Why RPGs are Failing

[the Jester]

mythusmage, there have been many choruses asking you to put some evidence out here to back up your points. Any chance of this before you abandon this thread for the new one?

 

[mythusmage]

Dragging this Thread Even Further Off-Topic

The comparison really shouldn't be between the third edition PHB and the first edition version, but between the PHB as presently published (design, layout, totchkes and all that) and comparable books as published in 1980. You know, art books. There I think you'll find that the PHB 3e has actually gone done in price compared to its 1980 equivalents.

As a guide the price has certainly gone up, but when you consider the quality of physical presentation, if anything the PHB is actually cheaper than comparable books of long-ago.

 

[mythusmage]

mythusmage, there have been many choruses asking you to put some evidence out here to back up your points. Any chance of this before you abandon this thread for the new one?

They're my impression, gained from reading various other folks speaking on the subject.

Others involved in the business are welcome to speak out on the matter.

 

[takyris]

So, just to clarify, your means of changing the system and speaking out as the new authority is going to pretty much be "making a blog and then refusing to directly answer people's counterarguments"?

Best of luck!

 

[teitan]

The reason why prices are up is because volume is down. As a publisher, it makes more sense to sell fewer, more-expensive products when you know that you can't price-break yourself into greater profit. In otherwords, lowering prices isn't going to increase profit (even with the slightly greater number of sales that will accrue) when compared to profit from lesser selling, higher-priced books.

At least, this is my understanding of the current situation.

joe b.

Blah Blah Blah is what I say to that. Volume is down because prices went UP. The price hike occured BEFORE the industry (D20 industry that is) popped like a spit bubble. Started with WOTC and AEG. Monsters of Faerun is a 22 dollar book of what 90 pages and softback?????? How about the FR books before they all became hardcover? Magic of Faerun is a 30 dollar sourcebook and of comparable size to Races or Underdark and it is 30 bucks? Can't blame that on industry woes can you? Why am I paying 30 bucks for Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil when City of the Spider Queen is full colour and of similar size and quality, an adventure and RttTOEE sold just as well, if not better than CotSQ?

Spycraft... 35 dollars, requires the PHB, B&W artwork. While in itself it is worth the price, it is a 65 dollar investment. Look at the later sourcebooks, the paperbacks, around 22 dollar for B&W, paperback, 90 some page books. I like SPycraft but I can't afford the splats for it and the core book isn't totally complete. If I wanted psionic powers for my game but didn't want Shadowforce Archer I was still SOL because I need SA for the Psionics rules... 34.95. The Control Screen is a 20 dollar screen! This is all before the bubble POPPED into spittle.

Fast forward to now, yeah the bubble has popped BUT do you still think the prices on these books and a few others might not have had something to do with it?

Jason

 

[hong]

So, just to clarify, your means of changing the system and speaking out as the new authority is going to pretty much be "making a blog and then refusing to directly answer people's counterarguments"?

Best of luck!

Speaking of which, Tacky, when are you going to update YOUR blog, hmm?

 

[innerdude]

Necro-resurrecting this thread because it's interesting (especially Post 141 in this thread), and because it highlights that the issues post-3e were not any different than they are now.

 

[Emerikol]

I'm not sure they are failing. They just aren't growing a lot.

One of the issues is time and commitment. In an RPG, you are committed to playing every X number of days. If someone cancels it ends up affecting everyone. It's more complicated so it takes longer to get a new player playing.

Other tabletop hobbies like miniatures and boardgames have grown and surely have pulled some less committed roleplayers away.

Personally it would seem to me that lighter more roleplaying oriented games are growing. Most OSR games and 5e are simpler than 3e or 4e. I realize Pathfinder perhaps has all the complicated system players.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

RPGs aren't failing, and this thread is nonsense.

 

[Jhaelen]

It's also almost 12 years old...