Wizards has announced they will be shutting down Gleemax.com
Good? Bad? Inevitable? Discuss...
My vote is for "Retooled/Rebranded".
Was it ever actually launched? Did it ever make it out of beta?
What? Really? It was supposed to be the central hub of their online community.
Can we get some linkage to the announcement?
My vote is for "Retooled/Rebranded".
I think this is likely. It was too central to their marketing strategy to be completely shut down.
Terribly funny?
Here's the important part (from my point of view):
"The forums are alive and well, and maintenance of them will actually get more resources thanks to this decision. (They will probably migrate off of gleemax.com and back to wizards.com, but that's the only change I expect.) "
Business as usual, as far as I'm concerned. I think I know a grand total of one person who used the blogging component of Gleemax.com, for instance, compared to the scads of people I know who post on the message boards there.
Bella Sara Charter Superscriber
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Wow. That must've hurt.
Here's hoping the death/temporary incapacitation of Gleemax actually lets them devote more resources to DDI and MtgO III. Given WotC's track record on digital products, I'm not particularly optimistic, but at least focusing on those products is a step in the right direction.
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Can't say that this comes as a shock. Hopefully the people in charge of WotC's digital team realise that they've bitten off more than they can chew, and they go back to working on the important pieces like the DI.
Also, I don't think anyone cares about The Goblin Game. Get those people doing something constructive.
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You go too far!!! I've been waiting for the Goblin Game to come out ever since it was announced. I love what I've heard so far.
Wait, we've heard something? I always thought this was a continuously disappearing computer project almost StarCraft: Ghost-like in its etherealness.
Me, I'm waiting for Duke Nukem Forever. ;)
I'm not surprised. I didn't make it through the sign up process. By the third page, I gave up. Never did find out if it cost or not. it's a shame, I would have liked to have access to the the gaming resources, but it felt like I was signing up for AOL.
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The problem with gleemax is that they were trying to be a niche facebook/myspace/livejournal/wordpress, when they should have just tried to be a niche meetup.com (at most). Most teens to twenty somethings (and on up) have more than enough social networking at this point, the last thing I would want is yet another thing to keep track of.
Frankly, a Facebook (or other platform) app would be fine for me, although it would expose one's gaming tendencies to your non-gaming friends. Then again, I don't know what the point of gleemax was at any point, nor do I know what the point of a WotC social app would be. Ideally it would be a way let your freak nerd flag fly, maybe with trophies or something. *shrugs*
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Frankly, a Facebook (or other platform) app would be fine for me, although it would expose one's gaming tendencies to your non-gaming friends. Then again, I don't know what the point of gleemax was at any point, nor do I know what the point of a WotC social app would be. Ideally it would be a way let your freak nerd flag fly, maybe with trophies or something. *shrugs*
If anyone wants to let their nerd flag fly high, they can visit the Pathfinder group on Facebook.
It's one way to get around the lack of a personal message service on these boards, and might tempt a few people back here to see what the fuss is about.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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You go too far!!! I've been waiting for the Goblin Game to come out ever since it was announced. I love what I've heard so far.
Also, I don't think anyone cares about The Goblin Game. Get those people doing something constructive.
I also hope that the Goblin Game survives. I've been looking forward to that more than ANY other computer or video game since it's been announced.
In general I'd like to see their online game portal live through this, even if the horrible blog function part of Gleemax dies without ever being raised.
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How long before we see the spin on this? You know like the garbage they tried feeding us when Dungeon and Dragon were shut down.
"This isn't the death of Gleemax! We're just transitioning to the offline version! Now you can come to our offices, staple your post to a wall, and wait for somebody to reply!"
If anyone wants to let their nerd flag fly high, they can visit the Pathfinder group on Facebook.
It's one way to get around the lack of a personal message service on these boards, and might tempt a few people back here to see what the fuss is about.
Did it a few days ago thanks to your recommendation. :)
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Contributor
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Maybe I'm reading too much into this, and I'll admit that I'm biased, but I find the following statement interesting:
In the plus column, Dragon and Dungeon magazines have launched in their new online format, and they seem to be getting rave reviews.
Note: Emphasis mine.
I'm sure this is just a semantic thing, but I would think that if the online magazines are actually getting rave reviews, wouldn't that have been more of a declarative statement? It's almost like they're not sure they're getting rave reviews. I googled for the terms "Dragon", "365", and "review" and the first review I came up with was major criticism of the main article on ENWorld.org.
