Pathfinder 1E So what did the ENnies do for publishers besides PAizo and WOTC?

[FunkBGR]

These guys look happy about their nominations and awards!

Fantasy Flight Games [News] - Leading publisher of board, card, and roleplaying games.

 

[Piratecat]

Want me to bring with me it tonight?

Yes!

 

[Crothian]

Since my tastes don't track very well with the mainstream of gaming these days, none of the various awards (ENnies, Origins, etc.) influences my purchasing at all.

How so? I mean you are on a very mainstream D&D message board so you must have some things in common with people around here.

 

[Vigilance]

I think our early Ennies noms in 2003-2005 really helped RPGObjects, or least me personally.

 

[darjr]

The Ennies is free advertising, how can that not be a good thing?

But it isn't exactly free. Is it? They have to give the judges product. And for the digital stuff it's at least a lost potential sale (yea, seed corn and all that).

 

[Piratecat]

But it isn't exactly free. Is it? They have to give the judges product. And for the digital stuff it's at least a lost potential sale (yea, seed corn and all that).

Nope, it's not free, but it doesn't strike me as onerous for most people.

Speaking only of actual cost to the author/publisher (so not counting any lost potential sales), game books generally cost to produce less than half of their retail cost. As an example, on Chris Pramas's blog he mentions that wholesalers came around at the end of the show offering to buy up unsold Green Ronin product at literally $.05 on the dollar. Instead of selling to them or shipping it back home, Green Ronin hauled their stuff to the Volunteer Office and gave it away to GenCon volunteers for free. That's classy -- but for me it underscores that submitting six copies probably counts as a cost of doing business for most publishers. It's a lot like giving away review copies.

Personally, I really hope that Kenzer & Co. submit Hackmaster Basic next year for cover art. That Erol Otus cover is just great; it's one of the few products I've wanted to buy for the cover art alone.

http://www.kenzerco.com/images/rpg/hackmaster/basic/HackMaster_basic.jpg

 

[Treebore]

Combine that low cost with at least 60+ people looking at and/or buying ENnies product from ENworld alone, and I would think that is proof enough for publishers to keep participating. Proven effective advertising is much better than unproven.

So despite the feelings of publishers at Gen Con, their views that the ENnies do them no good is likely wrong. So hopefully they will see this and change their minds.

 

[darjr]

Nope, it's not free, but it doesn't strike me as onerous for most people.

Yes I agree. If it were me I'd consider it well worth it.

 

[Morrus]

Yes I agree. If it were me I'd consider it well worth it.

Yeah. Basically most publishers would consider donating a book to someone who will stand in front of a massive crowd of people and say it's good. You only need to make one sale to get the money back. And not even the smallest PDF publisher thinks in terms of one sale.

 

[maddman75]

How so? I mean you are on a very mainstream D&D message board so you must have some things in common with people around here.

I'm largely in the same boat. I don't regularly play D&D of any kind. I don't particularly want to either, there's a lot more games I find to be more interesting. I don't like games with excessive treasure, and want more drama than tactics. I like freaky games that take RPGs in directions I haven't thought of before. I don't play in long campaigns - I'd rather do a solid story arc, as much as 12 but as little as 4 sessions, then move on to something else.

There are some things that are universal - tales of player/gm problems, story plotting, and so on. And I know a lot of people around here. But game taste wise, I simply don't think that the opinion of ENWorld at large is going to be something I'd like most of the time, so I don't pay much attention to the Ennies.

Now I did buy Mouse Guard and my girlfriend bought Monsters and other Childish Things, but I didn't realize either of them had been nominated or won anything. I think its cool, and I hope lots of people check them out. But I still don't feel the Ennies are a useful barometer for me.

Personally, I really hope that Kenzer & Co. submit Hackmaster Basic next year for cover art. That Erol Otus cover is just great; it's one of the few products I've wanted to buy for the cover art alone.

They should submit the cards for Aces & Eights. I bought a pack to convince one of my buddies to run an old west Savage Worlds game.