Another RPG company with financial difficulties

[Seeten]

How about advertising on Everquests site? World of Warcraft? How about in Wizard(or its current equivalent, I am likely out of date/touch) How about advertising in other places people are likely to attract gamers? Games magazines? Computer Gaming World? PC Gamer?

I am not in marketing, but surely someone who is can figure out a reasonable way to advertise? If you dont advertise, you'll never break out and be more than you are. Which is struggling. Sometimes you need to take a risk. Sometimes it will enable you to succeed. Sometimes you'll fall on your face. But without that risk, you'll continue to be what you are, which is not doing very well, by all accounts.

Thi is the industry as a whole, mind you, but the fact is, we need mass market advertising to become a mass market phenomenon. It is that simple. Word of mouth only goes so far.

 

[Fiery James]

Miniatures and Dungeon Tiles.
I want more of these. They add so much. I want good and reasonably priced choices.
Not cheap mind you. I might not have the time to play any more, but I certainly have the money.

OK!

Adventure Tiles: Dungeons was one of our best-selling products in 2004. (In a related note, Future Tiles: Starships will be available at retail shortly...)

And we present Fiery Dragon Counter Collections as an affordable alternative to miniatures -- or, better yet -- a way to supplement your minis collection.


It should be noted that, as Fiery Dragon has moved more into accessories and mini-games, we've managed to hold our own and are looking at a strong 2005. BattleBox was a key ingredient in our success last year, as were the tiles and Counter Collection Gold.

Our PDF sales numbers are growing, and we have original PDF material on the horizon this month.

* now sliding back out of the discussion *

- James

 

[Seeten]

A Better Way to play D&D?

Another salient point. It makes less sense for me these days than ever before to game at someones house over pizza and beer. I still do it, but its not at all convenient.

Let me espouse, for a moment, how I would best like to enjoy my hobby. Me, at my computer, headset on, with a chat program like IRC up on computer. Character and all info set to go on said computer. Feet up, slippers on, coffee on heater on computer desk. All dice, and peraphernalia taken care of through online dice rollers. Settle in for some good rp, in the comfort of my own home, at whatever time is convenient. Online, there is always someone sharing your schedule/timeline.

What we need is a matching service, similar to ENworlds Play By Post section, except for playing the game the usual way, except via electronic methods. I can find 3 hours almost every night, its just rarely the same 3 hours my friends can all spare. I dont like PbP or PBeM, but I do love the better rp you get when all IC stuff is typed into the same IC window of IRC. The character interaction is much better without everything prefaced by, "Ok, my character says, "Insert false or lame accented dialogue here"".

No need to reinvent the wheel, the game exists, the dice rollers exist, the gamers exist, they all have computers, my headset cost $40, and I host my own teamspeak for WoW anyway, setting this up is free, and all it would require is people to game.

If it were more convenient for people to game, they'd game more. If we gamed more, we'd buy more. If we bought more, the industry would be healthier. I have trouble justifying purchases when I rarely play though.

The almost 1 million World of Warcraft players show the base is there, but its convenient to play that anytime. D&D is much more troublesome. I think we need to make it easier.

 

[Seeten]

OK!

Adventure Tiles: Dungeons was one of our best-selling products in 2004. (In a related note, Future Tiles: Starships will be available at retail shortly...)

- James

You know, James, we have been building our caverns out of string. That isnt cool looking. I'd rather make em on the fly out of "Cavern Wall stuff" or something. I know you get me. I think you make some fantastically cool stuff.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

How about advertising on Everquests site? World of Warcraft? How about in Wizard(or its current equivalent, I am likely out of date/touch) How about advertising in other places people are likely to attract gamers? Games magazines? Computer Gaming World? PC Gamer?

I am not in marketing, but surely someone who is can figure out a reasonable way to advertise? If you dont advertise, you'll never break out and be more than you are. Which is struggling. Sometimes you need to take a risk. Sometimes it will enable you to succeed. Sometimes you'll fall on your face. But without that risk, you'll continue to be what you are, which is not doing very well, by all accounts.

Good points. Just some thoughts to throw out though:

a) Most game companies don't have the capital to take the risk. A thousand bucks is better spent on a prettier cover, especially when you consider that in the one public market survey that was performed, 80% of RPG purchases are impulse buys and those impulse buys are generally driven by the cover art. Just as an aside to my aside, you wouldn't beleive the denial I've recieved for making that remark in the past.

b) Only WotC and Kenzer can use "Dugeons and Dragons". So I can't say things like "the setting book that brings back that old school D&D feel". I have to say "Fantasy Role Playing Game". Sure, this is where I gotta put on my creative hat and see what I can think of, but WotC's banner ad on the webcomic, PvP is a hard act to follow.

c) Publishers are doing as you suggest! It isn't working. The Warcraft and Everquest RPGs tend to attract paper gamers who also play those computer games, not computer gamers who might want to paper game.

I'm personally more intriuged by stripped down RPGs like Blue Rose to to bridge the gap. Remember: the best selling RPG ever was the Pokemon RPG for kids. No lie. I think more of those bridge products as a kind of revenue-generating advertising is a better segue into paper RPGs.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

If it were more convenient for people to game, they'd game more.

I agree 100%.

A few webcams and headsets and folks with broadband are good to go.

 

[Seeten]

I dont claim to have done the market research, the problem is, they havent done it either.

I think WOTC needs to be the ones that do the mass marketing, honestly, GRR or MGP cannot attract the mass market because they are doing supplements not the game, but really, it needs to be mass marketed, to the mass market as more than a geek hobby. Myself and many of my friends are not "Geeks" in any sense of the word outside the fact that we play D&D together. We have good jobs with good salaries from the gamut of high school teacher to computer programmer to lieutenant in the air force.

Marketing to me is like marketing rap in the inner city. I dont mean pimping your new album, I mean marketing RAP itself. I already know about D&D. You dont need to market it to me. D&D itself needs to be marketed, not MGP's latest splash book. Splash books by design are marketed to me, they have to be, because to market them to the masses is to have them out of context of the game they were designed for.

In short, its D&D itself that needs mass marketing, supplements must be marketed to gamers. You cant play supplements without the game. The game itself, if it had broader appeal, would enable the supplements to reach a broader audience. WOTC needs to market D&D better/more broadly. I see it in Chapters when I drop by, but how about a big standing Gandalf style wizard, an aragorn style fighter, and a thiefly sort standup with "Live your own adventures! Dungeons and Dragons" it could be 6 foot tall, made of cardboard, and standing near the games rack in Chapters. How expensive is that? I dunno, but there is one for Harry Potter, for sure. Yeah, Harry is more popular, but you know, like I say, be more than you are.

Sans market research, thats my big mouthed know nothing opinion. Is Joe Schmo supposed to just happen upon the "Players Handbook" and randomly know what its for/whats in it? I dont think so.

 

[Erik Mona]

Just as a point of reference (and because I don't feel like counting) what is the "average" wordcount per page. I know it varies all over the place, but what is a rough estimate?

Anywhere from 750 to 900 words.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon and Dungeon

 

[Desdichado]

Remember: the best selling RPG ever was the Pokemon RPG for kids. No lie.

Where'd you hear that?

 

[francisca]

Remember: the best selling RPG ever was the Pokemon RPG for kids. No lie.

Edit: Ignore me. I have not had enough coffee to read correctly today.