New listings on the WotC 2007 product page!

[Arnwyn]

I suspect that the different versions of the Castle (G or Z) will be wildly different - so much so as to be completely unrecognizable from each other. I doubt (though someone correct me if I'm wrong) that WotC has Gary's original maps, for example.

Call me crazy, but maybe the answer is for WotC to just not state a Canadian price. Let the distributors import it, let the stores set the prices, and let the current exchange rate take the appropriate effect.

You are (you also don't know what you're talking about).

That's not how the publishing industry works, so I'm not sure who you're directing this "answer" to. I think many people who aren't Americans would be quite happy if WotC/publishers in general did not state a price on books. (Now, with all that said, in many cases, stores do ignore the (inappropriate) listed price and instead sell for the non-inflated price. But this is hardly universal.)

Anyways, as I said - we've covered this already. Why is it so difficult for people to simply accept the already-explained situation? Stop. It.

For those who suffer from this decision - why not just order from US-based internet stores, and have them ship it to you?

This is an even worse situation for Canadians, because now we're talking about import taxes and duties, along with shipping and sometimes even exchange rate conversion surcharges.

I've always wonder, does this currency exchange rate [farce] system works for or against the US dollar?

I'm not sure what you mean. The answer would be "it doesn't". What it does work for is the publisher.

Gah! END HIJACK! (Please!)

 

[delericho]

I've always wonder, does this currency exchange rate [farce] system works for or against the US dollar?

I'm not an expert in economics, so take this with a pinch or two of salt. However, my understanding is that while the dollar is relatively weak (as it was earlier in the year, though it may have rallied) it works against US businesses, and particularly those who have to import any materials. Conversely, when the dollar is relatively strong, the situation favours US businesses.

(I do recall some commentary that suggested some of President Bush's advisors were concerned that the dollar was dangerously weak. However, I would bet that there's some sort of 'sweet spot' for currency value, and that you probably don't want to become too weak or too strong. So that's not necessarily an indicator of anything. All I do know is that for a while, I got some really good deals on books and DVDs.)

On the WotC books, the situation does lead to them getting a bit more bang for their book, as the prices listed are higher than what otherwise would be charged, which should lead to everyone in the chain getting more money...

except that it doesn't always work that way. There's a trade-off between high-margin low-volume sales and low-margin high-volume sales. Which is to say you might make more money selling one book at $100 than selling two at $60 each. Or not.

 

[Numion]

Castle Greyhawk ... you know, if the Trolls weren't working on Castle Zagyg, I'd care more than I do now. I will still pick it up, but I consider Castle Zagyg the true CG. It's sorta interesting, because I know the Trolls have had CZ in the works for a while, and WoTC plans their product schedule out far into the future. But it still works like this.

If they started dodging all products similar to theirs they'd be outta business, what with the gazillion d20 publishers.

Besides, Castle Zagyg is not for d20, is it now? Different systems ..

 

[delericho]

You are (you also don't know what you're talking about).

There is absolutely no need to be rude.

 

[Erik Mona]

2007:
Trolls: Hey, we're still making Castle Zagyg.
WoTC: That's nice. Oh btw, bling bling, Castle Greyhawk! We're releasing it in August!
Trolls: But ... but ... we're making Castle Zagyg ...
WoTC: CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK CASTLE GREYHAWK!

I'm fairly certain that Wizards of the Coast doesn't pay very close attention to other gaming companies, and that the two products have nothing to do with one another insofar as sales strategy is concerned. If anything, the Expedition product ought to _help_ sales of "Castle Zagyg." WotC publishes (and sells) quantities at least an order of magnitude higher than all other companies in the business, so increased attention for the Castle ought to help Troll Lords far more than it will hurt them.

I certainly hope this is the case, as I have been faithfully buying CZ since it came out and will be early in line for all subsequent volumes.

--Erik

 

[Erik Mona]

So really, what we have here are two visions. One is Gygax's vision, which we can see in Castle Zagyg. Since WotC owns the Greyhawk intellectual property, it is within their rights to produce a different vision. I don't know how much of Gygax's vision will be in this product, but I do trust that the authors will be very true to the setting. The end result, though, is that we have two different visions to use and two different adventures to play. Since Castle Zagyg can easily be put into Greyhawk, an adventuring party may very well go through both mega-dungeons.

