The consolidation going on
- Thread starter Krug
- Start date
Krug said:
Things have been saturated for a few years now. I suspect the real mergers have yet to come and wouldn't be surprised to see some of the second-tier companies merge in 2004.
With the glut of product out there it's getting more difficult for publishers to sell numbers that will sustain operations. I have PDFs that have sold better numbers than some of the numbers I'm hearing from print publishers.
Fortunately, those publishers who do survive should be leaner, stronger, and faster. Which will only make me happier when it comes time to buy a new book.
Nellisir
Hero
philreed said:
Ditto that. I think even more of the 1-2 product companies will disappear, unable to sustain themselves, and more successful companies will, if not immediately merge, begin working more closely with each other to coordinate synergistic products (Green Ronin - Paradigm Press/OGL Interlink comes to mind).
On the other hand, companies that disappear from print may reappear in pdf. I don't think that market is settled yet, not by a long shot. The entry fee is too low, and the -perceived- (not actual) gains too high to dissuade anyone who thinks they're someone from taking a swing at it. I think some established pdf publishers will merge or team up into "proven" studios, but new publishers will keep appearing.
Quality of submissions to magazines might rise, if the freelance market demand subsides.
Just speculation
Nell.
d20books
Rise of the Gamerati
Consolidation Benefits
It is more efficient and cheaper for several small companies to consolidate and bargain for printing. It is better to have a set printer that does one project after another and gives you a bulk rate versus having one you occasionally go to. 2 books a year versus 12 or more a year, it is cheaper to print more books too, which comes to my next point.
Distribution. Consolidated publishers produce larger "companies" and can better get their foot in the door at Alliance-Games, for example. Alliance will only work with the larger companies, hence why so many of the publishers have to go through another middleman, like Osseum or Impressions. This cuts into profits too.
Retail space. Having a consolidated group of publishers allows them to time their releases collectively so that they have a new book on the shelves each month. It creates brand loyalty (the biggest motivator for sales, IMHO) and maximizes their ability to get your money out of your pocket. Customers seem to like this better because it also allows them to plan their financing. Lets face it, many of our customers are teens and college kids.
Collective marketing. It is more efficient to have one person advertising, posting on forums, and doing customer relations for a line of products versus for an individual company that produces only 2 books a year.
Peer critiquing. Lets face it, some publishers are really good at doing one thing and not another. Having a collective of creative minds working on a project will simply yield better results. They can share artist's time too, which makes the artist busy (which is better than bored or unemployed).
Mystic Eye Games seems to be doing the best job of things. I have a feeling that they handle much of the grunt work and let the publishers focus on being creative and producing the book.
I've been trying to push Bottled Imp Games and Mystic Eye Games together this past week
It is more efficient and cheaper for several small companies to consolidate and bargain for printing. It is better to have a set printer that does one project after another and gives you a bulk rate versus having one you occasionally go to. 2 books a year versus 12 or more a year, it is cheaper to print more books too, which comes to my next point.
Distribution. Consolidated publishers produce larger "companies" and can better get their foot in the door at Alliance-Games, for example. Alliance will only work with the larger companies, hence why so many of the publishers have to go through another middleman, like Osseum or Impressions. This cuts into profits too.
Retail space. Having a consolidated group of publishers allows them to time their releases collectively so that they have a new book on the shelves each month. It creates brand loyalty (the biggest motivator for sales, IMHO) and maximizes their ability to get your money out of your pocket. Customers seem to like this better because it also allows them to plan their financing. Lets face it, many of our customers are teens and college kids.
Collective marketing. It is more efficient to have one person advertising, posting on forums, and doing customer relations for a line of products versus for an individual company that produces only 2 books a year.
Peer critiquing. Lets face it, some publishers are really good at doing one thing and not another. Having a collective of creative minds working on a project will simply yield better results. They can share artist's time too, which makes the artist busy (which is better than bored or unemployed).
Mystic Eye Games seems to be doing the best job of things. I have a feeling that they handle much of the grunt work and let the publishers focus on being creative and producing the book.
I've been trying to push Bottled Imp Games and Mystic Eye Games together this past week
trancejeremy
Adventurer
philreed said:
Maybe. But I think it's likely the big companies will squeeze out the small, and the big companies often put out products that are, well, lousy.
Still, what I would kind of like to see is a model like in the computer game industry. There are publishers, and then there are developers. You sort of see this a little now - like Monte Cook, the Game Mechanics, etc, being the developer, and the publisher is a larger company.
MEG Hal
First Post
trancejeremy said:
This is a odd comment, while the larger companies put out more books so more may be great and more less then great simply due to having more books available to state that they often put out lousy product is a huge over generalization (IMHO) and for the record I do not think MEG is a "larger company" yet but we are growing
.
JoeGKushner
Adventurer
What exactly is a small company in the d20 pond and what's a large one? Is Paradigm for example, small or large? They have a core setting, several interlink books, two licenses with AEG, tons or RPGA product, etc..., but not a lot of regular product hitting the shelves on a regular basis. Does this make them small or ?
And it's not necessarily companies merging either. Look at Troll Lord who helped pick up Path of the Magi from Citizen Games and work with Kenzer and Company and is working with Necromancer Games.
And it's not necessarily companies merging either. Look at Troll Lord who helped pick up Path of the Magi from Citizen Games and work with Kenzer and Company and is working with Necromancer Games.
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