MichaelSomething
Legend
I bet Pathfinder sells out the first day on GenCon; before lunch...
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Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder First Print Run Sold Out
- Thread starter Herremann the Wise
- Start date
Rokes
First Post
Lots? Ah, I see. And how many of these lots did you print? And how many books were in each lot?
I would guess somewhere between 50 and 500,000 books were printed. Just a hunch!
Gothmog
First Post
Congrats to the folks at Paizo! While I'm solidly in the 4e camp and have no interest in Pathfinder, I've always enjoyed Paizo adventures, and seeing them be successful is a good thing for the industry. Selling through a first print run quickly is an accomplishment, and deserves praise. So congrats Paizo!
Obryn
Hero
I don't really think there's ever been a doubt about that.
Paizo has managed their ad campaign very well!
-O
JoshuaFrost
First Post
JoshuaFrost
First Post
Because sales figures are confidential? We don't share our budgets, our operating costs, our profit margins, or our print costs, why would we share our print runs?
Jack99
Adventurer
Pot meet kettle.
It was just dry humour. I know that kind can be terribly hard to get, and I must admit it translate poorly at times to written form. But maybe for a second, if you stop being so god damn sensitive and expect the worst from anyone who plays D&D instead of Pathfinder, maybe you will be better off.
As for edition wars, hardly. I like Paizo. I buy somewhere between 50 and 80% of all their Pathfinder products. Making war on them seems a little silly, no?
But then again I bet you had made up your mind almost before you read my post. "Gee Wiz, this guy looks like a huge 4e fan, he must absolutely hate Pathfinder - no way he is trying to make a funny".
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad (he/him)
"Confidential" is just restating the question, not answering it. Yes, you don't share the information, IE you hold it in confidence.
And I also know you don't share other data. But, I don't know of anyone asking for that other data. Nor do I think the set of reasons for not sharing each of those items is the same for all of those items. Regardless, I'm wondering why you won't share this particular data point.
What is the good reason for holding this information in confidence, given your fans seem to really want to know the number? What is the potential harm of saying "We printed X number of copies, and they all sold out"; as opposed to what's already been said: "we printed more than 10K copies, and less than 50K, and it's a lot of copies, and they sold out"?
We know the benefit of saying the number - your fans seem to want to know, and they are fans that have an appreciation for openness.
So, what is the harm in sharing this particular data point this time?
Last edited:
Reasons?
Perhaps because it would make your report of a sold-out preorder seem like something more than a manufactured piece of marketing? It is hard to avoid this conclusion of course:
"We thought we had printed enough to last us at least until the end of this year, but skyrocketing demand from our customers and distributors has us reprinting already," Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo said. "We have a healthy amount heading to Gen Con, but we think even those will go fast, so don't delay in picking up your copy!"
"The phenomenal support of the constantly growing community of Pathfinder RPG players has been a staggering sight to behold," said Paizo Publisher Erik Mona. "To sell out a hugely ambitious print run before the release date just goes to show what an immense audience this game will enjoy in the years to come."
I suppose the first comment is a much better spin than "We didn't have enough confidence in our product!" or "We can't make good sales projections!"
The second is an interesting prediction about the future; it almost seems ironic, given the first.
Yours is not the only company to do this kind of thing, of course, but considering how so many fans laud the "opennness" and "appreciation of customers" that seems central to Paizo's business practice, "we don't release those figures" is pretty ad hoc. Is this really a vital company secret? When the beta was released, you showed no such reticence:
"When we announced our intentions to stick with the 3.5 rules via the Open Game License, many internet pundits declared us fools for not going with the flow of the new 4th edition," said Paizo's Publisher, Erik Mona. "The 25,000 individual download threshold suggests to me that we were right to identify a stable audience for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and the response to our Open Playtest has been nothing short of phenomenal."
Of course, I don't like this kind of marketing when anyone does it. Who cares if it sold out when we don't know how many sold? Who would make anything other than the most broadly speculative and borderline spurious claims based on such vague information? It was the same when Wizards did this for 3e, and 4e. Perhaps if companies hit numbers they thought were worth noting, those figures would be cited. Things like "over a million people play D&D each month". Meh.
Not that that means Pathfinder is a bad game. It is based on a good game, after all. I wish I could just get the art, though.
Perhaps because it would make your report of a sold-out preorder seem like something more than a manufactured piece of marketing? It is hard to avoid this conclusion of course:
"We thought we had printed enough to last us at least until the end of this year, but skyrocketing demand from our customers and distributors has us reprinting already," Lisa Stevens, CEO of Paizo said. "We have a healthy amount heading to Gen Con, but we think even those will go fast, so don't delay in picking up your copy!"
"The phenomenal support of the constantly growing community of Pathfinder RPG players has been a staggering sight to behold," said Paizo Publisher Erik Mona. "To sell out a hugely ambitious print run before the release date just goes to show what an immense audience this game will enjoy in the years to come."
I suppose the first comment is a much better spin than "We didn't have enough confidence in our product!" or "We can't make good sales projections!"
The second is an interesting prediction about the future; it almost seems ironic, given the first.
Yours is not the only company to do this kind of thing, of course, but considering how so many fans laud the "opennness" and "appreciation of customers" that seems central to Paizo's business practice, "we don't release those figures" is pretty ad hoc. Is this really a vital company secret? When the beta was released, you showed no such reticence:
"When we announced our intentions to stick with the 3.5 rules via the Open Game License, many internet pundits declared us fools for not going with the flow of the new 4th edition," said Paizo's Publisher, Erik Mona. "The 25,000 individual download threshold suggests to me that we were right to identify a stable audience for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and the response to our Open Playtest has been nothing short of phenomenal."
Of course, I don't like this kind of marketing when anyone does it. Who cares if it sold out when we don't know how many sold? Who would make anything other than the most broadly speculative and borderline spurious claims based on such vague information? It was the same when Wizards did this for 3e, and 4e. Perhaps if companies hit numbers they thought were worth noting, those figures would be cited. Things like "over a million people play D&D each month". Meh.
Not that that means Pathfinder is a bad game. It is based on a good game, after all. I wish I could just get the art, though.
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