GamingFrontiersRob
First Post
Constructive criticism
No offense taken, Colonel, and good point. Here goes:
Price: You said
If it was a magazine, and was produced monthly (splitting the content up into 3 issues) at $6 a pop, I'd never hesitate in buying it. An issue one-third the size for $6 gives me the opportunity to sample a variety and determine whether I'm going to buy the next issue. Most likely I would, but at least that way I could skip issues with content I didn't want.
Unfortunately the math doesn’t work. Printing costs work this way: The higher the page count the less per page you pay. The higher the print run the less per book you pay. If I was to break our 140-160 page quarterly book into, say, three 48 page monthly books I couldn’t expect to sell the same amount of books as I do when it’s one collected volume. So print run would be smaller per issue hence cost per book would rise. We would probably have to sell them for $8 to $10 each and probably in B/W.
What we set out to create with Gaming Frontiers was a unique product. A collection of original material from a wide range of publishers packaged like a high quality magazine but reads like a sourcebook. We even carried over the more fun elements of magazines, art galleries, interviews, insightful and/or inflammatory columns, reviews, etc. We succeeded in what we set out to do.
The problem was the price. We couldn’t produce it without putting a big price tag on it. We couldn’t sell ads at Dragon’s rates, we had neither the circulation nor the guarantee to warrant it. We definitely couldn’t sell it at a loss, what’s the point? So we put together a package that if viewed as a sourcebook would be worth the money to the avid d20 buyer. We were looking to grab only 3% of the market (based on total sales of the Player’s Handbook). So 140 page color book priced at $2 less than the standard 96 page B/W book seemed like a deal.
But we didn’t allow for two things, the second actually related to the first:
1)The recent economic downturn making most gamers reevaluate their gaming budget
2)The industry-wide increase in quality of d20 products
Only a few months ago you could look at 20 of the more recent d20 releases and say “eh. I’m interested in those five. Let’s have a closer look.” And then you would make your decision and walk up to the counter secure in the knowledge you had picked the best for your money. Well, no longer. This month alone saw the release of Freeport, Bluffside, Spycraft, Call of Cthulhu, Broadsides! and Deities and Demigods. How can I EXPECT you to pick up Gaming Frontiers?
So you suggest a reformat. Let’s just say (we’re talking hypothetical here, I want to make it clear we have NO plans at this time to change Gaming Frontiers) we drop anything that has to do with a magazine and printed strictly content. Would you buy a 48-page $8 book? How about for $10? Content-wise it’s a better value than a 32-page $10 module. A LOT better value than two 16-page pamphlet adventures for $3.99 each. I realize it would depend on the articles of each particular issue (which is why we would have to decrease the print run – less contributors the more discriminating our readership will be).
Robert Williams
United Playtest, Inc.
www.gamingfrontiers.com
No offense taken, Colonel, and good point. Here goes:
Price: You said
If it was a magazine, and was produced monthly (splitting the content up into 3 issues) at $6 a pop, I'd never hesitate in buying it. An issue one-third the size for $6 gives me the opportunity to sample a variety and determine whether I'm going to buy the next issue. Most likely I would, but at least that way I could skip issues with content I didn't want.
Unfortunately the math doesn’t work. Printing costs work this way: The higher the page count the less per page you pay. The higher the print run the less per book you pay. If I was to break our 140-160 page quarterly book into, say, three 48 page monthly books I couldn’t expect to sell the same amount of books as I do when it’s one collected volume. So print run would be smaller per issue hence cost per book would rise. We would probably have to sell them for $8 to $10 each and probably in B/W.
What we set out to create with Gaming Frontiers was a unique product. A collection of original material from a wide range of publishers packaged like a high quality magazine but reads like a sourcebook. We even carried over the more fun elements of magazines, art galleries, interviews, insightful and/or inflammatory columns, reviews, etc. We succeeded in what we set out to do.
The problem was the price. We couldn’t produce it without putting a big price tag on it. We couldn’t sell ads at Dragon’s rates, we had neither the circulation nor the guarantee to warrant it. We definitely couldn’t sell it at a loss, what’s the point? So we put together a package that if viewed as a sourcebook would be worth the money to the avid d20 buyer. We were looking to grab only 3% of the market (based on total sales of the Player’s Handbook). So 140 page color book priced at $2 less than the standard 96 page B/W book seemed like a deal.
But we didn’t allow for two things, the second actually related to the first:
1)The recent economic downturn making most gamers reevaluate their gaming budget
2)The industry-wide increase in quality of d20 products
Only a few months ago you could look at 20 of the more recent d20 releases and say “eh. I’m interested in those five. Let’s have a closer look.” And then you would make your decision and walk up to the counter secure in the knowledge you had picked the best for your money. Well, no longer. This month alone saw the release of Freeport, Bluffside, Spycraft, Call of Cthulhu, Broadsides! and Deities and Demigods. How can I EXPECT you to pick up Gaming Frontiers?
So you suggest a reformat. Let’s just say (we’re talking hypothetical here, I want to make it clear we have NO plans at this time to change Gaming Frontiers) we drop anything that has to do with a magazine and printed strictly content. Would you buy a 48-page $8 book? How about for $10? Content-wise it’s a better value than a 32-page $10 module. A LOT better value than two 16-page pamphlet adventures for $3.99 each. I realize it would depend on the articles of each particular issue (which is why we would have to decrease the print run – less contributors the more discriminating our readership will be).
Robert Williams
United Playtest, Inc.
www.gamingfrontiers.com
Anyway, I'm done with this conversation.
