I’m all for powering up the consumerist engines but they keep making really generically bad enthusiast collectibles like ‘the wand of orcus.’ They keep just missing the demographic of the lucrative rich middle aged adult looking for escape.
I'm curious. What is this group more interested in? Exotic vacations?
Trying to monetize something like that with movies and restrictive content licenses, given the kinds of people who are drawn to it especially in the 2020s, seems like a fundamentally doomed effort.
You can sell new campaigns and sourcebooks, rulebooks for new editions, dice, software subscriptions for VTTs and platforms like D&D Beyond, and branded merchandise like posters, t-shirts, Funko Pop dolls, etc. That seems like a good enough situation to me, but I expect that there are few enough dedicated players, and fewer still who are likely to be repeat customers, that a large corporation like Hasbro might it feel like it's an unsatisfactory revenue source. Personally I think they would do much better by just trying to sell more D&D related stuff, but there are apparently some real knuckleheads working at Hasbro who have no idea how to market to this audience.
They've explicitly said to monetize they have to find better ways to exploit players on the same level as DMs.
Interesting article: Why is There No New D&D Fiction Being Published? (https://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2020/06/leaving-money-on-ta...)
I generally enjoy books and accessories for playing the game. I would consider paying extra for things like first edition books or limited run artwork. I am particularly drawn to anything rich in lore.
I've spent easily twice that amount on third-party D&D related activities. Dice sets. Hiring artist to create visual representations of my personal characters. Buying Table Top Simulator. Going to D&D events. Bribing a DM with food/beer.
That being said, the majority of the value I get from D&D are fan made given and shared for free. Custom campaigns my friends have ran. Stories about campaigns we tell each other. Bouncing around ideas for settings or NPCs. Artwork that gets passed around the internet. Min-Max and theory crafting builds that are posted in places like reddit. Without this I would have very minimal interest in D&D.
Harry Potter merch, wands go to a devoted fanbase, but most of the really expensive items go to 30 somethings with lots of money to blow.
WotC put in minimum effort in printing a plastic wand of orcus in a sweatshop, barely puts anything cool with it, and wonders why it doesn't sell.