And who knows? Maybe the two will complement each other nicely.

That would certainly be my preference. You can easily add levels to the adventure we created, so it is not outside the realm of possibility that you could play a Castle Greyhawk mega-adventure that included levels from "Expedition," "Greyhawk Ruins," and "Castle Zagyg." If you really hated yourself and your players, you could even throw in a few levels from WG7.

--Erik

 

[Jdvn1]

Dude. We've already been over this.

Hey, sorry for coming to the thread late. You may have been over this, but the "me" part of "we" hasn't.

Gah! END HIJACK! (Please!)

So, oops:
[sblock=hijack]

I'm not an expert in economics, so take this with a pinch or two of salt. However, my understanding is that while the dollar is relatively weak (as it was earlier in the year, though it may have rallied) it works against US businesses, and particularly those who have to import any materials. Conversely, when the dollar is relatively strong, the situation favours US businesses.

As an Economics student, let me take a crack at this.

In general, a weak dollar (or a weakening dollar, relative to other currencies) is good for US business, good for exports, and bad for foreign entities who want to import to the US. Economists refer to this as the "Paradox of the Weak Dollar."

The simplest equation for calculating the Gross Domestic Product is (Consumer Spending) + (Private Investment Business Spending (business spending)) + (Government Spending) + [(Exports) - (Imports)].

When the US Dollar gets cheaper compared to another currency, US goods become cheaper in other countries and foreign goods become more expensive in the US. That makes overseas US goods more enticing to consumers, and they buy more and we sell more overseas. Foreign goods, in exchange, get more expensive in the US, and US consumers are less likely to buy them, and we import less.

Or, Exports gets better and Imports gets smaller. When the Exports part of the equation gets bigger, GDP gets bigger, since it's added to factor into GDP. When Imports gets smaller, GDP gets bigger, since it's subtracted to factor into GDP.

Long story short, GDP gets bigger, the US economy gets stronger, and everyone (including businesses) benefit, all else equal.

Of course, that isn't the whole story. If the US dollar were inconsistent, it'd lose value very quickly, and no one would be able to trust it. It'd be an unstable currency. But, that isn't happening.

(I do recall some commentary that suggested some of President Bush's advisors were concerned that the dollar was dangerously weak. However, I would bet that there's some sort of 'sweet spot' for currency value, and that you probably don't want to become too weak or too strong. So that's not necessarily an indicator of anything. All I do know is that for a while, I got some really good deals on books and DVDs.)

If President Bush's advisors said that, they're falling victim to the fallacy. There aren't a lot of Economists up there, so it isn't surprising (and wouldn't be the first time), but it's possible you (or they) got confused and said it was making a dangerous comeback.[/sblock]

 

[Eela6]

Wait.

227 pages of advice and stuff for people who want to play Drow? I thought that could be done in one sentence.

"Don't do it - you have LA+2."

 

[Talath]

I'm fairly certain that Wizards of the Coast doesn't pay very close attention to other gaming companies, and that the two products have nothing to do with one another insofar as sales strategy is concerned. If anything, the Expedition product ought to _help_ sales of "Castle Zagyg." WotC publishes (and sells) quantities at least an order of magnitude higher than all other companies in the business, so increased attention for the Castle ought to help Troll Lords far more than it will hurt them.

I certainly hope this is the case, as I have been faithfully buying CZ since it came out and will be early in line for all subsequent volumes.

--Erik

Holy crap! Erik Mona responded to my post!

I hope you see that my post was made with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Even though I was implying commercial espionage, it was a humorous, and not serious. Honestly, I think it's awesome that WoTC is doing Castle Greyhawk, just because their support of the setting has been little to nil. I feel confident that you and the other authors will do the best job you can; especially since I know from internet heresay and stuff you've done with Greyhawk that you really care about the setting, and wouldn't release a travesty like Greyhawk Castle from back in the Lorraine Williams era of TSR.

In short, it's good news. Forgive me if I seemed like an ass

 

[Crust]

I'm drooling over Shadowdale. We gamed in the Shadowdale region for six years. That'll probably be an auto-buy.