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<blockquote data-quote="Cergorach" data-source="post: 5761446" data-attributes="member: 725"><p>Ryan said:</p><p></p><p></p><p>Which isn't exactly weird. I'm pretty sure RPG paper book sales are in the toilet compared to the 3(.5)E era. Paper/printing is getting more expensive, people have high expectations and the writing/editing/illustration/design costs on a high quality RPG title is huge. More and more people demand ebook sales instead of physical book sales (such as myself, no room anymore in the bookcases).</p><p></p><p>Computer games are getting better and better visuals, are getting more flexible, and are getting budgets in the AAA+ movie ranges. Sure they might seem more expensive at release then pnp RPGs, but they are not. PHB + DMG + MM is $105, Pathfinder + Bestiary is $90, any FFG 40k core rulebook is $60. And that's without an adventure (you don't expect new gamers to produce their own adventures right out of the gates) or dice (or terrain and miniatures if you want a visual experience). Skyrim might be $60 on release, you might require a console, but it's playable on a PC and most folks have one. Having a PC that runs all the Skyrim eyecandy is a whole other story, you can make that as expensive as you want. Sure there are discount stores for both sides, but the PHB is still $23 after 3-4 years, AAA title like Mass Effect 1 & 2 are $5 during the Steam sale, same goes for titles like Oblivion and Fallout 3. Many a MMO is now F2P.</p><p></p><p>A RPG game is only fun when you have a decent to good DM, so there are a lot of folks that play in groups with not so decent DMs. The choice is quickly made to go play that fun video game instead of that mediocre RPG session.</p><p></p><p>Let's also not forget that folks have been social without RPGs for years, they can play many other games, and the market for quality board games is huge. And just talking to each other can be fun as well...</p><p></p><p>So we have less demand for physical books and higher costs, so from a classic commercial business point of view RPGs are dying. You might notice that most recent successful RPGs are tied to other hot properties.</p><p></p><p>Sure pnp RPGs will never die out, but the market will change significantly. More ebooks, less physical books, more projects funded through community efforts, more open source, etc. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if 4E is the last pnp edition for a couple of decades, if the property gets any more damaged Hasbro might just decide to put the property on ice (and that can be a long time)....</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cergorach, post: 5761446, member: 725"] Ryan said: Which isn't exactly weird. I'm pretty sure RPG paper book sales are in the toilet compared to the 3(.5)E era. Paper/printing is getting more expensive, people have high expectations and the writing/editing/illustration/design costs on a high quality RPG title is huge. More and more people demand ebook sales instead of physical book sales (such as myself, no room anymore in the bookcases). Computer games are getting better and better visuals, are getting more flexible, and are getting budgets in the AAA+ movie ranges. Sure they might seem more expensive at release then pnp RPGs, but they are not. PHB + DMG + MM is $105, Pathfinder + Bestiary is $90, any FFG 40k core rulebook is $60. And that's without an adventure (you don't expect new gamers to produce their own adventures right out of the gates) or dice (or terrain and miniatures if you want a visual experience). Skyrim might be $60 on release, you might require a console, but it's playable on a PC and most folks have one. Having a PC that runs all the Skyrim eyecandy is a whole other story, you can make that as expensive as you want. Sure there are discount stores for both sides, but the PHB is still $23 after 3-4 years, AAA title like Mass Effect 1 & 2 are $5 during the Steam sale, same goes for titles like Oblivion and Fallout 3. Many a MMO is now F2P. A RPG game is only fun when you have a decent to good DM, so there are a lot of folks that play in groups with not so decent DMs. The choice is quickly made to go play that fun video game instead of that mediocre RPG session. Let's also not forget that folks have been social without RPGs for years, they can play many other games, and the market for quality board games is huge. And just talking to each other can be fun as well... So we have less demand for physical books and higher costs, so from a classic commercial business point of view RPGs are dying. You might notice that most recent successful RPGs are tied to other hot properties. Sure pnp RPGs will never die out, but the market will change significantly. More ebooks, less physical books, more projects funded through community efforts, more open source, etc. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if 4E is the last pnp edition for a couple of decades, if the property gets any more damaged Hasbro might just decide to put the property on ice (and that can be a long time).... [/QUOTE]
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