[DL] A Splash of Cold Water

[Seanchai <Seanchai@compuserve.com>]

>>So. . . either we are all idiots, or we haven't actually seen what is
happening to Pinnacle?<<

   I vote for the idiots part - particularly given the context here. 
   I've been silent through the temper tantrums and the flashes of
indignation thus far, but its getting old. And even less focused. Certain
folks will rabidly attack anything that's posted regardless of the logic of
their position or the statements being made or responded to. 
   I'm on a number of different RPG and CCC mailing lists and have gone
through this sort of thing a number of times now. I know better than to try
to be objective with a list full of "rabid fans," but stubborness and my
own bad temper compel me to try and get through the fantasies some list
members hold like life preservers.
   Shane might be a great guy, but he's not Ghandi or Christ. Message after
message about how saying he sold out is really over the top. Also, he's not
*always* forthcoming with information about Pinnacle. The reason "we
haven't actually seen what is happening to Pinnacle" is because Shane is
silent about what caused him to have to sell the company. If folks knew why
such action was required, they might not to be so quick to assume that
Pinnacle is better managed than Cybergames.
   On the other hand, to be fair, it could be none of Shane's fault. 
   I think "caused him to have to sell the company" is pretty accurate.
From what I understand, the AEG thing wasn't all roses and it sounds like
Shane is very dedicated to Deadlands, thus I doubt he made the decision to
sell lightly, without a lot of thought, and with other viable options open
to him.
   Keep that in mind. Shane sold the company. Cybergames didn't swoop in
and snatch it. Cybergames (as far as I can tell) didn't cause whatever
prompted Shane to look for a buyer. The way I remember Shane's message to
the list, *he* went looking for a buyer and not the other way around.
Moreover, he chose Cybergames. Something to keep in mind when you're
looking to assuage your feelings of outrage about the position Pinnacle
finds itself in.
   Also, I don't remember hearing about how Cybergames laid people off. I
remember seeing messages about how there was only Shane left in Pinnacle,
but not about how Cybergames laid them off or fired them. From what I
remember, their departure - like John Goff's - was voluntary. 
   You're upset about what Cybergames has done with Pinnacle, which is, as
far as I can tell, restructuring products, the web site, etc.. Okay. This,
however, is not unusual. It's what companies do when they purchase one
another. Moreover, it's impossible to say this restructuring isn't wholly
proper and necessary until you can exclude poor business practices as the
reason for Pinnacle's sale. And you can't do that until Shane says why he
was compelled to sale the company. 
   Let's talk about Pinnacle before the sale. It was a decent company. It
was not fantastic. I've had some decidely mediocre experiences with it: my
rules questions were not answered by company representative, the moderator
of the list attacks and flames listmembers in private, my sale with the
company store took weeks to process and when the product finally shipped
weeks after that, it arrived bent. Pinnacle does a lot of nice thing, but
they have some rough spots as well. 
   Let's talk about Pinnacle products. In the areas of production value and
content, they're pretty average. My basis for comparison: I purchase a
*huge* number of gaming products each year and have a decent sample of
Pinnacle stuff (about thirteen Deadlands products and the Hell on Earth
rulebook). Cybergames could certainly do worse, but it's not as if they've
been handed the crown jewels of RPGdom and are about to melt them down into
K-Mart hoop earrings. 
   I imagine by this point you think I hate Pinnacle and Deadlands. That's
not so. I know from first-hand experience that telling you this won't
change you mind - you are, after all, "rabid fans." Nonetheless, it's true.
We started playing Deadlands a bit ago and really enjoy it. While my
experiences with Pinnacle haven't been stellar, they're not the worst
customer service I've received. Deadlands is one of the most popular games
out there and that sits well with me. 
   I also imagine you think I'm some sort of Cybergames sycophant. Let me
say this: They sure haven't amassed much with their twenty years in the
gaming industry. Until the Deadlands buy out, I hadn't heard of them and I
cast my net widely - I've even visited the website in the recent past.
While I'm waiting to make a "final" judgement on their abililies, I'm not
blown over by what I've seen thus far.
   Let me compress the thrust of this post into a final thought: Don't jump
all over Cybergames until they actually do something bad. What we've seen
thus far is either not Cybergames's fault or entirely reasonable. 

          John "Seanchai" Grose

"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic
pictures." - George W. Bush, President elect and Time magazine's Person of
the Year