Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder First Print Run Sold Out

[smug]

WOTC at least has an excuse, though not a strong one. Hasbro has strong equal competition, and the competition gets useful data out of knowing what their production runs are for the Christmas retail season, to judge shelf space available. So, Hasbro as a corporation has a policy to not release said data, and that filters down to WOTC. So while it's not a great reason for WOTC's perspective, at least "our corporate masters tell us to do this, and they have decent reasons even if they are not directly applicable to us" is an understandable one.

Paizo does not have that same concern. Maybe they have other concerns, but I don't know what they might be for this particular data point.



What competition would that be, and how would this data help the competition or hurt Paizo in any way?

Seriously, can anyone spell out a hypothetical situation where knowing the print run of the first run of Pathfinder would meaningfully help the competition or hurt Paizo?

As for those folks complaining about my asking - why? I congratulate Paizo on selling out, and I am happy they are doing well. Asking what the print run is should not take away from that. Why are you so bothered about people wanting to know the print run?

I don't think that it's down to Hasbro. I don't remember TSR or pre-Hasbro WotC releasing sales numbers with any regularity (off-hand, I can't remember any timely official releases of sales numbers; what I've seen has been more like "over X" and that coming some time after). It seems to me that all business have interest in keeping those numbers to themselves, because they are in a competitive market and any sales numbers are information that competitors would want to know.

 

[Obryn]

I won't go that far at all - I am definitely not out for blood or revenge or whatever. Life is way too short already, and it's about to get shorter now that ENWorld is loading all the pages I want almost before I decide to open them.

I simply find intarweb hypocrisy hilarious, and love poking fun. I just hope the folks who were griping about WotC not releasing the sizes of their print runs, who said selling out a print run is totally meaningless, and who decided that selling out a print run = WotC is omgDYING!! realize how silly it all was.

And then I hope we can all sit back and start talking about things we like and why we like them instead of trying to tear down things we don't like.

-O

 

[Adso]

Late to the Party

I personally want to commend my friends at Paizo for their hard work on the Pathfinder RPG (and the entire Pathfinder line) and congratulate them for this fantastic success. I’ve worked with, gamed with, and spent nights drinking and laughing with many of those folks, and they deserve all the success in the world. They are true geeks who care deeply for RPGs, fantasy, and D&D.

Hopefully this means I'll get to spend more time playing games or hanging out with Jason, Erik and company now that this monster's out the door. Right?

 

[kitsune9]

Hello Everyone,

I think congratulations is worth sending to Paizo on a truly fantastic effort. I hope this is a good sign of the health of the rpg industry. Unfortunately, it appears that until November though, hard copies of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook are going to be pretty scarce.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

I should be getting my copy come August. Can't wait!

 

[JoeGKushner]

Your post goes straight to the heart of fandom.

People preceive WoTC as being run by suits. For better or worse, despite some great people there.

And to a large extend, WoTC has done this to themselves. (Cancelling the print Dragon and print Dungeon, cancelling PDF support entirely with zero back up for it, lack of support for DDI at first with all the bells/whistles, the initial PDF support we were supposed to get for a $1 or $2, the conversion documents that are STILL being worked on but have actually started to show up, the numerous firings of fan favorites, the OGL/GLS debacle, etc... etc... etc...)

Paizo on the other hand... I won't say hand caters to its fans, but perhaps due to its smaller size and its lengthy marriage to 3.5 via Dungeon/Dragon, and its own Pathfinder APs, seems much more in tune with want fans want including PDFs with direct purchases, low purchase price for core PDFs, supporting a setting, etc...

Nontheless I'm also amused by the whole bit. Where are the demands for seeing the print runs, etc.. .etc... etc...

Hehe

My post was supposed to be very tongue-in-cheek. Most people do not get that, because they can't see past that I like 4e a lot. But I am also a huge fan of Paizo's products, just not the rules they use.

So, just to eliminate any silly ideas regarding my first post, congrats James (and the other Paizonians), I hope you guys kick some ass and make it big. May Pathfinder be successful beyond your wildest dreams so that you can keep making kickass products I can steal for my 4e campaigns.

Cheers

 

[JoeGKushner]

I bet Pathfinder sells out the first day on GenCon; before lunch...

How much and define lunch. Times and dollars man. Lay 'em out.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I hope you keep that copied and ready for pasting when something does well for another company and the fans of other game systems come screaming in with their decress that without solid numbers, a sell out is completely meanineless.

While its sad, whats good for the goose is good for the gander. And if En World and other sites don't want to boil down to that level, the moderators really need to start cracking the whips which could easily ruin it for everyone.

Wow. I'm reminded once again why so many people outside our hobby have such a poor opinion of gamers.

I truly don't understand the need for people, in what should be a thread celebrating the success of a well loved company and a positive sign for the industry, to insult or belittle the people in question. Just once, what's wrong with all of us--4E-players, Pathfinder-players, whoever--just saying "Way to go, guys"? You don't need the numbers. You don't have any right to the numbers. And frankly, the numbers don't matter. If it's sold well enough for Paizo to proclaim it a success, then for all it matters to any of us, it's a success. And even as a die-hard "4on," I couldn't be happier for them.

I really, really don't get it.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I personally want to commend my friends at Paizo for their hard work on the Pathfinder RPG (and the entire Pathfinder line) and congratulate them for this fantastic success. I’ve worked with, gamed with, and spent nights drinking and laughing with many of those folks, and they deserve all the success in the world. They are true geeks who care deeply for RPGs, fantasy, and D&D.

Hopefully this means I'll get to spend more time playing games or hanging out with Jason, Erik and company now that this monster's out the door. Right?

I am not so sure. I suppose they might be chained to recently acquired printers in the Paizo offices so they can print the second run.

I mean, why should they do it differently than WotC, right? I suppose there might a strategy meeting for coordinating the RPG police to ensure that all 3.x books are destroyed in it for you, but that's it. (I hear Goodman Games took this job over from White Wolf last year...)

 

[JeffB]

even as a die-hard "4on," I couldn't be happier for them..

Took the words out of my mouth. I have a great respect for Erik (and crew) despite that I personally don't care for or have a need for PF or PF products- i'm glad to see PF selling out and doing well for them.

I'm amazed (disgusted) at just how many gamers want to see failure/wish ill of designers, companies, and games/editions.

 

[Obryn]

Paizo on the other hand... I won't say hand caters to its fans, but perhaps due to its smaller size and its lengthy marriage to 3.5 via Dungeon/Dragon, and its own Pathfinder APs, seems much more in tune with want fans want including PDFs with direct purchases, low purchase price for core PDFs, supporting a setting, etc...

Yep, Paizo is a smaller company, and has all the benefits and drawbacks of being a smaller company. Smaller companies are generally more agile, more accepting of new technologies, and very experimental in their approach. (For example, the Pathfinder beta-testing phase was a work of brilliance, and shows that giving away something really can help your sales.)

WotC is a larger company. They benefit from lower production costs per unit, a bigger staff, more thorough market research, better advertising, and so on. They can also afford a larger development team, which IMO has helped 4e immensely. Both WotC and Paizo are big enough to put out products with excellent production values, but that's a benefit too.

Like I've said before, I wish them all the luck in the world. They're a good company full of good people, who just happen to be making a game I'm not interested in playing right now. Just because I'm not their customer doesn't mean I can't appreciate how good they are at what they do.

Nontheless I'm also amused by the whole bit. Where are the demands for seeing the print runs, etc.. .etc... etc...

Ditto.

-O