Has the RPG market crashed the $40 product price ceiling?

[Warbringer]

Most books still rarely ever get close to $40 and those that do are more than worth the price.

And less than two years ago those same books (content wise) where $25-$30.

I don't mind paying for quality games, and do regularly, but the drift in prices in the last two years, arguably the last 12 months has been steep.

I wonder, as people talk of a slump in sales the d20 market are they factoring in a 25% increase in prices, meaning unit sales are plummeting? But I'd say the $40 threshold has been breached an become the norm. My guess is that within 18months $50 will be the norm, and with the release of 4e in 2007 $49.95 a book will be in place...

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

This discussion has been asked and answered before. Inflation and the rising costs of production account for the increase in prices. I've been paying more than $30 a book for a long time now, so it's nothing new to me. I think $50 would be much more of a psychological barrier than anything below that.

 

[Warbringer]

This discussion has been asked and answered before. Inflation and the rising costs of production account for the increase in prices. I've been paying more than $30 a book for a long time now, so it's nothing new to me. I think $50 would be much more of a psychological barrier than anything below that.

Sorry, but inflation has been nada in the last two years in the US. Also, as I'm in product marketing I routinely use full color print marketing, including full book printing, and to be honest I've a decent decline in set up costs, especially for full color. I agree that the real barrier is $50 and the $40 barrier now broken will quickly be forgotten

 

[Shadowslayer]

Will this be a sustained, and growing, trend in the RPG market?

That'll be decided by the players who buy, or don't buy, the books.

I'm thinking along the lines of this as far as the funky premium products go: It's become apparent that books of feats, spells, and prestige classes arent the sure fire sellers they may have been, so the companies are starting to push the envelpoe creatively.

Many of the marginal d20 companies are gone, and the good ones have developed a pretty loyal following. They know that many of their more creative/unique products have a ceiling on how many will sell, so they go with smaller print runs which drives the price up. They only hope that their fan base is willing to pay a premium for the product. So far it seems to be working, if the message boards are an accurate reflection. (not so sure they are though)

Wilderlands seems to be a pretty good success story going by what you read on the boards, but I haven't seen Necromancer announce that they've sold out the print run either. I'm pretty sure the print run was 2000 copies, so that will remain to be seen. 2000 isn't a lot.

Personally, I bought the Wilderlands and I'm glad I did. The format behind it was fresh and different and useful (to me) and I don't begrudge the price tag. On the other hand, if I use it...and I mean really use it..I'll never need another campaign setting, so I probably wouldn't buy another at that price.

But then I'm not a "book collector" gamer either. Lots of guys are, and I think they're the ones who will ultimately decide it.

Are the regular books getting too expensive? If they're selling lots and lots of em, then no. Face it, gaming books are a luxury item. No one's holding a gun to your head to make you buy them, so who's to say what's expensive and what isn't?

 

[Pants]

And less than two years ago those same books (content wise) where $25-$30.

I don't remember books similar in size to the Iron Kingdoms books or World of Warcraft being regularly released two years ago.

 

[pogre]

As the d20 rpg market shrinks it makes more sense to go with these deluxe style packages. I saw the same thing happen in the war boardgaming hobby.

When Avalon Hill went belly up and SPI was a distant memory companies like The Gamers started cranking out low production run, expensive games, sold directly to the consumer. Now, the board game hobby has indeed rebounded some, but I expect high end products will soon dominate the RPG market.

The advantages are you need fewer sales to make the same amount of money. And as the war boardgaming fanbase was aging and could afford a new price level, a similar pattern is happening in the rpg community.

 

[Sledge]

Indeed I don't think the breakage is at the high end. These are specialty books. The more mainstream books are where prices seem higher for the same content. In part this is due to hardcovering everything. Some of these books look very tiny compared to the ones next to them on my shelf.

As for large fonts and excessive wasted space, I point you to Mongoose's Ultimate Magic Items. A 256 page book that I enjoy. However it really ought to only be maybe 160 pages. Given that it is only reprinted ogc and recycled artwork, why is it fluffed out in pages and priced at $35?