Well, Loren Greenwood has moved on and Greg Leeds is moving on up to the big office.
I wouldn't expect that this will effect the plans for D&D just yet, but looking at Leeds' previous experience, who knows?
Any initial thoughts, folks?
I am hoping that this happening at the same time that the long-delayed GSL is churning is not a bad sign. But I suspect it might be. If things were happy, why would Greenwood leave just a few months before a new edition launch?
I really feel bad for the Wizards employees. They are already buried in work and conflicting demands from the parent corporation, and now they have an executive shuffle. Very not-fun stuff.
Well, Loren Greenwood does not seem to be a dyed-in-the-wool-gamer either, judging from his WotC profile. So, having another non-gamer from within the Hasbro corp is not bad per se because he is a non-gamer. But installing someone from within Hasbro could indicate that the corporate folks there want even tighter control over WotC.
Stefan
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Well, Loren Greenwood does not seem to be a dyed-in-the-wool-gamer either, judging from his WotC profile. So, having another non-gamer from within the Hasbro corp is not bad per se because he is a non-gamer. But installing someone from within Hasbro could indicate that the corporate folks there want even tighter control over WotC.
Very true. I posted that last night when I should of been sleeping and wasn't really thinking things through. The cynic in me wants to say: "Well seems like these non-gamers have been doing a bang up job at the top post, let's keep that ball rolling by putting in yet another non-gamer". Still though, the news and timing are interesting to me.
I think the main effect here will be further delays as anything requiring top-level approval shuffles into a big stack that doesn't get looked at. One non-gamer to another is typical, predictable, and probably unavoidable given the corporate parent. One wishes for $50 Million and the ability to buy the D&D brand outright....
Hey! I didn't vote for him!
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Well, though Loren Greenwood was not a gamer he was an internal Wizards promotion. His predecessor was not though, so take that as you will.
I guess I don't have anything new to add other than to re-iterate what others have said.
Honestly, things will probably be a little chaotic as the new guy settles in. This might be a sign that Hasbro is taking a tighter rein on Wizards. Or it might mean nothing at all.
Loren's departure seems sudden. I do wonder what that means. The linked story doesn't seem to indicate he has plans, which is unusual. I guess his departure could have been planned weeks ago and we are only now catching word of it. His departure might also be as sudden as it appears (for whatever reason) and Hasbro had a person in mind to replace him. It's a bit weird there isn't a press release on the Wizards site. At least not one I can find.
Speculation is fun!
Loren Greenwood? Wasn't he the guy on Bonanza and the first Battlestar Galatica. Commander Adama, you will be missed.
In a similar article here they say that Greg Leeds officially steps down March 21, 2008.
Other then those two articles there seems to be nothing else out there for info at the moment. Maybe an official announcement is still forthcoming as it hasn't happened yet.
Hasbro Profit Climbs on Transformers; New Chief Named (Update8)
By Heather Burke
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Hasbro Inc., the world's second- largest toymaker, posted fourth-quarter profit that exceeded analysts' estimates and said Chief Executive Officer Alfred Verrecchia will step down.
Verrecchia, a 43-year Hasbro veteran, will be replaced by operating chief Brian Goldner in May, the Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based company said today. The shares rose 2.1 percent.
International sales outpaced those in North America. Customers bought more Littlest Pet Shop and Baby Alive dolls as well as Transformers, Spider-Man and other movie-related action figures in the quarter, which accounted for two-fifths of profit in 2007. Hasbro also avoided the publicity and costs of recalls of Chinese-made toys that hurt larger Mattel Inc.
``Even in a movie year with strong boys' toys, their growth was broad-based,'' said Chris White, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. ``Hasbro products are selling better than Mattel in a variety of categories. It's hard to know how much is recalls versus better products.'' White recommends holding Hasbro shares and doesn't own any.
Net income climbed 24 percent to $133.7 million, or 84 cents a share, in the quarter, from $108.3 million, or 62 cents, a year earlier, the maker of Nerf sports equipment and Monopoly said. Revenue increased 16 percent to $1.3 billion.
Future Strategy
``We have really grown our core brands, we have reinvented them and re-imagined them,'' Goldner, 44, said today in a telephone interview. ``We'll continue to drive that strategy into the future.''
