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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gilbetron" data-source="post: 6175831" data-attributes="member: 19811">Let me phrase it differently, as what I said was shorthand.  "Modules don't sell, so we should stop selling modules" is really the false concept that was entrenched in the RPG industry for a long time.  It was a myopic focus on single SKU sales, and not realizing that you need to be interested in your "product ecosystem" more holistically.  As with any success, Paizo's was multi-pronged.  They focused on the forest by focusing on the trees, the shrubs, the microfauna, the wildlife, the soil, the irrigation, etc.  They create modules that had great games in them that spoke to their core audience, but also made them mini world books, mini fiction books, and cool art galleries.  They were smart on the business side by creating a subscription model that increased revenue predictability.  The put out rules books for people to buy, but only in more significant chunks and not in a "we need to put out rules every month!" fashion.  They kept the support of the SRD (PRD) solid.  The put out lots of other "stuff" to support all the little niches of their fans, and paid attention to those that were popular, but didn't axe those that sold weakly.The core of what they realized is this:  A given Pathfinder group uses, say, 10% of the stuff Paizo puts out.  The trick is, that 10% varies from group to group.Previous modules may not have been "crappy" but they were "crappily done".  Of course, Paizo *does* benefit from digital distribution and long tail model, as well.  I could see the argument that Paizo's model wouldn't have worked prior to 2000.</blockquote>

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