Glyfair
Explorer
This article I was point towards I found very interesting. Monte waxes on what made Ptolus, Arcana Unearthed and their company successful.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Monte Cook on publishing a successful d20 product
- Thread starter Glyfair
- Start date
Sammael
Adventurer
The article can be summed up in two phrases: good marketing strategies and enormous amounts of hype. The never-ending hype is what turned me off Malhavoc products, but it's obviously a very successful technique. Much more successful than the "bucketloads of d20" technique of most other d20 companies.
Haffrung Helleyes
First Post
It's not just hype. It's following up with a product that actually justifies the hype.
Ptolus is just amazing. Especially combined with the vinyl map, there's just no RPG product that even comes close to it.
Monte is a good businessman, and a very creative person too. That's a rare combination, in any field. If I could buy stock in Monte Cook, Inc, I would.
Ken
Ptolus is just amazing. Especially combined with the vinyl map, there's just no RPG product that even comes close to it.
Monte is a good businessman, and a very creative person too. That's a rare combination, in any field. If I could buy stock in Monte Cook, Inc, I would.
Ken
Odhanan
Adventurer
I've been supporting Malhavoc as a fan as many others did for the past few years, and I can sure talk about how this stategy of "making the product special" made it for me. With each release, as a fan and friend to many gravitating around Malhavoc, this made and makes me feel like I'm part of something special. I am.
I've been involved emotionally, and my games became better for it. What you love, you run well. Our players can feel the hype when we're motivated. That's in the end, I believe, what separates a good from a great campaign for many players of the game.
Why do I say this? Well, I want to point out that the whole "make the product special" strategy isn't some scheme to camouflage crap products and somehow "lie" to the customer. It's obviously thought out with the end result (i.e. selling the product) in mind, but it doesn't work if the products aren't special. It doesn't work if the people excited about your first special product aren't satisfied after they bought it. And Monte succeeded in selling products that felt special, could be marketed as special because they were special to many of us.
Each time I read Monte talking about Ptolus as a swan song, I feel a bit emotional. That's because I came to love Malhavoc, love its products and above all, love its people. It's the end of an era, even if I doubt we'll see Monte completely disappear from the Internet, his boards, or not answer the occasional email correspondence anymore. Ends call to new beginnings, and I wish all the best to Monte and Sue.
I've been involved emotionally, and my games became better for it. What you love, you run well. Our players can feel the hype when we're motivated. That's in the end, I believe, what separates a good from a great campaign for many players of the game.
Why do I say this? Well, I want to point out that the whole "make the product special" strategy isn't some scheme to camouflage crap products and somehow "lie" to the customer. It's obviously thought out with the end result (i.e. selling the product) in mind, but it doesn't work if the products aren't special. It doesn't work if the people excited about your first special product aren't satisfied after they bought it. And Monte succeeded in selling products that felt special, could be marketed as special because they were special to many of us.
Each time I read Monte talking about Ptolus as a swan song, I feel a bit emotional. That's because I came to love Malhavoc, love its products and above all, love its people. It's the end of an era, even if I doubt we'll see Monte completely disappear from the Internet, his boards, or not answer the occasional email correspondence anymore. Ends call to new beginnings, and I wish all the best to Monte and Sue.
ColonelHardisson
What? Me Worry?
Haffrung Helleyes said:
Yep. Malhavoc might hype its products, but it hasn't failed to deliver the goods. If I composed a top 10 list of my favorite 3rd party d20 products, Malhavoc would claim at least 4 slots on that list by itself: Ptolus, When The Sky Falls, Iron Heroes, and Requiem For A God. The Eldritch Might books also would be strong contenders. So the hype might get tiresome, but there's definitely something to hype.
Sammael said:
Note that what counts as "never-ending hype" depends upon where you sit. Here, on EN World, you see every little thing that Monte says. Out in the world of people who don't frequent message boards, that same level of hype is a barely-heard whisper.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
It's also worth noting that not every product a company like Malhavoc produces appeals to all customers. (Mongoose, for another example, has done a great job diversifying their product lines.)
While UA and Iron Heroes got a ton of promotion, they never really engaged me, and so the hype just washed over me and it didn't have much impact on me. In contrast, when Monte swung the Ptolus spotlight around, it ended up squarely on what I was interested in, and became a very big deal to me.
I imagine if I were someone interested in UA and Iron Heroes and Ptolus, it might get exhausting, but I imagine that's relatively rare company. (Although all of those folks naturally post a lot at the Malhavoc boards, which gives the illusion that they're pretty common.)
Likewise with the D20/Conan/Judge Dredd/Starship Troopers/Runequest crossover players and Mongoose.
While UA and Iron Heroes got a ton of promotion, they never really engaged me, and so the hype just washed over me and it didn't have much impact on me. In contrast, when Monte swung the Ptolus spotlight around, it ended up squarely on what I was interested in, and became a very big deal to me.
I imagine if I were someone interested in UA and Iron Heroes and Ptolus, it might get exhausting, but I imagine that's relatively rare company. (Although all of those folks naturally post a lot at the Malhavoc boards, which gives the illusion that they're pretty common.)
Likewise with the D20/Conan/Judge Dredd/Starship Troopers/Runequest crossover players and Mongoose.
Last edited:
trancejeremy
Adventurer
Monte Cook is to D&D 3.x fans what David Hasselhoff is to Germany.
What works for him, probably won't work for others.
What works for him, probably won't work for others.
Similar Threads