Hasbro climbed 54 cents to $26.41 at 4:01 p.m. in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock increased 3.2 percent this year, compared with an 8.6 percent gain by Mattel.
Verrecchia, 64, started working at Hasbro in 1965 as a staff accountant. He became CEO in May 2003, and will take over as chairman in May. Hasbro's stock has climbed 63 percent from May 12, 2003, the day before he became CEO. Hasbro's sales climbed 22 percent between 2003 and 2007. Net income more than doubled during that period.
`Driving Force'
Goldner joined Hasbro in 2000 after working at toymaker Bandai America Inc. as operating chief. He became COO in 2006. Goldner is talented at tailoring Hasbro's products to fit consumer research and was a ``driving force'' behind the Transformers film, said Gerrick Johnson, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets. He said the shift wasn't surprising.
``Goldner is one of the best young toy minds in the business,'' said Johnson. ``Hasbro has had a massive amount of growth over the past few years and he's made sure the trains run on schedule.'' Johnson, based in New York, recommends holding Hasbro shares and doesn't own any.
Chairman Alan Hassenfeld, 59, will remain a board member and lead the company's executive committee. He preceded Verrecchia as CEO and is the grandson of Hasbro's founder.
Ten analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimated Hasbro would post average profit of 81 cents a share. Eight predicted sales of $1.22 billion. Hasbro also makes Star Wars action figures, My Little Pony dolls and Play-Doh clay.
Overseas Sales
Overseas sales climbed 29 percent to $489.2 million in the quarter, helped by the dollar's decline against other currencies. North American revenue rose 7.6 percent to $766.8 million. A 15 percent drop in income tax payments from a year earlier also boosted profit.
Hasbro is seeking to use toys tied to the ``Iron Man'' and ``The Incredible Hulk'' films this year to lift revenue and counter an increase in commodity, Chinese labor and product- testing costs of as much as 15 percent. The company also has new products tied to a Transformers TV show that debuted last month.
``They're really hitting stride on a number of fronts,'' Sean McGowan, an analyst at Needham & Co. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. ``Certainly it's Al's pleasure to go out on an up note.''
Hasbro bought Cranium Inc. for $77.5 million last month to add to its Scrabble, Clue and Operation games. Toys based on 2007's ``Spider-Man 3,'' as well as the Iron Man and Hulk movies, are part of a five-year licensing agreement with Marvel Entertainment Inc.
The toymaker signed a licensing deal last year with Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest video-game publisher, to create digital products based on Hasbro brands.
Yahtzee Adventures
Electronic Arts said today that the first games scheduled for release include Littlest Pet Shop and Nerf ``N-Strike'' for Nintendo Co. consoles and Scrabble, Monopoly Here & Now and Yahtzee Adventures for cell phones.
Full-year net income climbed 45 percent to $333 million, the biggest gain since at least 1999. Hasbro repurchased 20.8 million shares last year for $587 million. Sales in 2007 jumped 22 percent to $3.84 billion.
Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, said Jan. 31 that fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent as higher international sales and a tax benefit countered $42 million in costs for toy recalls. Mattel recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys last year for lead paint or magnets that easily detach.
To contact the reporter on this story: Heather Burke in New York at hburke2@bloomberg.net.
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Out of curiosity, I just took a look at Hasbro’s latest 10-K filing with the SEC (from 2/27/2008). Oddly, there’s really not much mention of D&D or Wizards in their annual report. I’m somewhat surprised that 4e wasn’t mentioned. The only thing of some interest that I saw was that “North American operating profit included increased investment spending in an online initiative of the Company’s Wizards of the Coast operation.” I’d assume that this refers to Gleemax/DDI. No mention of 4e in their last quarterly report in November, either.
The company is doing reasonably well overall, but that seems to be based almost solely on their success with licensed products and Hasbro’s core brands instead of (despite?) Wizards’ contributions.
Out of curiosity, I just took a look at Hasbro’s latest 10-K filing with the SEC (from 2/27/2008). Oddly, there’s really not much mention of D&D or Wizards in their annual report. I’m somewhat surprised that 4e wasn’t mentioned. The only thing of some interest that I saw was that “North American operating profit included increased investment spending in an online initiative of the Company’s Wizards of the Coast operation.” I’d assume that this refers to Gleemax/DDI. No mention of 4e in their last quarterly report in November, either.
