Re: [HOE] Combined Format

[The Baron Samedi <baron11@netmcr.com>]

>
>I'm not just talking in a vaccuum here. Previous experience in other
>companies' game lines has shown that except for people who already buy
>everything, such an approach is a bad idea. A big combined
>adventures/sourcebook/everything all over the place is very similiar to the
>Revelations Cycle that was put out for In Nomine, and the fans really hated
>that format. You'll notice all recent In Nomine stuff has been standard
>sourcebooks; this is because Steve Jackson Games realized their mistake and
>fixed it. I'm not sure Pinnacle can afford to make the same mistake. As
>another example, take the "Rifter" magazine for the Palladium system, which
>is a very similiar idea to what is being proposed here, especially the way
>all of Palladium's stuff tends to get squished together in with Rifts
>anyway. Not only would following any of Palladium's business practices be
>very... disappointing... to say the least, but even within the context of
>Palladium fans, in my experience they buy the focused supplements outlining
>the bits of the Palladium Megaverse that interest them, and they don't buy
>the Rifter. (I can show you Palladium fans with piles of books taller than
>I am... and not one of them owns any issue of the Rifter.)

And even to back both of those good examples up, I have heard (correct me 
if I am wrong) that the Epitaphs simply have not sold well.  I don't think 
more expensive Epitaph books will sell any better, honestly.

I can back Loki up on the Rifter note...tho admittedly only on two players 
(still two to nothing here).


>Right now I am very, very satisfied with the amount of good material I get
>in a Hell on Earth supplement, especially since they started cutting the
>adventures out of the sourcebooks. I feel my gaming dollar is really well
>spent when I buy a Hell on Earth sourcebook. I am impressed with the amount
>of material I get, and its general quality. I would rather Hell on Earth
>material come out less often, and be $10 more expensive per supplement,
>than go with this combined format. So long as the quality remained the
>same, I would feel that my gaming dollar was still well spent, as opposed
>to these combined supplements, which would mean I would have to pay for
>pages and pages of stuff I will never use.

Unfortunately, I must agree.  I'd rather pay more for something 
better.  Paying more is not what I'd rather do, but if PEG is in trouble, 
This may be the best way.

Yes, they will lose customers.  Possibly several.  Definitely less then 
they would with the combining.  But if they gotta change something....

>I urge the people at Pinnacle to please, please reconsider this action. The
>completists will buy everything anyway, and the people like me who are
>willing to pay for quality will do so, but making this move may make things
>cheaper to produce, but sales will suffer because of it.
>         -Kirt "Loki" Dankmyer


TBS