Predictions of the d20/gaming Industry

[Wolfspider]

i don't think, after all this, we are too far apart. i think what you are getting at is - "will you pay a premium for quality work"? my answer is, as long as it's not outrageous, probably.

Probably? PROBABLY?!? I was expecting a "yes" to come at the end of that highly-qualified sentence. Man, it sure is difficult to part you from your money....

As far as I'm concerned, if it's quality work, I'll pay top dollar for it. It doesn't matter if its music, books, or whatever. I reward quality work in two ways--by being willing to pay what it's worth and by praising its quality to whomever I run into. If I find an RPG publisher that I think consistently does quality work, I will go out of my way to buy from them. I guess I'm just a loyal cutomer. But I also want my daughter to be able to enjoy role-playing games as well when she's older, so call it an investment in her future enjoyment (and mine, of course).

to answer your question, erik, i do disregard author's welfare when i buy a piece of fiction. just as you disregard the welfare of the teenager behind the counter when you order a big mac and pay a relatively cheap price (despite the teenage making minimum wage). or the car salesman when you bargain him down on your new car (which could affect his commission and his well-being). turn the situation around and distance yourself from it, and you will find that when it comes down to it, you probably don't care about a great many things you buy.

You're making a lot of assumptions about what Erik does and doesn't care about. I know that I spend way too much time than is healthy worrying about that poor young man behind the counter with the hollow eyes and dead-looking skin, his clothing spotted with grease stains and his future just as dark and splotchy....

 

[jasamcarl]

King Stannis...

Why are you being so silly? Your test case is as obviously slanted as your motivations for posting it were self-serving. Do you believe that YOU know the interests of these producers better than they do? Or do you subscribe to the notion that they are simply here to gain 'acceptance' for a price increase which would otherwise decrease sales, which is a proposition that is even more ludicrous?

One clarification from publishers. What are the true features of this proposal, an across the board increase. I fully understand the inclination of quality producers to gain as much profit as possible from their markets, but why would that section of the industry which produces shoddy products feel the need to do the same? Is it you contention that their mere existence muddies the waters and masks the 'Quality' of the stuff from the big names?

This is all very enlightning

 

[Wolfspider]

Exactly. I'll be either converting the MM to a binder or buying a new one inside six months. The binding is HORRIBLE! When I pull a 1977 copies of the PHB, DMG, MM, & MM II that survived 15 years of gaming with PERFECT binding I think that 30 bucks is waaaay to much for a new WOTC book.

I've never had problems with game books coming apart. Only one book did this to me--Unearthed Arcana. It was in pieces before I even got back to my hotel room after I bought it at the Memphis Fantasy Fair way too many years ago.

Even the Bubblegum Crisis books that I bought from R. Talsorian--famous for self-destructing--are in good condition on my shelf (after I finally found them, that is). My D&D3E books are holding up equally as well; the binding really does seem perfect.

I have, however, had many, many non-gaming books fall apart--paperbacks, $75 textbooks, comic books, etc. So, in my experience gaming books have always seemed BETTER quality than others.

Of course, I may be the exception and not the rule....

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

I purchase based on quality, not price.

Just because there are 3 seafaring supplements out does not mean I am automatically going to buy the cheapest one.

That kind of behavior from the consumer only leads to an encouragement of sloppy, rushed product, because publisher B is going to rush out his supplement to undercut publisher A. The d20 consumer is already waaaaaay too accepting of utterly crappy stuff.

I will buy the one that delivers the best quality for my money, every time.


Wulf

 

[Mistwell]

I for one can attest to the fact that my 3e Players Handbook is in shambles, the binding has come apart, and it is time for me to buy another one. But, at $20, that's okay. I do think there may be a binding issue there with recent releases (but then, I also agree with RyanD that the market will accept higher prices. $39.95 should move to $49.95, and $19.95 should move to $24.95, for all WOTC and higher profile products except the core rulebooks, which are the lure for the industry, and the backbone of the d20 license).