The company is doing reasonably well overall, but that seems to be based almost solely on their success with licensed products and Hasbro’s core brands instead of (despite?) Wizards’ contributions.
Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.,( i.e The basement of the company)
The company is doing reasonably well overall, but that seems to be based almost solely on their success with licensed products and Hasbro’s core brands instead of (despite?) Wizards’ contributions.
Is this Really a surprise?
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The company is doing reasonably well overall, but that seems to be based almost solely on their success with licensed products and Hasbro’s core brands instead of (despite?) Wizards’ contributions.Is this Really a surprise?
No, not really. I doubt that WotC makes up any significant percentage of Hasbro's overall revenue (and that the CCG brands far outweigh D&D, in any case). I am, however, surprised that they're not trying to capitalize on the brand name by bringing up the new edition.
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Huh
Speculation is a lot of fun. Based on what we little know, I would hazard a guess that:
1. These two tidbits have no bearing on 4E stuff at all (simplest option therefor most likely true) OR
2. Hasbro is so unconcerned about WOTC/D&D that they did not order an early release of 4E (in which case various "wrongs or perceived wrongs" might not correctly attributed to Hasbro suits/lawyers) OR
3. Mr. Greenwood had not planned to leave or had planned to refrain from making his departure a big deal (interesting speculation as to why at a [relatively] important time for WOTC).
Fun times!
Of course, none of this is based on any kind of insider information whatsoever, its merely the first three implications that came to mind.
FP
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Earlier in the year, to the rejoice of Heroscape fans, the successful Heroscape line was put under the purview of the WotC division of Hasbro. Now it looks like the man who headed up the department that supported the creation of Heroscape is moving over to WotC. Doesn't sound like a bad fit to me.
The relationship the Heroscape community has with Hasbro, prior to the Wizards shift, was a positive and transparent relationship -- something we can all agree has been lacking at Wizards.
Loren's stepping down may well be GSL related, or it could be that Hasbro wants to bring someone who has been successful in increasing sales to "boys" over to a department that is treading water.
As for the history of companies run by gamers for gamers, it has been mixed. Palladium suffered from internal financial difficulties and almost went out of business, TSR had some internal strife due to some shenanigans back in the day, many gamer run companies have been victims of financial hinkydom. I don't mind having business people in charge of the money, so long as they leave the creative stuff to the creative people. It works for movies, books, and TV.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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I don't know anything about Loren, but sometimes people step down because they've make a bundle and just want to retire. Even if internally it was known for months, Hasbro/Wotc could have reasons not to have announced his departure ahead of time. (Such as not knowing who they were going to put in that position.) Until we know more (if we ever do), sometimes a cigar is a cigar.
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4. Wizards feared having the D&D license either sold out from under them or just scrapped (at least as an RPG) as "not-profitable" and said "We've been working on a new edition - let's push it out as fast as we can and justify our continued existence - new editions always make money!"
See I had heard (read) a rumor about this a while back and had a dicussion with Sebastian about its implications on 4E as a finished product.
Even though I don't plan to convert to 4E, the problems created by a "rough" system could even affect 3rd party publishers not to mention the effects it could have on WOTC itself. I believe Sebastian and I reached a consensus that it could bad be for both sides of the 4E/3.5E debate if this is indeed true, especially if the alleged "publish under 4E say goodby to 3.xE" clause in the GSL is a reality.
For a completely made up hypothetical:
A 3rd party punlishing company, call it Piesew, published under the OGL for 3.5 and then decided to publish under the GSL for 4E. Unfortunately, 4E GSL had the dreaded "bye-bye 3.5" clause. Even more unfortunately, while 4E sales are initially wonderful (core three and all) it later tanks or fails to meet expectations because its "unpolished," and now Piesew is committed to a system that has failed.
So for the sake of the industry, lets all hope this never ever happens.
Maybe he was fired. As far as I know, when they fire someone, they don't say so. It's always something about moving on or leaving.
They won't write: "We had to send that guy straight to hell because he kept groping female employees" or anything like that (not that I'm saying Loren Greenwood did grope anyone or anything like that), but wouldn't they say what the person plans to do now? "He leaves because he took a job at COMPANY XYZ" or "He goes to Asia for a year and lives in a cave with his 37 cats."
