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Yesterday, I wrote a piece questioning why Cube is not available more often onĀ Magic Online.Ā A comment on that piece, particularly one part of that comment, stood out to me:
The part that stood out to me was this: "MTGO stands in stark contrast to how the rest of the company is run."Ā How spot-on is this statement?
PaperĀ MagicĀ has a staff full of individuals that are generally well-regarded in the community. Aaron Forsythe actively engages fans on Twitter and writes straightforward articlesĀ that helps the community feel involved in the process of making Magic. Mark Rosewater has an extracurricular blog and a podcast specifically designed to provide two-way communication with MagicĀ fans, and if there's one thing apparent in all of his work, it's enthusiasm. Helene Bergeot has shown her willingness to quickly respond to community concerns and complaints. The game itself is designed and developed by a team of dedicated staff who interact with fans through articles, Twitter, blogs, and other means. The creative team has been on point for the last several years, and the flavor and unifying story elements of the game are at peak quality. Del Laugel and her editorial team do a great job keeping the game error-free and aesthetically pleasing. Though I'm not a fan of every business decisionĀ the company makes, it's hard to point out any huge problems with how this game is designed, marketed, and produced.
In short, Wizards of the Coast is a company that has its shit together.
Then we haveĀ Magic Online.Ā WithĀ MagicĀ Online, we have broken promises, metagame-breaking bugs, tournament-ruining crashes, lack of availability of in-demand events, a broken economy with no relief in sight, and a willful ignorance of modern pricing models. Marshall Sutcliffe's interview with Jon LoucksĀ about leaving WOTC really highlighted the broken systems in place atĀ Magic OnlineĀ HQ.
Worth Wollpert, the executive producer of Magic Online,Ā gets a lot of hate, and who knows if that's fair or not? I don't know him personallyāhe could be the nicest guy in the world. He could also be a great leader with a clear vision forĀ Magic Online.Ā We don't really know if he's the problem or just a scapegoat for Hasbro's lack of support for MTGO. I'm not a fan of unwarranted vitriol or blame, and I think Wollpert gets a lot of it.
However,Ā I do know thatĀ Magic OnlineĀ has not gotten better in quite some time, Wollpert's articles are evasive and opaque, and his tweets are defensive and blame-deflecting. It's not uncommon to see Wollpert refer a tweeted complaint to Chris Kiritz or Mike Turian, as if it's not his problem. I don't know if it's a lack of tact or what, but Wollpert is in charge, period. If he wants to refer things to his staff internally, fine, but doing it publicly just implies that he's washing his hands of the issue. It doesn't look good. You don't see Aaron Forsythe pulling stuff like that.
My perception, which I believe reflects the general playerbase's perception, is that paperĀ MagicĀ is made up of the "good guys" and that MTGO is made up of, if not the "bad guys," at least the "incompetent guys." All of the good feelings I have for people like Mark Rosewater and Aaron Forsythe do not extend to the staff of MTGO, whether that's fair to them or not. It's so extreme that I didn't even bother applying for a job on the Magic OnlineĀ team a few months back, despite the fact that the job listing read like a verbatim list of my skills and experience. Working at WOTC would be pretty cool, but after hearing Loucks's interview, it was clear to me that getting a job on the digital team would be extremely frustrating at best.
MagicĀ has experienced unprecedented growth the last few years, but how much longer can an analog game like paperĀ MagicĀ last? Sure, maybe it has another 20 or 30 years, but lesser digital games with better software, likeĀ HearthstoneĀ andĀ SolForge, are going to start encroaching onĀ Magic Online'sĀ market share in a big way over the next few years. IfĀ MagicĀ is going to outlive Mark Rosewater, as he regularly says he believes, WOTC needs to get its digital products in line with its physical ones.Ā Magic OnlineĀ can't continue to act like it's 2002.
>”Itās not uncommon to see Wollpert refer a tweeted complaint to Chris Kiritz or Mike Turian, as if itās not his problem.”
Maybe it’s their job to handle customer satisfaction issues? (This question is rhetorical).
Worth reports to someone. That person Worth reports to makes decisions about tech that are beyond the control of Worth. They also hand him a budget for his staff and tech infrastructure. They also tell him how many full time heads he can have. I can assure you, the reasons MTGO sucks has almost nothing to do with Worth, you need to look higher (much higher, in fact).
I’m pretty sure Solforge and especially Hearthstone have already won.
MTGO is the equivalent of a bad restaurant in a great location.
In regards to Worth’s twitter ‘cc-ing’ Chris Kiritz on support issues. I didn’t mind it when Worth did that to me, but I did mind that Chris Kiritz didn’t do anything, like say, respond to me, on the issue that was significant to me.
I needed a higher level of support than what an ORC was able to provide, and I never got it. They passed the buck, and dropped it.
I think the entire article is written on a misunderstanding …
“In short, Wizards of the Coast is a company that has its shit together.”
You think MTGO is the only disaster going on over there? Have you watched the site stumble and restart multiple times in the past year? Duels of the Planeswalkers? Really, it’s mostly the digital/technological environments, but it’s not entirely them, because they are apparently hamstrung by poor management and HR. Go read WotC’s reviews on glassdoor.com (http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Wizards-of-the-Coast-Reviews-E4718.htm?sort.sortType=RD&sort.ascending=false) … most of 2014 is full of multiple, all over the map but consistent in the complaints, former and current employees who are vicious in their honesty. The only review about 2 stars in the last 6 months? A sarcastic one who gives them 5 stars for a great place to hide if you want to “check out”.