I don't wish their efforts ill (although the success of DDI doesn't help me all that much, since I'm not playing 4e, and I've never played MtG). I just couldn't help but key in on that statement. It makes it sound like there's there's too much wishful thinking going on with respect to many of their strategies.
I wish Wizards well.
People put a year of writing into the Gleemax boards, trying to build up a community. I'm sorry for the upset they must feel. Getting shoved over to another board must seem like an eviction.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this, and I'll admit that I'm biased, but I find the following statement interesting:
In the plus column, Dragon and Dungeon magazines have launched in their new online format, and they seem to be getting rave reviews.Note: Emphasis mine.
I'm sure this is just a semantic thing, but I would think that if the online magazines are actually getting rave reviews, wouldn't that have been more of a declarative statement? It's almost like they're not sure they're getting rave reviews. I googled for the terms "Dragon", "365", and "review" and the first review I came up with was major criticism of the main article on ENWorld.org.
I don't wish their efforts ill (although the success of DDI doesn't help me all that much, since I'm not playing 4e, and I've never played MtG). I just couldn't help but key in on that statement. It makes it sound like there's there's too much wishful thinking going on with respect to many of their strategies.
Well really there is only one kind of review they really care about. That'd be the one were you vote by giving them your subscriber money. I suspect this is a big part of what killed Gleemax as well. Essentially we are al getting the nice free preview but Wizards does not want to give us a two year free preview. They need to get these money generating sites up and running and they need good content for them or gamers will not subscribe.
Inevitable. Laughable as well. It was just a matter of time. Next to fall...DDI
Ah . . . that is not a good as it might sound.
If DDI gets yanked, that puts WoTC in a bad position with Hasbro. Regardless of how we might feel about 4th Edition, the death of D&D would be a HUGE blow to the P&P game community.
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Inevitable. Laughable as well. It was just a matter of time. Next to fall...DDIAh . . . that is not a good as it might sound.
If DDI gets yanked, that puts WoTC in a bad position with Hasbro. Regardless of how we might feel about 4th Edition, the death of D&D would be a HUGE blow to the P&P game community.
Nah...it wouldn't be the death of D&D. That already happened with 4e...IMO. The 3rd parties are what are keeping D&D alive. again...IMO
Are all the IT people it took to create and run that site being laid off?
It turns out Gleemax isnt the only thing to go at Wizards:
Wizards Books Announcement.
What's next I wonder?
Also I'm wondering if the 4E launch was as successful as they were expecting it to be?
I mean it was probably successful, but I wonder what was the difference between what they were expecting and what it actually was?
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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It turns out Gleemax isnt the only thing to go at Wizards:
Wizards Books Announcement.What's next I wonder?
Also I'm wondering if the 4E launch was as successful as they were expecting it to be?
I mean it was probably successful, but I wonder what was the difference between what they were expecting and what it actually was?
That would be a huge jumping to conclusions. What is more likely is that as we enter the end of summer, Wizards has entered their annual financial planning period for 2009. As part of the process, they may have been told by Hasbro that they need to cut costs a certain amount, but have the discresion to decide where to cut them. The solution they've come up with is to cut products and lines of business that were either costing too much, or not performing well enough to justify their cost and they are simply trimming unprofitable and less profitable products.
In general, it's not anything too unusual in corporate America. If they started trimming the D&D product line or laying off RPG designers, then I'd worry that 4E wasn't selling as well as expected. I wouldn't expect anything like that until about a year from now though, as companies generally give a big new launch at least a year to perform before deciding to cut back on its funding. Also, the real test for 4E won't be how well the core books sell, but how all of the supplements sell.
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It turns out Gleemax isnt the only thing to go at Wizards:
Wizards Books Announcement.What's next I wonder?
Also I'm wondering if the 4E launch was as successful as they were expecting it to be?
I mean it was probably successful, but I wonder what was the difference between what they were expecting and what it actually was?
That would be a huge jumping to conclusions. What is more likely is that as we enter the end of summer, Wizards has entered their annual financial planning period for 2009. As part of the process, they may have been told by Hasbro that they need to cut costs a certain amount, but have the discresion to decide where to cut them. The solution they've come up with is to cut products and lines of business that were either costing too much, or not performing well enough to justify their cost and they are simply trimming unprofitable and less profitable products.
