Fast Forward Lays off Staff

[Kanegrundar]

I have to say that this is not surprising at all. At my FLGS, the FFE (or FAF or whatever) products just sit there. I picked up the first Green Races book when it came out and it went back a week later. I pick up a couple of their books from time to time to thumb through, but always put them back. The production values are low, the writing isn't that great in most cases, and the mechanics are usually abysmal. Not to mention they don't understand the OGL. I'm sure having several products being pulled off the shelf didn't help their bottom line. I am sad to see people lose their jobs, but it's no surprise on my end.

Kane

 

[johnsemlak]

Well, I still am looking forward to Ed Greenwood's Casltemorn setting. I'm glad to see tht's on their release schedule still.

 

[JeffB]

Well, I still am looking forward to Ed Greenwood's Casltemorn setting. I'm glad to see tht's on their release schedule still.

Agreed, I hope they stay afloat long enough to get Ed's work out...this is one of the very few D20 products that is on my "must have" list.

I too am not surprised..they have some really great ideas, but execution is mostly poor..very much like TSR in the late 80s to mid 90's.

 

[Henry]

Apparently you've never been to a gaming convention and asked how many people even know who or what ENWorld is. The vast majority of gamers know nothing about it. It may be the most popular spot for game related chat on the Internet, but awarenes is still barely blip in the gamer's collective consciousness.

Most true, oh Bloody Feline of Furor.

But I'll look at ArthurQ's statement another way: ENWorld (and a number of other sites like Mortality and 3rdEdition.org) are the number one sites for the d20 community, just not the gaming community. Chances are, if a gamer follows non-WotC OGL-based products, they know about ENWorld, whether they frequent it or not.

You find about the same percentage of people who know what the d20 STL is, also know what ENWorld is. For that reason, if a d20 publisher wishes to tap a huge number of his potential buyers, he will not ignore sites like ENWorld, Mortality, 3rdEdition, etc. because they are the chief portal sites for all OGL content, not just one company's.

ENWorld may not be the majority, but it's at least a plurality.

 

[naturaltwenty]

When I finally heard about "Sundered Reaches", which is basically d20 on a fantasy version of Mars, I was able to win a copy of it on ebay for $2. List price $25, and it came out this year. I don't think I've ever seen anything drop that much in value so quickly.

I just tried to dump Demon Wars d20 (another FAF/FFE product) and it sold for an amazing 2.00. Even with the CrossGen art the licensed product did not need to be made.

Later,

Natural Twenty

 

[Krug]

More not so good news:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/4034.html

 

[LightPhoenix]

Fast Forward Entertainment of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin has gone through a reorganization, which includes the severance of its distribution ties with Sovereign Press and Noble Miniatures as well as a six-person reduction in staff. Fast Forward's VP of Sales & Marketing John Danovich told ICv2 that the company, "...put a lot of resources into products that have not been printed yet. A company cannot continue to spend money without return on its investment of time and effort. We could not continue under those conditions and had to make some difficult decisions. We had to let some very talented people go from our production staff." Danovitch did mention that Fast Forward is continuing to work with most of its laid-off employees on a freelance basis.

I think the last line is particularly ironic, if what has been said is true.

 

[Leopold]

More not so good news:
http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/4034.html

server glitch not updating the site? Give me a break folks.

 

[Kanegrundar]

server glitch not updating the site? Give me a break folks.

My thoughts exactly. Server glitches happen, heck, ENWorld is testament to that. However, it sounds more like a server meltdown or just not having the money to pay for hosting. Either way it appears like Fast Forward's money woes have been in dire straits for a while now. I wonder what Sovereign Press is going to do now that they aren't part of FFE?

Kane

 

[Napftor]

My thoughts exactly. Server glitches happen, heck, ENWorld is testament to that. However, it sounds more like a server meltdown or just not having the money to pay for hosting. Either way it appears like Fast Forward's money woes have been in dire straits for a while now. I wonder what Sovereign Press is going to do now that they aren't part of FFE?

Kane

I'm sure Sov Press will manage. And yes, FFE's money woes are nothing new. I've been attempting to see some kind of payment come my way for the last 6 months or so. I was pleased that the 4 books I contributed to were getting more favorably reviewed than those in FFE's past. Guess 4 more writing credits are better than nothing.