 

[King_Stannis]

Re: King Stannis...

Why are you being so silly? Your test case is as obviously slanted as your motivations for posting it were self-serving. Do you believe that YOU know the interests of these producers better than they do? Or do you subscribe to the notion that they are simply here to gain 'acceptance' for a price increase which would otherwise decrease sales, which is a proposition that is even more ludicrous?

One clarification from publishers. What are the true features of this proposal, an across the board increase. I fully understand the inclination of quality producers to gain as much profit as possible from their markets, but why would that section of the industry which produces shoddy products feel the need to do the same? Is it you contention that their mere existence muddies the waters and masks the 'Quality' of the stuff from the big names?

This is all very enlightning

funny, you attack me in your first paragraph and then proceed to voice my very same argument in the next.

and to answer your question, i think i do know the interests of these producers as good as they: maximize their revenues while reducing expenses to the lowest level possible while producing the best product possible.

 

[King_Stannis]

You're making a lot of assumptions about what Erik does and doesn't care about. I know that I spend way too much time than is healthy worrying about that poor young man behind the counter with the hollow eyes and dead-looking skin, his clothing spotted with grease stains and his future just as dark and splotchy....

well, if erik cares, then he is one of the few. i'm willing to bet that he, like just about everyone else, has gone through the drive thru at midnight without contemplating the socio-economic effect of a .99 hamburger.

as for you, wolfspider, you're hopeless!

 

[Ulrick]

I do care about an author's lifestyle. If an author is turning out good work, I'll pay more so that he'll be further inspired to do so, because he or she is turning out good stuff. I'd rather have an author making money, because if he is, that "why should I bother if I write good stuff I won't get pay more" won't enter his mind.

Essentially, gaming authors and companies are providing you a service. So when somebody provides you service and provides it well, why stiff them? Sure, many people don't like lawyers, but you'll damn well try to find the best when you need one, and that will cost you. I give a decent tip to the lady who cuts my hair, because she does a good job and I'd like her to keep it up.


However, my purchasing price for game books tops out at around $35-$40. Its a limited budget thing of a college student...that's all.

It seems that, in general, most people are willing to pay higher prices for higher quality. I, myself, will pay the highest price that I have to--that is, if I can find it cheaper elsewhere. I'll buy it there because I know there's a retail mark up to the suggested price.

"But Ulrick, you just said not to stiff the authors!"

The authors aren't getting stiffed. Theres a retail markup. The author doesn't "see" that money.


Ulrick

 

[Wolfspider]

as for you, wolfspider, you're hopeless!

*nods sadly*

Yes, I know...I know....

 

[kenjib]

I purchase based on quality, not price.

Just because there are 3 seafaring supplements out does not mean I am automatically going to buy the cheapest one.

That kind of behavior from the consumer only leads to an encouragement of sloppy, rushed product, because publisher B is going to rush out his supplement to undercut publisher A. The d20 consumer is already waaaaaay too accepting of utterly crappy stuff.

I will buy the one that delivers the best quality for my money, every time.


Wulf

I'm guessing from your reference to 3 seafaring supplements that this is in partial response to my previous post. I'd like to point out that I never said that I would buy the cheapest book. I too, will go for the highest quality and most useful of the three. What I did say was that I will buy only one of them, whereas if they were below a certain price point I would buy two of them, or perhaps all three, because each one has content that the others lack.

I agree with you here completely as regards buying the best one to a point (if I liked Broadsides the best but it cost $100 I certainly wouldn't buy it). At the same time, if the pricing rises to the point where you must be increasingly selective in your purchases there are side effects on what kinds of products the industry is able to bring to market. Ultimately this limits the options available to you. Would such a market be able to sustain both Fading Suns d20 and Dragonstar d20 at the same time? Fans of one or the other (whichever is the minority niche product) would be disappointed to find their favorite weeded out.

Popularity does not equate to quality on a one for one basis. Weeding out products that sell fewer units not only has the effect of removing low quality products from the market, but also removing high quality niche products from the market.