Chief Technical Officer
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Oddly, there’s really not much mention of D&D or Wizards in their annual report. I’m somewhat surprised that 4e wasn’t mentioned.
If you went to Rhode Island and selected a dozen random Hasbro execs, then asked them to brainstorm a list—off the top of their heads—of the 50 most important brands for Hasbro in 2008, I seriously doubt D&D would make that list (or, for that matter, Magic: The Gathering).
If you went to Rhode Island and selected a dozen random Hasbro execs, then asked them to brainstorm a list—off the top of their heads—of the 50 most important brands for Hasbro in 2008, I seriously doubt D&D would make that list (or, for that matter, Magic: The Gathering).
It's sometimes hard to keep perspective when you are a fan of gaming, just how few people are interested in it. I was reading an old copy of Dragon at work the other day, and a co-worker saw me. He asked what it was and I explained. His response: "People still play that?" It really is off the radar for 99.9% of the population.
Oddly, there’s really not much mention of D&D or Wizards in their annual report. I’m somewhat surprised that 4e wasn’t mentioned.If you went to Rhode Island and selected a dozen random Hasbro execs, then asked them to brainstorm a list—off the top of their heads—of the 50 most important brands for Hasbro in 2008, I seriously doubt D&D would make that list (or, for that matter, Magic: The Gathering).
If only Michael Bay had directed the D&D movie.
Scott Rouse posted this on ENWorld (Linky)
To help stem some speculation.
I have met Greg twice (once at a sales meeting in January and then Thursday after the announcement) and he seems like a very good guy. I have been very happy with a couple decisions he helped to facilitate prior to Loren leaving and I look forward to getting to know him. He is not a gamer from what I know but seems to understand the importance of the core hobby to our business (the LFGS). He did mention his kids playing Magic and D&D Minis and going to leagues at a store back east.
On Thursday my group got the chance to talk with him for about 1 1/2 hours. He was very enthusiastic about D&D and it's continued success. He was cracking some jokes and was very personable when discussing his plans for continued success of our games. I came out feeling good about things.
He came from a traditional CPG marketing background prior to joining Hasbro. At Hasbro he led the boys toys group including brands that catered to both kids and older collectors including Star Wars, GI Joe, & Transformers. He was also in charge in of global branding.
IMO, sounds like standard stuff I'd say about a new boss.
"He goes to Asia ...and lives in a cave with his 37 cats."
WHO TOLD YOU MY SECRET RETIREMENT PLANS!!!!
AARRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
"He goes to Asia ...and lives in a cave with his 37 cats."WHO TOLD YOU MY SECRET RETIREMENT PLANS!!!!
AARRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!
Slip those kitties a saucer of cream and they tell you *everything*
By the way, they also told me the thing you do on sundays and..... I don't want to judge you, but.... eek!
I predict that if D&D sales tank in the next year or two*, and by Hasbro's ledgers, they almost certainly will, there will be a great wailing and gnashing of teeth at WotC, followed by a corporate bloodbath and/or discorpporation. But then I'm cynical that way.
* And Paizo's move towards independence is only going to exacerbate that by giving the the older grognard set (you know, the old farts with discretionary income that WotC is doing their level best to drive out of the market) someplace to deposit their cash besides Hasbro's coffers. Me, I signed up for two new subscriptions yesterday to show my support for their move.
If you went to Rhode Island and selected a dozen random Hasbro execs, then asked them to brainstorm a list—off the top of their heads—of the 50 most important brands for Hasbro in 2008, I seriously doubt D&D would make that list (or, for that matter, Magic: The Gathering).It's sometimes hard to keep perspective when you are a fan of gaming, just how few people are interested in it. I was reading an old copy of Dragon at work the other day, and a co-worker saw me. He asked what it was and I explained. His response: "People still play that?" It really is off the radar for 99.9% of the population.
You are absolutely right. I've made a wee bit for myself writing game products on the side... and thus people at my day job always want to know what I write. I hate that question... I try to explain, I mention paper, dice, they see books, graph paper, and the response is, "ah, you make video games?" And then I explain no, I only use a computer for layout purposes (mapping, writing, etc.), that I'm a huge advocate for traditional board, strategy, and paper and dice games and go on and on again... and they ask, "So, you do make video games?"
