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Dungeons & Dragons is still in the spotlight this week, with two mainstream media outlets focused on the venerable RPG. At the same time, the game celebrates its 45th anniversary with a very pricey accessory. There’s a host of new product announcements, including a new old/old new line from Games Workshop and a French edition…
Read More 11–17 November 2019: Sapphire Anniversary, Mainstream Media
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This week we learn that Wizards of the Coast is pushing further into the digital D&D space, purchasing a computer games studio that is already working on a Dungeons & Dragons game. In other digital news, a number of OneBookShelf accounts have been hacked, Roll20’s industry report shows movement in the top 10 RPGs, and…
Read More 28 October–3 November 2019: Digital Platforms, RPGs in Asia, Asia in RPGs
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The news is certainly thorny this week, containing a smorgasbord of grim news, a cornucopia of ugh. For starters, Zak Smith is back in the news. Smith has been in the spotlight numerous times over various allegations of harassment, abuse, and assault. This week, his long-time collaborators have published a book defending him, and it’s…
Read More 23–29 September 2019: Ugh.
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Busy week! Let’s get right into it. The struggle over unionisation at Kickstarter continues, and we can see its ripples in the RPG community. Meanwhile, Fandom, which bought D&D Beyond earlier this year, has acquired the Cortex RPG, and has plans for it. In weirder news, a Pro-Wrestler’s mocking of Dungeons & Dragons draws a…
Read More 16–22 September 2019: Kickstarter; Kayfabe; Sales
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We are beginning to see the news pick up again after the lull of the last few weeks. There are rumblings about Kickstarter’s anti-union practices, and we see one publisher considering whether to continue using the platform. We could see a call for a boycott in the near future, and we will be interested to…
Read More 9–15 September 2019: D&D History, Consent in Gaming, Carnival Row
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As July limps to a close, we have survived a stupendous heatwave, and Gen Con is nearly here. The Q2 reports are arriving, starting with the biggest of all: Hasbro. Dungeons & Dragons continues to grow, but the star of the show is Wizards of the Coast’s other big property: Magic: The Gathering. Hasbro intends…
Read More 22–28 July 2019: Q2 Reports, Accessibility, D&D Beyond Elections
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It has been another quiet week as Gen Con slowly, inexorably approaches. For that reason, it’s probably a good illustration of what ‘normal’ looks like for the industry right now: a growing market, a ton of new product announcements, a convention scandal, a notable TV adaptation, traditionalists getting miffed about female dwarves, gaming celebrities, and…
Read More 15–21 July 2019: Crowdfunding Growth; Diana Jones Awards; Female DwarvesThis week we see a host of announcements related to adaptations: RPGs being made into movies, movies being made into RPGs, RPGs into computer games, miniature-lines into RPGs, and so on. We get some reminiscences on Larry DiTillio’s work at Chaosium, and on the global reach of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu. In addition, we have…
Read More 11–17 March 2019: Adapting RPGs, Remembering Larry DiTillio, Cthulhu in Australia and JapanThe Gygax Legacy and D&D History March 4th marked the 11th anniversary of the death of Dungeons & Dragons inventor, Gary Gygax. The date also coincidentally marks GM’s Day. Kotaku discusses Gail Gygax, Gary Gygax’s widow, and her battle to control the Intellectual Property left behind after Gary’s death in 2008. RPG historian, Shannon Appelcine…
Read More 4–10 March 2019: The Gygax Legacy, Critical Role breaks records, Pathfinder 2e ApproachesThis week we see some big changes in the world of actual play streaming, some new digital platforms (the good, the bad, and the ugly) which could be relevant to gamers, and a whole host of new product announcements (including a large number from Wizards of the Coast). Streaming Streaming network, Project Alpha, is shutting…
Read More 25 February–3 March 2019: Project Alpha closes, Ghosts of Saltmarsh announced, Facebook takes on Patreon