Why are they waiting til June?

[Asmor]

I realize that this question may seem flippant, and I assure you it's not intended that way. I'm genuinely curious what reasons Wizards of the Coast might have for waiting until June to release the books, given that they're already done and (at least some of them) are printed.

I don't expect anyone to have the actual answer, I'm just looking for educated guessing and speculation by those who have some idea about how the industry works. Thanks!

 

[malraux]

I realize that this question may seem flippant, and I assure you it's not intended that way. I'm genuinely curious what reasons Wizards of the Coast might have for waiting until June to release the books, given that they're already done and (at least some of them) are printed.

I don't expect anyone to have the actual answer, I'm just looking for educated guessing and speculation by those who have some idea about how the industry works. Thanks!

Had to be sometime? June is sometime before Gencon?

 

[Sashi]

Because it takes awhile to print a lot of books.

They're waiting until they have the products and distribution set up to release everywhere at once, instead of letting the books diffuse through the country.

 

[Shawn_Kehoe]

I realize that this question may seem flippant, and I assure you it's not intended that way. I'm genuinely curious what reasons Wizards of the Coast might have for waiting until June to release the books, given that they're already done and (at least some of them) are printed.

I don't expect anyone to have the actual answer, I'm just looking for educated guessing and speculation by those who have some idea about how the industry works. Thanks!

I expect they want to meet as much of the initial demand as possible. In years past, a company could gradually roll out a product as stock was printed (lots of old NES games took that route). Today, they'd just get a firestorm on the Net for their troubles.

Also, they'll need to distribute the books across the continent and to the UK (which could take time if they are using cheaper shipping methods). They probably want to reap the benefits of the print ad / TV campaign too, so they kinda need to wait for June now.

 

[bramadan]

Not an expert here but here is my guess:

Books need to be printed and proof copies sent to the WotC (which is what I think we are seeing in the pictures). If proofs are at OK quality full print run goes. This takes another week or two and is probably done by now. Then the books need to be shipped to one or more central distributors which is fairly massive undertaking and from there to a number of regional and local distributors. This whole process likely takes about month all told, depending on where they are doing the printing. Perhaps a bit more because they want a simulataneous world-wide launch (or do they ?) so they want some books to make it to UK and Europe.
Finally they want to have a week or two margin in case there are snags so they do not miss they release date.

In a word, it is shipping and some prudence on the WotC part that is making us wait.

 

[Rechan]

This means that somewhere, thousands upon thousands of PHBs, DMGs and MMs are being transported via truck.

ONE OF THEM MUST FALL OFF A TRUCK. *Wink wink nudge nudge*

Come oooon!

 

[Novem5er]

Because June 7th is Worldwide D&D Game Day.

The conventional hall is booked. The local gaming stores have their schedules. Players have already booked flights, hotels, and reserved time off work.

They could either release their new product 1 day before their big party... or three weeks before. What do you think?

P.S. I vote for releasing early anyway I can't make it to the party.

 

[Stalker0]

Further, even though the books may already be printed, that's because things went smoothly.

You NEVER plan for things to go smoothly!! You plan for printing problems, delays, etc. That way if sometimes goes wrong you can still make your deadline.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Further, even though the books may already be printed, that's because things went smoothly.

You NEVER plan for things to go smoothly!! You plan for printing problems, delays, etc. That way if sometimes goes wrong you can still make your deadline.

SHHHH! You'll jinx it, I doubt all the books are printed yet. I don't want a factory fire or a massive ink stain to ruin my chances of getting the books.

 

[CleverNickName]

The same reason that they announced its development so early...to get us to talk about it.

They are generating a certain amount of "buzz" about the new product, letting speculation run wild and getting all sorts of free advertisement, all to improve the chances of the product's overall success...or at the very least, to assure a quick recovery of their initial investment.

Given the number of people here who have already pledged allegience to 4E without even seeing the books first, I would say that their plan is working perfectly.