Logic behind sales of "Expedition to Castle Greyhawk"?

[Razz]

I remember reading someone from WotC or Paizo, not sure which (it might've been Erik Mona, but don't quote me on that) that said they're basing the worth of coming out with more Greyhawk material if Expedition to Castle Greyhawk sells well.

I am really stumped by that logic.

That would just be downright stupid of WotC to do, personally. Base how popular a setting is by how well a super-adventure tied to it does? That doesn't say anything about how popular Greyhawk is, it would just tell them how popular huge adventures might or might not be. It also still won't say if it was popular because the huge adventure was set in Greyhawk or if it just appealed to DMs that needed to get a good game going.

People who haven't heard of, care for, or even want to know about Greyhawk may still get the book anyway just because it's a huge adventure to run their game in. If they want to know if Greyhawk has any appeal anymore, they need to come out with something that's NOT an adventure supplement.

This same logic would apply to the trilogy of super-adventures coming out for Forgotten Realms. Why would they think that if many people bought those adventures, it would mean many people want more Forgotten Realms material? It would just mean many people want more Forgotten Realms adventures, not more FR material.

What about Expedition to Castle Ravenloft? Did it do well? If so, does that mean Ravenloft 3.5E is coming back? Why wouldn't it if it did well? What makes Greyhawk trump Ravenloft if such a scenario were ture?

If Expedition to the Demonweb Pits did well, does that mean we'll see more planar adventures or a return of the Planescape setting? If not, why so?

I don't understand their logic.

My conclusion is I don't think they should base Greyhawk's popularity on a nostalgic adventure updated to 3.5E. :\

 

[delericho]

Greyhawk seems to have a fairly widespread and very vocal fan-base online, perhaps moreso than those other settings. It's possible that Wizards are considering giving those fans what they want, but they want to know if their just speaking out, or whether they will put their money where their mouths are.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Greyhawk seems to have a fairly widespread and very vocal fan-base online, perhaps moreso than those other settings. It's possible that Wizards are considering giving those fans what they want, but they want to know if their just speaking out, or whether they will put their money where their mouths are.

I think that's right. It's a "put up or shut up" moment from WotC.

 

[Mycanid]

Well ... now that's just plain rude!

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I think that's right. It's a "put up or shut up" moment from WotC.

And I do kind of agree with the philosophy behind it.

 

[Zendragon]

Has anyone heard if this is going to be in the "delve" format? With the release of the new Undermountain, and the complaints that are going along with it, Could this be the Greyhawk Killer?

 

[Glyfair]

Greyhawk seems to have a fairly widespread and very vocal fan-base online, perhaps moreso than those other settings. It's possible that Wizards are considering giving those fans what they want, but they want to know if their just speaking out, or whether they will put their money where their mouths are.

Indeed, they know about the fan base. However, much of the fan base plays older editions of the game. They're offended that WotC mostly supports Greyhawk through the RPGA, but probably wouldn't buy 3rd edition Greyhawk products.

Their question is, "how many would buy what we'd be putting out?"

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I like the part where Razz is, basically, saying "I sure hope that Wizards of the Coast doesn't waste their time making stuff for a setting that I personally have no interest in, because everything they make should be something I can give them money for and use in my personal games!"

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Has anyone heard if this is going to be in the "delve" format? With the release of the new Undermountain, and the complaints that are going along with it, Could this be the Greyhawk Killer?

All the Expedition products are in this format. I don't see how this would kill Greyhawk, though, since it includes Mordekainen, an attempt to actually replicate EGG's Castle Greyhawk and a storyline that moves characters between the Free City and the castle and back, all written by berserk Greyhawk fanatics.

If that's WotC's attempt to kill off the setting, they're exceedingly subtle.

 

[Dire Bare]

I remember reading someone from WotC or Paizo, not sure which (it might've been Erik Mona, but don't quote me on that) that said they're basing the worth of coming out with more Greyhawk material if Expedition to Castle Greyhawk sells well.

I am really stumped by that logic.

That would just be downright stupid of WotC to do, personally. Base how popular a setting is by how well a super-adventure tied to it does? That doesn't say anything about how popular Greyhawk is, it would just tell them how popular huge adventures might or might not be. It also still won't say if it was popular because the huge adventure was set in Greyhawk or if it just appealed to DMs that needed to get a good game going.

People who haven't heard of, care for, or even want to know about Greyhawk may still get the book anyway just because it's a huge adventure to run their game in. If they want to know if Greyhawk has any appeal anymore, they need to come out with something that's NOT an adventure supplement.

This same logic would apply to the trilogy of super-adventures coming out for Forgotten Realms. Why would they think that if many people bought those adventures, it would mean many people want more Forgotten Realms material? It would just mean many people want more Forgotten Realms adventures, not more FR material.

What about Expedition to Castle Ravenloft? Did it do well? If so, does that mean Ravenloft 3.5E is coming back? Why wouldn't it if it did well? What makes Greyhawk trump Ravenloft if such a scenario were ture?

If Expedition to the Demonweb Pits did well, does that mean we'll see more planar adventures or a return of the Planescape setting? If not, why so?

I don't understand their logic.

My conclusion is I don't think they should base Greyhawk's popularity on a nostalgic adventure updated to 3.5E. :\

I remember the thread you are referring to, and I believe it was Erik Mona who you are sorta quoting. However, I'm pretty darn sure you are sorta misquoting him. Of couse, I am also too lazy to search for the original thread, so how accurate can my additional two cents be?

From what I remember, in a discussion about the upcoming Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk, somebody asked if this meant WotC was going to be coming out with more Greyhawk products.

Erik (or whomever it might have been) didn't say that WotC was basing their entire Greyhawk decision-making process on the sales of this one adventure. But rather that WotC would certainly look at the sales of this product, and factor that in to their decision making process.

Kind of a huge difference there.

Once again, we're making a huge "sky-is-falling" mountain out of a misquoted molehill . . . . (if I may mix my metaphors)