Re: [HOE] WOTC? D20 book Question

[Darrin Bright <darrin@neobright.net>]

> Terry Hawley & Tammy Crew wrote:
> To me, this is saying that the Pinnacle gang has been approached by
> WOTC.

I highly doubt that. The D20 system was designed so that other companies
could go to WotC and use the D20 mechanics without messy lawsuits
getting in the way. More likely this is PEG saying, "Wow, this D20 thing
could be pretty big... should we jump on the bandwagon?"

> All I want to know, if you can answer,  are we looking at the evil
> empire taking over another system?

No, not at all. I didn't see anyone fussing about GURPS: Deadlands.
There would be only one single purpose behind a D20 Deadlands book, and
it would be thus: sell more Deadlands books, period. 

I think way too many people in this industry have put too much emphasis
on "brand loyalty", and I just don't think there's any marketing data to
support this myth. How many people out there do you know who only buy
books for one *single* RPG system? How many people own only one single
boardgame, or only one card game? The vast majority of gamers can and do
buy a healthy multitude of different games, usually from different
companies. If D&D3e/D20 is truly going to be a runaway success, it's
only going to help other RPG systems as new players come into the hobby,
get dissatisfied with the D&D mechanics, and then start looking around
for other systems they might like.