Agreed. I think everyone in this discussion is aware of that.
Maybe everyone currently active in this discussion is aware of this, but my long term
internet history (let alone just Pokémon), is to make sure such things are firmly established, because most people (too often myself included), don't stop to think about such things otherwise.
Ok I'm definitely missing a step of your thought process here. Why would making more money off of competitive players while making the usual amount of money off of children not maximize profits?
Even if we assume that TPC can make as much off of Pokémon from non-player/non-collector customers and collectors as they currently do while catering to competitive players to improve sales there, you must remember
gross versus net. All the Organized Play provided by TPCi costs money. Better R&D before cards release (definitely something needed to improve game balance) are
also going to cost time and money. Given that not all competitive players want the game to change from its current form, there is a real question over whether or not making all the changes you (or for that matter, I myself) want would result in a net gain. There may also be a risk factor we are underestimating; the-powers-that-be may be worried that
any change will ruin the currently profitable model. Many businesses in recent years have (again?) become focused on risk avoidance over long term profitability.
I'm also unsure of when bad word of mouth became relevant to the discussion. What would generate this bad word of mouth? What does it have to do with rotating more sets than usual to increase sales of in-print sets? Do you mean that rotating too many sets will piss people off and make them quit? I'm unclear on your stance here so forgive me if I'm wrong, I'm just taking shots in the dark here.
When I brought up what I learned about bad customers, I shifted to a general business topic. My college courses didn't focus on the TCG industry nor have I ever worked for The Pokémon Company. I don't know of its relevance specifically to the TCG industry, but I do know that it matters. Taking shots in the dark can be risky, because I almost thought they were something else, and went about debating them, which could get quite lenghty. Usually, if you aren't sure, it is better just to ask.
Yes, I need to take my own advice more often. ^^'
The player base is worth hassle? What hassle?
Organized play isn't free. It cost TPCi money to run and advertise the various tournament series and even Pokémon League. There are some fees for these things, but they don't cover everything, and even if it did, there would be a question of whether it was the best use of those resources, as there may be larger or easier (more reliable) profits to be had. Just providing rulings for cards, as well as having R&D test everything before committing to it, is all part of the "hassle" of maintaining the
competitive player base. If you don't like the word "hassle", substitute "work", or better still "work that may not actually lead to a worthwhile profit."
Even after distinguishing gross from net there is more to understanding profits.
Opportunity cost refers to what you could have done with investment funds instead of what you actually choose to do. If it were to cost a
lot more to maintain what we have than what the-powers-that-be thought it was worth, they might rather invest the money elsewhere even if it was still technically generating a profit, for something that generated
- A larger profit
- A more reliable profit
- A less stressful profit
- Some combination of the above
