when GW asks them to stop posting pictures of unreleased stuff, without GW's permission.

[DarkLink]

"News reporting" is protected under fair use in the USA, and I know Australia has a similar thing. It's not illegal, it doesn't threaten GW's IP or trademarks or anything and, and it pisses off a large chunk of their fan base. And even if it were illegal, public opinion will probably burn GW a lot more than any marginal benefit they'll get from taking down Nafka. Great business practice.

Edit: I guess if Nafka signed a NDA then it could be illegal, but I don't know how he gets his information.

[Gotthammer]

I think it's safe to say given how riled up Red seems to be that it ain't just "technical issues" keeping the bell from tolling.

[Power Klawz]

That was an interesting read, but I find it difficult to objectively draw parallels between TSR's situation in the mid 90's and GW's situation now. If anything GW has kept its ship afloat through the worst of the rough seas. TSR dug its own grave and directly antagonized the fan base. GW has been steadily, even ruthlessly, digging itself out of a grave that the economy tried to bury it in. It's doing the exact opposite of a lot of the things TSR did. It's not over-saturating its brand with too many unsupportable products (if anything the opposite: epic, battlefleet gothic, Mordheim? Where'd they all go? Away, in favor of more robust support for the horse that got them there.) its not licensing out its IP to everyone with a cool logo (in fact the GW based video games have been largely successful endeavors, barring that ill fated MMORPG, but hey at least they haven't made another one amirite?) and, as of yet, its not directly antagonizing its fanbase... well at least too much. Some people might consider 80 dollar riptides antagonistic, and I'd honestly be hard pressed to disagree heh.

Beating up on the fanbase in the form of penalizing the small subset of bloggers who make some sort of monetary return from reporting on GW leaks is arguably antagonistic, but its nowhere near the level of trying to shutdown all fansites and outlawing even the mention of Warhammer in internet chat forums.

I don't agree with their more draconian actions, and I really think they should modernize the way they sell and market their game related information, but saying that they are mirroring the decline of TSR is a hard pill to swallow.

You're also missing one key ingredient to this perfect storm, namely a Wizards of The Coast. GW has no legitimate competition waiting in the wings to drive a stake through its heart when its ages old vigor finally departs its ancient bones. Its a lot easier for even a sickly gazelle to go on living if all the lions are actually house cats.

[Mr Mystery]

"News reporting" is protected under fair use in the USA, and I know Australia has a similar thing. It's not illegal, it doesn't threaten GW's IP or trademarks or anything and, and it pisses off a large chunk of their fan base. And even if it were illegal, public opinion will probably burn GW a lot more than any marginal benefit they'll get from taking down Nafka. Great business practice.

Edit: I guess if Nafka signed a NDA then it could be illegal, but I don't know how he gets his information.

Yet with news, you still can't use copyrighted material without permission of the owner. So again fair use falls down, especially when it's stuff a company don't want people to see until a specific date.

[Ordo Septenarius]

"They Sue Regularly" was around far before the internet. I think there's even an instance readily available in "Murphy's Rules: From the Pages of Space Gamer."

[daboarder]

Yet with news, you still can't use copyrighted material without permission of the owner. So again fair use falls down, especially when it's stuff a company don't want people to see until a specific date.

Got a refernce or quote for that claim?

[Mr Mystery]

Horrible lawsuits against people who blabbed or leaked stuff to the press?

Google it dude. Plenty out there.