Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
4 Hours w/ RSD - Escapist Bonus Column
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="k012957" data-source="post: 7647926" data-attributes="member: 21365"><p>Strictly from a consumer's point of view, there is a definite problem with the business model of TRPGs.</p><p> </p><p>A consumer decides to play the game, buys a book or two, and begins playing. Soon the consumer is surrounded by folk who have follow-on publications that make the consumer's PC look weak and boring in comparison.</p><p> </p><p>The reason, of course, is that the company selling the product cannot make a profit from selling only the core rulebooks. The company must sell follow-on product. </p><p> </p><p>If that product makes it easier/more fun for the consumer without complexifying the game (such as item cards, miniatures, or battle-mats), then the products will be bought and the consumer will see the money as well spent. But, if the follow-on product is new rules/spells/monsters/classes/feats/etc., then the consumer must either buy the new product, or be consigned to only using the core.</p><p> </p><p>WOTC had a good game in 3.0 (well, except for the Harm spell <<grin>>). Their follow-on products ran the gamut from new monster manuals to various splat books that not only abused the power curve, but in some cases appeared to not have been proof-read well. </p><p> </p><p>In order to fix a few things and generate new revenues, they came out with the 3.5 core books. This then was followed by more monster manuals and more splat books.</p><p> </p><p>Consumers who jumped to Paizo upon the elimination of a physical magazine (both Dungeon and Dragon), thought they had found the answer. Yet now, the core books for Pathfinder include follow-on books. </p><p> </p><p>4e has a similar problem, but with a different twist. After the core books, then come the errata and the follow-on books. These often change the original to something quite different. Thus, the books are very outdated as soon as new content is published, whether physically or digitally. The only solution is to become a member of DDI, pay the yearly dues, and always have an updated version. This model has constant income coming into the company, but will it really generate new income by getting new players?</p><p> </p><p>As a consumer, I am unlikely to spend my money twice to get the same product, and the bar to new players is rather large.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="k012957, post: 7647926, member: 21365"] Strictly from a consumer's point of view, there is a definite problem with the business model of TRPGs. A consumer decides to play the game, buys a book or two, and begins playing. Soon the consumer is surrounded by folk who have follow-on publications that make the consumer's PC look weak and boring in comparison. The reason, of course, is that the company selling the product cannot make a profit from selling only the core rulebooks. The company must sell follow-on product. If that product makes it easier/more fun for the consumer without complexifying the game (such as item cards, miniatures, or battle-mats), then the products will be bought and the consumer will see the money as well spent. But, if the follow-on product is new rules/spells/monsters/classes/feats/etc., then the consumer must either buy the new product, or be consigned to only using the core. WOTC had a good game in 3.0 (well, except for the Harm spell <<grin>>). Their follow-on products ran the gamut from new monster manuals to various splat books that not only abused the power curve, but in some cases appeared to not have been proof-read well. In order to fix a few things and generate new revenues, they came out with the 3.5 core books. This then was followed by more monster manuals and more splat books. Consumers who jumped to Paizo upon the elimination of a physical magazine (both Dungeon and Dragon), thought they had found the answer. Yet now, the core books for Pathfinder include follow-on books. 4e has a similar problem, but with a different twist. After the core books, then come the errata and the follow-on books. These often change the original to something quite different. Thus, the books are very outdated as soon as new content is published, whether physically or digitally. The only solution is to become a member of DDI, pay the yearly dues, and always have an updated version. This model has constant income coming into the company, but will it really generate new income by getting new players? As a consumer, I am unlikely to spend my money twice to get the same product, and the bar to new players is rather large. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
4 Hours w/ RSD - Escapist Bonus Column
Top