Would Not Giving the Players What They Want be Profitable for WotC?
General forum
Posted on April 12, 2016, 11:41 p.m. by DemonDragonJ
Often, when WotC makes a certain decision, some people will complain about it, since WotC did not do what they had wanted them to do. Other people shall respond to that by saying that WotC is a business, and must do whatever is most profitable for them, but it seems to me that giving the players what they want would be profitable for them.
What does everyone else here have to say about this? Would not giving the players what they want be profitable for WotC, or is the problem that each player wants something different, and it is impossible to please all of them at once?
Also, people forget that sets are designed 2 to 3 years in advance. That means, unless it's something they agree is absolutely needed RIGHT NOW and they can squeeze into a set that's already been designed, you won't see it for 2 to 3 years (if they listen). So half, if not the majority, of the people that complain that wizards doesn't listen to it's players simply don't even understand the process that goes on behind the scenes so they cry when they don't immediately get what they want.
April 13, 2016 12:41 a.m.
oh sorry for the double post, but they also can't throw everything that everyone ask for into one set. They have a story, theme, concepts, etc. to maintain. So regardless of what they do a large portion of the community will be disappointed they didn't get what they wanted.
April 13, 2016 12:43 a.m.
Well, I am of the opinion that:
a/ Most players do not know what they wantb/ Between the players that actually do know what they want, it nets out to them wanting everything.
Also, two other facts:
1/ Wotc is a business and if giving the players something the players want coincides with them making more money than they would otherwise, they will do it.
2/ Giving players everything they want this year will result in no sales next year.
Perpetuating anticipation, hunger, yearning is actually better business-wise than satisfying those needs.
April 13, 2016 2:35 a.m.
The other thing to consider is that most people want what is broken. There is a whole subset of people who think that Jace, the Mind Sculptor should only cost 
. The guy who desigend Snapcaster Mage (which is an invitational card), originally wanted a land that you could cycle to counter a spell (or the story goes). And this was a pro magic player, who is supposed to understand balance.
Just go onto whymtgcardsmith and you will see what people think is a good (and presumably fair, only as long as they're playing it) idea.
If a set isn't balanced, you then get something like the original Mirrodin block, which drove many players away because it was too broken. Then the follow-up set got nerfed to try and account for it, but this caused its own problems. And that happened from people who have been doing this for years.
I'll just finish by leaving this here, it sums up why listening to large groups of people can be a really bad idea:
April 13, 2016 4:03 a.m.
PistonGolem says... #7
This is where it gets complicated. Yes, they want to create a large demand for their supply. They also do not want to break the card economy. How would it be if they printed Tarmogoyf at common in Eldritch Moon? The price would spike down, and everybody will start ripping open packs. Wizards would make a killing off of selling these packs, but this price drop would be bad for the stores and sites that had them marked at their $140 regular price.
Also, every player has their own wants, it would be near impossible to find out what every player wants...
April 13, 2016 8:14 a.m.
DemonDragonJ says... #8
I have another question that directly relates to this subject; there are times when I suspect that WotC is deliberately not reprinting cards (other than those on the reserved list, obviously), to keep them expensive, but would it not be better, for example, to sell twenty cards at $1 each instead of selling ten cards at $2 each? Is it not better to sell a greater number of cards at lower prices than to sell a smaller number of cards at higher prices? Does WotC intentionally not reprint cards to keep them valuable?
April 13, 2016 10:57 p.m.
WotC dont sell individual cards, so realistically they dont care what the cost of a card is. But the secondary market cares about card prices. If a shop can sell one card at $100 then they are better off than selling 200 cards at $0.50 each.
April 13, 2016 11:18 p.m.
Wizards doesn't make money off the secondary market. They make money by selling sealed product. So whether that card is $5 or $1 is the farthest thing from their mind when it comes to reprinting a card. Card shops and individual sellers are the people who make money off the individual prices of cards.
If a card is expensive and it seems like a large part of the community is calling for a reprint and it doesn't happen, intentionally not doing it to keep it valuable is probably the least likely explanation. Its far more likely that they couldn't fit it into a set in time (remember they're done 2 years in advance), or that it functionally/thematically didn't fit into any set about to come out, or that they feel other things were more important to print first. Just because a card is expensive doesn't mean it needs to be reprinted. Just because people call for a reprint, doesn't mean it actually needs one. There is just way more that goes into putting a card in a set than saying "reprint card X", and then doing it. If a card doesn't see a reprint it's pretty much a guarantee that it has nothing to do with Wizards hating it's players or not wanting to listen to them and basically a guarantee that something we don't understand/know happened behind the scenes that prevented RIGHT NOW from being an opportune time to make it happen.
April 13, 2016 11:19 p.m.
DarkMagician says... #11
DemonDragonJ It is financially better to sell 10 cards at 2 dollars a piece than 20 at a dollar a piece. If you're making the cards the extra material eats away at your profit, if you're a secondary seller the extra product laying around clutters up your space adding to your overhead and (theoretically) would take longer to sell.
Servo_Token says... #2
Reserved
...
List
So yes.
April 13, 2016 12:16 a.m.