In general, it's not anything too unusual in corporate America. If they started trimming the D&D product line or laying off RPG designers, then I'd worry that 4E wasn't selling as well as expected. I wouldn't expect anything like that until about a year from now though, as companies generally give a big new launch at least a year to perform before deciding to cut back on its funding. Also, the real test for 4E won't be how well the core books sell, but how all of the supplements sell.
And they just recently got a new man in charge. I imagine he has some ideas on how best to grow Wizards along with a few directives from corporate. When presidents change this kind of transition is to be expected.
I have no concerns for 4e or Wizards yet. By all accounts the game is doing very well.
People put a year of writing into the Gleemax boards, trying to build up a community. I'm sorry for the upset they must feel. Getting shoved over to another board must seem like an eviction.
That must be the hardest to swallow. While I understand they need to refocus their efforts, it must really be a slap in the face for Gleemax supporters to be marginalized like that.
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Finally got to actually read the article, it's a very nice goodbye from Randy Buehler. I think it was really cool of him to admit to his own errors in this new digital push. Though it's gotta be rough on those who were using the service.
I completely understand WotC desire to make sure their flagship online projects get the most attention, though.
Wow, it was hard not to laugh at first having posted several times about their headache inducing color scheme. Then I realized how pissed their posters must feel.
Whoa....
Perhaps this is a sign that they've finally hired someone who knows what he/she is doing over there.
...it's a pleasant surprise to see that someone has finally stood up and said it. Kudos to Randy Buehler...
Here's hoping the death/temporary incapacitation of Gleemax actually lets them devote more resources to DDI and MtgO III. Given WotC's track record on digital products, I'm not particularly optimistic, but at least focusing on those products is a step in the right direction.
While admitting there's a problem is promising, I remain skeptical until there are visible improvements.
Mostly, I'm not convinced they understand the problem. It's one thing to be over-extended -- it's quite another to lack the requisite skills for a task. I suspect the latter.
In general, it's not anything too unusual in corporate America. If they started trimming the D&D product line or laying off RPG designers, then I'd worry that 4E wasn't selling as well as expected. I wouldn't expect anything like that until about a year from now though, as companies generally give a big new launch at least a year to perform before deciding to cut back on its funding.
huh, that's interesting because that's exactly what happened a year after the launch of 3rd edition...
Also, the real test for 4E won't be how well the core books sell, but how all of the supplements sell.
INDEED.
Personally, I say good riddance. I found Gleemax to be a pain in the neck since day one, especially since I couldn't transfer my forums account over despite following the instructions step by step! As a result I haven't been active on the WotC forums at all since.
I do feel sorry for the people who were able to get the most out of it, don't get me wrong. But to me, Gleemax was a big white elephant.
...or maybe a lime-green one ;)
Just wanted to wait a bit to throw my 2 cp in. This announcement is nothing but WIN for everyone.
Why in the world would WotC think that starting a social networking site would be a good idea? The whole point of social networking is that everyone only uses a few sites, and therefore everyone can get connected on those same sites.
For example, why not start developing apps and partner with Facebook? Why the need for a whole new site? This is like someone witnessing the arrival of hybrid automobiles 10 years ago and just now coming out with hybrid car.
As for people who put a lot of content into the site, yeah, it sucks, but it won't shut down so fast that they won't have time to save that content for other media.
Wizards needs to focus on what they do best (roleplaying game content, arguably I guess) and leave the technology to whatever third party they've partnered with for DDI.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Goblin Game?
Goblin Game forum You can find out more info on the Goblin Game here. Bascially, imagine Civilization but with competing goblin tribes instead of human civs.
That was quick. I give D&D Insider six months, tops. Probably for the best, as regards the core pen-and-paper game.
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Ha!
Now if they'll just "shut down" 4E we're in business. }: P
*Chef Gordon Ramsay yells loudly*
SHUT IT DOWN! SHUT DOWN HELL'S KITCHEN, SHUT IT ALL DOWN!*Luke Skywalker shouts desperately from the trash compactor*
SHUT DOWN ALL THE GARBAGE SMASHERS ON THE DETENTION LEVEL!
Pax imagines Alex Draconis yelling...
SHUT DOWN 4E, SELL THE COMPANY TO PAIZO, START DEVELOPING PRODUCTS THAT BETTER THE PLAYERS, NOT JUST OUR COFFERS!