another rpg industry doomsday article (merged: all 3 "Mishler Rant" threads)

[ggroy]

He is ranting about the loss of the OGL boom, and the free pass to anybody who wanted to produce games it granted.

Wonder if this is the start of a trend of developers ranting and raving about the rpg industry's woes.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Wonder if this is the start of a trend of developers ranting and raving about the rpg industry's woes.

Its not ranting about industry woes. Its ranting about being unwilling or unable to adapt to changing conditions.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

For instance, thecausaloblivian slammed James pretty strongly during this, so looking at something he said on a forked thread:



Now, these are assertions and opinions. Where's the facts to support? (Erik'll probably be upset at the "other than 4e and White Wolf nothing's happening...." guess Paizo's not doing anything....) But, they are just as valid for him to make as James. Lots of people post with assertions and arguments ensue over the merits of points made. Causal has every right to make assertions, just as James does.

For what its worth, you are misquoting me a bit. My point in that thread was that outside of WotC and White Wolf, there really aren't any fresh new major releases. I did not say Paizo wasn't doing anything. They are doing something rather major right now. What I said was that Paizo wasn't doing anything new. They are making a flashy, bells and whistles, rehash of 3.5E Dungeons and Dragons. A fresh coat of paint on an older, existing game as opposed to something new and original.

Now, thats an opinion that can be disputed, but its different than saying Paizo isn't doing anything.

 

[Ariosto]

I think editing is important, and blind-testing even more so. As a writer, one can all too easily see what one expects to see and miss both errors and omissions that would leap out to someone looking with fresh eyes.

It should not be too hard to find volunteers to provide such eyes, if the project is exciting enough in the first place. I seem to recall that SPI, Yaquinto and other companies back in the heyday of wargames cultivated local groups of playtesters.

 

[tylerthehobo]

I'm not going to go do any internet homework on this one, but I'm pretty sure that while razors tend to sell at a thin profit margin or even perhaps a loss . . . that razors sold today are significantly more expensive than razors sold in the 1970s.

The model for selling the product hasn't changed, even if the price is higher. Pretty much every kid's "welcome to college" kit from companies in the states includes a free Mach 3 (or Mach 10 or whatever they're up to now), and there are still plenty of freebies of the razor itself sent via mail, trying to get consumers to buy the blades.

Regardless, the point is that a sensible business model for sustainable continuity products is that you give away the intro piece and charge for the secondaries. That's why after the Wheel of Time series hit book a hundred and eleventy two, all of a sudden the first book was available at book stores for only 99c. Hook someone on the first one and then there are all the sequels to sell.

Same thing, in my opinion (and yes, with marketing there are more opinions than people), holds true for gaming products.

 

[carmachu]

I just think even a single Loss Leader product won't cause this Race to Zero for the entire PDF market. In fact, if consumers were going to start demanding that more products be closer to the 20% PDF/Print ratio, we would have been hearing it sometime since the price was announced (since we're talking decreasing the perceived value of PDFs, knowing the PF RPG price should be enough to at least begin this collapse of PDF pricing). I don't see the devaluing happening yet. Maybe we're just slow and in August or September the Race to Zero will be demanded. However, I'm thinking people are very happy with the price on that one product, but aren't seeing it as entitlement to demand lower prices on all PDF products. It's simply not happening.

Right. Its a one off, I dont see the consumers clamoring for lower priced PDF's based on this(and its not even out yet).

I have no idea if its a dead end product, but frankly with Wotc shutting down their products at drive thru.....not sure if it will last.

 

[carmachu]

For what its worth, you are misquoting me a bit. My point in that thread was that outside of WotC and White Wolf, there really aren't any fresh new major releases. I did not say Paizo wasn't doing anything. They are doing something rather major right now. What I said was that Paizo wasn't doing anything new. They are making a flashy, bells and whistles, rehash of 3.5E Dungeons and Dragons. A fresh coat of paint on an older, existing game as opposed to something new and original.

Now, thats an opinion that can be disputed, but its different than saying Paizo isn't doing anything.

Thats simply just your opinion. Some of us see it quite nicely as something new. And not just a coat of paint or a rehash of 3.5.....

 

[JohnRTroy]

What Mishler is truly ranting about is that its a bad time to be an unsuccessful, unestablished producer of RPG materials. He is ranting about the loss of the OGL boom, and the free pass to anybody who wanted to produce games it granted.

You're not really reading his statements well if you believe that. Ad Hominem attacks on James are really unwarranted.

If you want to debunk his theories, feel free, but turning his opinions into simplistic statements like "he's bitter because he's a failure" really ignores his insightful points.

 

[tenkar]

Well, here's my plan to save the industry...


5. Gaming books releases should be monthly (they practically are now anyway).


----

Even though I'm not really being serious, upon closer consideration these ideas might actually work...

James tried that... he lasted, two months maybe?

He certainly went for the gold ring right from the start, but fell off the carousel fairly quickly.

 

[dvorak]

After reading the blog I was sad, until my Netflix movie came.