Price of Books too high?

[Nathal]

I've noticed that most new RPG books are in the $30-$40 range now, even with B&W interior!. This does not surprise me when considering smaller publishers, but WOTC? Compare these prices to those of Palladium books. Although soft cover, I think one gets more "bang for the buck". As games go, I like D&D better than Palladium Fantasy RPG, so I only wish Wizards would find ways to bring their prices down.

Oh well...

 

[Ranger REG]

To be honest, I expect small print press to offer affordable products because they usually don't have access to high-end resources like professional artists of great quality, writers, contributors, layout artists, etc.

For Wizards of the Coast, a corporation, they can afford to invest in those resources for the development of quality products. Of course, they need to make a profitable revenue, not just to pay for the expenses (which also includes the investment by shareowners and stockholders -- a Wall Street thing), but to have more money to invest in the next book project.

If possible, they prefer to order a second printing run if there is a strong demand for the product.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

Actually, the general consensus among industry professionals is that gaming books are, if anything, too cheap. Most RPG books have very high production values, and require lots of effort by lots of people. Given the low print runs typical of the gaming industry, most RPG companies have a very small profit margin - if any.

Actually, I'm glad that WotC doesn't produce books that are significantly cheaper than those of other companies - even though they could. In other industries, that would be referred to as "price dumping". It's much better for the whole industry if WotC concentrates on production values instead - this way there is more room for other RPG companies to "prosper"...

Have some pity for RPG writers and support their products instead of complaining about the prices!

 

[Numion]

I've noticed that most new RPG books are in the $30-$40 range now, even with B&W interior!. This does not surprise me when considering smaller publishers, but WOTC? Compare these prices to those of Palladium books. Although soft cover, I think one gets more "bang for the buck". As games go, I like D&D better than Palladium Fantasy RPG, so I only wish Wizards would find ways to bring their prices down.

So, you're happy with high prices in small publishers products, but not in WotCs? How about judging what you're willing to pay for a book on the books quality, not who made it.

Oh well...

Yeah, indeed

I don't mind paying 40-50 euros for a book with high production values, like WotC usually does. FRCS is one of my favourite RPG books because it looks so damn cool. Midnight, in the contrary, left me a bit cold because of the lackluster presentation (and all the hype I guess).

 

[Carnifex]

Want cheaper rpg material? Buy pdf's!

It's true that some pdf's published aren't of very good quality, but the same is true of some print d20 products. There are some excellent pdf products out there and they don't cost much at all.

 

[Skade]

I've noticed that most new RPG books are in the $30-$40 range now, even with B&W interior!.

You could make your comparisons to video games, and may think the cost is quite good. The SRP for most console games is now 49.99-59.99, with PC games going for 36.99-56.99 (I'm estimating here), and although the production cost for such a game is much higher, so is the market and so prices remain relatively low. A RPG book, though it's production costs are lower has a smaller market and so it cost is somewhat higher compared to the video game. The biggest difference is how much use one gets from a RPG book. No one ever questions the replay value of an RPG boook.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Average 4 hours a week gaming 52 weeks a year equals 208 hours. Three core books 100$. Cost of gaming fun per hour $0.48 for year. Cost goes down if you use your books even more than four hours a week.

Movie average 2 hours, cost (veries from town to town) but lets say 7$. Cost per hour 3.50$ times number of movies seen a year.

TV is cheaper but there is nothing on.

I think the price is about right.

 

[Psion]

Actually, the general consensus among industry professionals is that gaming books are, if anything, too cheap.

And the general consensus among congress is they don't get paid enough. Are we shocked?

Actually, I'm glad that WotC doesn't produce books that are significantly cheaper than those of other companies - even though they could. In other industries, that would be referred to as "price dumping".

Actually, price dumping is selling something cheaper than your costs to produce and deliver it specifically to harm a competitor, IIRC.

Have some pity for RPG writers and support their products instead of complaining about the prices!

Eh, whatever. While I am not going to begrude RPG writers making a buck, I don't see that I have any obligation to welcome in a price increase.

 

[Jürgen Hubert]

And the general consensus among congress is they don't get paid enough. Are we shocked?

Well, if RPG writers earned as much as members of congress, I'd write RPG books for a living instead of pursuing a Ph.D. in Areospace Engineering...

But seriously, the vast majority of RPG writers do this part-time - simply because they can't do this for a living. A company like Steve Jackson Games with about a dozen employees is considered to be a giant among RPG publishers.

Face it, RPGs are a tiny, tiny market with little money in it. If you want to earn real money, look elsewhere - like the movie or video game industry.

 

[S'mon]

OT dumping

Actually, price dumping is selling something cheaper than your costs to produce and deliver it specifically to harm a competitor, IIRC.

In theory - that's not how local politicians or competitors tend to see it though. eg Vietnamese catfish farmers are said to be 'price dumping' if they sell frozen catfish at below the prices local competitors can profitably produce & sell it at, even though the Vietnamese are making a profit. It seems to be used as another way of saying 'unfair competition' with the idea that local producers (of steel, catfish, cars, maple syrup or whatever) need to be shielded from external competition. Lots of countries do this, although referring to it as dumping seems to be a particularly US thing to get around WTO rules.