What gets me is that these people are usually in their 40's or older... at least ten years older than me (I'm nearly 35). These are people that grew up as children before the video game explosion for the most part... I mean, my access to video games at the home for years was nothing more than an Atari... later to be replaced by Commodore. Don't these folks remember Monopoly? I just tell them its board games now.. and then they look at me confused and say "you write books for boardgames? What are they used for?" and I simply reply "its a long story."
Don't these folks remember Monopoly?
I know that one. But not too much. Wouldn't run on my PC, and the graphics stank.
You are absolutely right. I've made a wee bit for myself writing game products on the side... and thus people at my day job always want to know what I write. I hate that question... I try to explain, I mention paper, dice, they see books, graph paper, and the response is, "ah, you make video games?"
Oh yea.... I know that feeling. I was telling a coworker about it, and she was all excited because she thought her son played the same thing. Long story short, I ended up talking to her son for a few minutes about WoW (and I have never played that game).
Well, though Loren Greenwood was not a gamer he was an internal Wizards promotion. His predecessor was not though, so take that as you will.
I guess I don't have anything new to add other than to re-iterate what others have said.
Honestly, things will probably be a little chaotic as the new guy settles in. This might be a sign that Hasbro is taking a tighter rein on Wizards. Or it might mean nothing at all.
Loren's departure seems sudden. I do wonder what that means. The linked story doesn't seem to indicate he has plans, which is unusual. I guess his departure could have been planned weeks ago and we are only now catching word of it. His departure might also be as sudden as it appears (for whatever reason) and Hasbro had a person in mind to replace him. It's a bit weird there isn't a press release on the Wizards site. At least not one I can find.
Speculation is fun!
I think her got canned. The 4.0 strategy is seriously flawed and I think more then one of the Hasbro Execs caught on when they finally got around to figuring out what was going on at WoTC.
Here's how Loren and co. probably got caught mismanaging their assets (brand, talent-or lack thereof, and general resources)
1. The digitial iniative is definately a problem for WoTC. It's never good when you have to adventise to the community you want to sell to that you need a lead developer. I also think that the Hasbro deal with EA probably exposed alot of the technical design, strategy, and extremely poor implentation of present (DnD Insider) and past (Temple of Elemental Evil) technical projects. Technical project often have high costs, but huge rewards if managed properly. I think Loren and co failed miserably here.
2. 4.0 is simply desperate. The game wasn't broken. You don't see monopoly being redone. The properties may change for local tasted, but the rules are pretty much the same. 4.0 is reinventing the wheel and has allowed semi-competitors that were once in the fold and contributing to the bottom line (Paizo) to reinvent themselves as serious competion and a threat to the bottom line.
3. The GSL is an issue. Why isn't it out yet? More then likely because Hasbro did not approve whatever version Loren and co came up with. The new guy will have to hammer it out and more then likely it will be very rigid. It may not come out at all. I think the new guy has to decide.
4. The delivery of 4.0 is another issue. Maybe the time to develope the product has been underestimated. My bet is that the 4.0 products will be release in the raw. The rules will work, but won't be all that great and will need an errata in the first six months. The smart thing would be to delay the product, but now that Paizo has made its announcement, WoTC will have to release on time or lose an even bigger chunk of market share. They will risk alienating customers later with a poor product today. That may at least be salvagable.
This is just my two cents on the D&D side of things. He was, after all, the president of WoTC which also covers magic and a number of other products. Maybe they felt he was minmanaging those as well. There was the fiasco with kids purchasing tons of "digital cards" online who's parent demanded that the cards were actually provided.
Trolllllllllllllllll!
The delivery of 4.0 is another issue. Maybe the time to develope the product has been underestimated. My bet is that the 4.0 products will be release in the raw. The rules will work, but won't be all that great and will need an errata in the first six months. The smart thing would be to delay the product, but now that Paizo has made its announcement, WoTC will have to release on time or lose an even bigger chunk of market share. They will risk alienating customers later with a poor product today. That may at least be salvagable.
Who are you kidding? Watch for 4.5 with all new books in one to two years - at full price.