another rpg industry doomsday article (merged: all 3 "Mishler Rant" threads)

[malraux]

“His ‘4E is really WoW on the tabletop’ trolling wasn't much better either.” -- Malreaux

It is unfortunate that one cannot speak of the role-playing game market without mentioning 4E; otherwise I would gladly ignore it altogether, as I tire of dealing with fans that willfully ignore the realities of the game they play. Call it trolling if you will, it is simply base, bald fact: 4E was designed to capture the WoW experience on the tabletop. It can be adapted for use for other game styles, to be sure, but that is not what it was designed to do.

Yes, I'm clearly the one ignoring reality.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

So, what is the final verdict? If we ignore 4E and if we ignore Paizos success so far, the sky is falling and the RPG industry is doomed?

Yes, if we ignore everything succesful, it looks as if there was no hope.

 

[Hussar]

So, what is the final verdict? If we ignore 4E and if we ignore Paizos success so far, the sky is falling and the RPG industry is doomed?

Yes, if we ignore everything succesful, it looks as if there was no hope.

No no no. You missed the point. Because personal preference denotes success, 4e cannot possibly be successful, thus the RPG industry is doomed.

 

[Destil]

t. Now game consumers will wonder why they can’t buy every PDF at the same ratio; they will neither understand nor care that Paizo is using the PDF as a loss-leader to get consumers to buy into Pathfinder, with the hopes that they will, down the road, buy Pathfinder products at the full MSRP (print or PDF).

Since this, right here, is the crux of the arguement for the death of PDF I have to say it just dosn't work that way. No normal consumer looks at price ratios for a leisure product. They look at cost, end of story. Pathfinder PDF modules can sell at a significantly higher ratio because they'll still be under some abstract cost that the buyer considers significant. There is a value vs. cost ratio, but it's not at all linear. The same people who will buy a big hardcover RPG pdf for $10 will buy a module for $5, even if the first is listed as $50 in print and the latter is $15. And they'll get roughly the same sense of value.

 

[jdrakeh]

No no no. You missed the point. Because personal preference denotes success, 4e, Pathfinder, and PDFs cannot possibly be successful, thus the RPG industry is doomed.

Edited for omissions.

 

[Aus_Snow]

Ugh.

 

[Nikosandros]

Well, at least he finally managed to make 4e fans and 3.5/Paizo fans agree about something...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Well, at least he finally managed to make 4e fans and 3.5/Paizo fans about something...

This (part of sentence) no verb...

My prediction:
The edition wars will soon be fought with 3 parties - 4E, Pathfinder, OSR

It was about time this war opened a second frontline!

 

[JohnRTroy]

EDIT: In both of these threads I see a bit of name calling against Mr. Mishler. He has not done that. You and I may not agree with everything he says, but it really is against the spirit of the ENW board to label him or call him names.

This is true. As well as I find it a little ruder to not respond to the man on his blog but instead snark elsewhere.

I also think Erik Mona's being a little bit too defensive, when there really is legitimate criticism, but I'll respond on his blog rather than engage in numerous cross posting.

If you are going to talk about the state of the gaming industry, why would your personal feelings about a product possibly enter into things? Why would you even consider wanting to ignore the largest segment of the industry simply because you happen to prefer a different game? It's mind blowing. It's like a Pepsi fan talking about the state of the soft drinks industry while bemoaning the taste of Coca-cola.

You completely missed his point. If you read that statement carefully he doesn't want to talk about 4e not because of his personal like or dislike, but because of the visereal reaction he gets from the fans who feel the need to defend 4e or attack anybody who is critical of it.

 

[Nikosandros]

This (part of sentence) no verb...

Heh... I meant to write agree. I'll edit the post.