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Who Killed TSR? (Extended) (Patreon)

Published:
2022-12-02 23:00:03
Imported:
2026-06
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Videos

Content

PDM reviews Ben Rigg's Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of D&D and offers his own insights and analysis. Prepare to be surprised. 

Files

Previews only

Who Killed TSR?.mp4

Comments

Joel A.

Oooh! Know what I'll be listening 🎶 to later tonight 😌

Jeff Jones

Professor Pyg was used in both the Gotham and Batwoman TV shows.

Bagel-Man

Excited to watch

Gregory Helding

I’m so glad you did this one. It’s a great book!

Grendel

Great job Dan!

Storagezilla

Hasbro can absolutely go broke. They can also go broke for similar reasons TSR did. There are very few new mistakes in business and you see the same ones repeated over and over. The financial markets keep crashing over the same mistakes in different areas. It makes sense in hindsight, just not at the time. All companies die the same way, they run out of cash. None of TSR’s problems started as being unmanageable. Too many of them became unmanageable and the company death spiralled. Magic does $1B+ in revenue and is 1/3rd of Hasbro’s profit. Don’t bet against someone with a fancy strategy and a target to get Magic to $2B in revenue blowing that current profit stream to bits. It never happens on purpose. Hasbro has valuable IP that a number of parties would swoop on if Hasbro went into a ditch. D&D, Magic, Transformers, etc. The latter two make a lot more money than D&D but someone will always be willing to buy the D&D IP. Let’s say Hasbro stumbles for a bit, activist investors attack the management team lobbying for more cash to be returned to share holders. Maybe private equity rocks up to take the company off the public market using debt to pay for the deal. D&D could be a piece sold off for a quick profit now rather than running it as a business and dealing with profit and loss. D&D will survive, those who once owned it may not.

MrGunn

Interesting.

Jimmy De Ruysscher

Regarding oc for the movie I think you are correct. With the Batman cartoon there was a character also created for the cartoon, Harley Quinn, and it also took a while befor she was seen in the comics.

Lee Caddick

Found this really interesting. The value sets are so different for artist vs business types, the conflicts are almost inevitable. I'm just grateful that we have what we have - an awesome game that we can play with friends. Also, I wish they would just pay Weis and Hickman whatever they want for Dragonlance movies - I read those books as a teenager and I'm fairly certain they helped me create my definitions of right and wrong. Also, is the youtube channel picking up subscribers at an increasing rate now? It's about time if so - the content is excellent.

Scott Spears

I can remember dreaming of visiting TSR to see what it was about thinking it would be some nerd Nirvana, Man, I would have been disappointed. Thanks for the insights.

Brad and Aidan

Great video. I worked on a small startup magazine 20 years ago, and the only way we got shelf space in book stores was to agree to take back unsold copies. It's a brutal business and we never made money. It was totally not because we stank.

Bryan Stephens

It might not have been illegal but that doesn't mean it was right. I think that's the difference between lawful good and lawful neutral.

Flash Gorgon

Lorraine Williams may have been a good business women for herself, but she was terrible at running a business for the sake of the business. There's a big difference there.

Jay

Ahhh. The ultimate foe of the crappy corporation. The “Good Idea Fairy.” Casting the “Ideocracy Spell” on corporate admin departments to hire empty suits, inexperienced or fake fans, and create useless focus groups. Most of these stiffs claim a so-called education in Business or Marketing but no practical experience in either or the particular industry to include in playing the games with actual people leaving them NO idea what fans actually want. Also, why shows such as The Rings of Power on Amazon is flopping among Tolkien fans and every D&D movie to date has sucked. Again, I praise independent creators such as PDM, Skorkowski, and the Crafters Guild as they have significant experience, innovative ideas, and understand what many of the fans do want. Great video PDM.

Chuck Thorin

And the success of Dragon Dice. Who remembers that one?

Storagezilla

Lester Smith (Dragon Dice) went on to make other one shot style dice games and there was talk of a Dragon Dice relaunch, but he has health problems. Why the spirit might be willing the body might not be capable of the hours required.

Ron F.

Re: Movies and IP, there was that bad Dragonlance animated movie. How do you think that factors in?

MrGunn
>>96827321

Good points, cutting open the golden goose to get 'all' the eggs is always a long term loser of a plan.

samurguybri

I love the Deathbringer monolith shot.