Forked Thread: Goodman IS going GSL!

[darjr]

I think you missed phloog's point.

Heh, no, I get phloogs point. My post was in response to the thread.

I think Mr. Goodman knows very well what he is getting into. I'm just not sure I agree with him. I suspect that he would know better though.

Along the pulping of pre GSL OGL DCC's, I think the fact that he has talked to WotC about this several times may bode well for a profitable plan. If that means pulping, I dunno, I don't think he said.

 

[GMSkarka]

Doesn't surprise me -- he's banking on the fact that the official D&D logo will translate into sales.

He might well be right -- Adamant, using existing copyright law (yes, we have a lawyer specializing in IP and copyright law) released the first third-party 4E-compatible adventure (see signature), and sales have been.... meh.

For all the controversy and discussion over GSL-vs-Copyright, it seems that consumers are still more likely to hold out for official stuff -- or at least it seems that way to me so far.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

For all the controversy and discussion over GSL-vs-Copyright, it seems that consumers are still more likely to hold out for official stuff -- or at least it seems that way to me so far.

While I hope for the best for everyone, that's always been my guess of how it would go.

 

[Treebore]

While I hope for the best for everyone, that's always been my guess of how it would go.

"Official" has always been far and away the most preferred. That is nothing new. I don't know why any 3rd party publisher would think different.

As for Goodman, he knows how much he typically sells, so he probably printed very close to that "norm". So when it comes time to pulp his stuff I doubt he'll have very much to pulp.

 

[joethelawyer]

0one games has good stuff.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Doesn't surprise me -- he's banking on the fact that the official D&D logo will translate into sales.

He might well be right -- Adamant, using existing copyright law (yes, we have a lawyer specializing in IP and copyright law) released the first third-party 4E-compatible adventure (see signature), and sales have been.... meh.

For all the controversy and discussion over GSL-vs-Copyright, it seems that consumers are still more likely to hold out for official stuff -- or at least it seems that way to me so far.

This is what I would be most afraid of. With the player split, sales in general may be way down. I am not sure as well whether the D&D logo on the back will neccesarily improve sales eithers. With going GSL they are risking having low sales and no ability to go back if sales are poor.

 

[Shroomy]

This is what I would be most afraid of. With the player split, sales in general may be way down. I am not sure as well whether the D&D logo on the back will neccesarily improve sales eithers. With going GSL they are risking having low sales and no ability to go back if sales are poor.

I don't think you can extrapolate Adamant's experiences to the larger market (at least at this point), especially if you are comparing their situation to that of GGs. For one thing, if it wasn't for EN World, I don't think I would have even heard of Adamant; GG has a relatively well-known brand in the DCCs and a physical presence in both the hobby market and booktrade. Adding the D&D trademark is just gravy.

 

[Filcher]

I don't want to kick Adamant, but my experience is the same as Shroomy's. I don't know that I've ever seen an Adamant product in the game store or book store, and I couldn't name any of their pre-4E products.

Maybe if Adamant is attending Gen Con, the word will get out and they will experience an explosion of support.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I don't think you can extrapolate Adamant's experiences to the larger market (at least at this point), especially if you are comparing their situation to that of GGs. For one thing, if it wasn't for EN World, I don't think I would have even heard of Adamant; GG has a relatively well-known brand in the DCCs and a physical presence in both the hobby market and booktrade. Adding the D&D trademark is just gravy.

I wasn't trying to compare Adamant's total numbers with Goodman's total numbers. The point was in tems of reletive numbers to each companies own previous sales. I am not saying Goodman will have the same numbers as Adamant, but rather that half its previous buying base has not moved on to the new product and could therefore see sales half of what they were before.

 

[thatdarnedbob]

I wasn't trying to compare Adamant's total numbers with Goodman's total numbers. The point was in tems of reletive numbers to each companies own previous sales. I am not saying Goodman will have the same numbers as Adamant, but rather that half its previous buying base has not moved on to the new product and could therefore see sales half of what they were before.

You realize that the converse could be true? That if it hadn't moved to 4E, half of the buying base would have moved on, and sales could drop by half in that situation as well? This is assuming that the %50 proportion has merit, when few, if any, of us have seen the numbers necessary to make any claim about the proportion.