I just started Pathfinder because it seems soo much more popular then the old 3.5 editon DnD and I've been into DnD since Baldur's Gate 2 Shadows of Amn (which I got 6 years ago ,lol) and I like the older dnd better then the new ,"simplified" 4th edition .
So I was reading up on the new changes to DND in Pathfinder on the net ( its basically 3.75 edition ,right) and it seems so much more delightfully complex then the dnd books from 3.0 and 3.5 that I have ,yet so similar .I think its better then Wizard's older dnd games and Paizo really made some positive changes in the classes and added some new concepts that weren't really touched in the older games like narcotics use and better spells. I like to DM and play no holds barred and I try to make the villains ....well , villains .The DM is not supposed to go easy on the players or "water the world down so it doesnt offend people " .(People video games and RPGs BECAUSE they want to kill evil things , right ?) I feal that if the players are offended by something in the game thats GREAT because it will make an adventure hook to destroy that offencive thing and I noticed that some of the available prestige classes geared tourgers villians (Death Mage , Hell-knight , etc) WOULD make some REALLY dispicable villains .
pathfinder
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Nymie_the_Pooh
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Right now Paizo has a great product in Pathfinder without the bloat that 3.0 and 3.5 ended up with. The problem now lies in how they expect to expand from this point. They are going to have to come out with more product if they expect to maintain sales levels. It will be interesting to see how they try to handle things.
Part of the problem with pen and paper games from a business perspective is that the core products tend to make a complete game. Most players are going to buy a player's handbook so it is a big seller. Every group (so approximately one out of every four to six consumers) will also likely own a copy of the game master's guide and a monster manual. That's all a group needs.
To keep going the company has to put out product if it wants to stick around. The question becomes what product to release for maximum sales with minimum bloat.
Adventure modules are great for keeping down bloat, but the most that will be sold is one per group of players, and there are quite a few groups that never touch a released module as well as many that only ever use one or two. GM aides are also a great way to release content with a minimum amount of bloat. If done right they can sell better than adventure modules. Again, they suffer from the fact that the most that any group of players needs is one copy, and not every group will buy in. Setting books do well, but there is generally a lot of time poured into the decent ones and again, the most that is likely to ever be sold is one per group of players.
The products that tends to bring in the highest sales outside of core products are content for player characters. This is usually things like new classes, feats, and spells to name a few examples. It is the non core products that could see more than one copy to feasibly be found in each group of players. This is also the type of product that is most likely to provide more options than the game really needs. Sure, each group can use or ignore these products as they see fit. The problem is that this is the very thing that hurt third edition in the end and if they aren't careful this is what can hurt Pathfinder as well.
I agree that Pathfinder is pretty good where it is right now. I am interested to see how they continue to maintain or build profit levels while avoiding the traps other companies have fallen into when they have to depend on content beyond the core products to keep up with previous sale levels.
Part of the problem with pen and paper games from a business perspective is that the core products tend to make a complete game. Most players are going to buy a player's handbook so it is a big seller. Every group (so approximately one out of every four to six consumers) will also likely own a copy of the game master's guide and a monster manual. That's all a group needs.
To keep going the company has to put out product if it wants to stick around. The question becomes what product to release for maximum sales with minimum bloat.
Adventure modules are great for keeping down bloat, but the most that will be sold is one per group of players, and there are quite a few groups that never touch a released module as well as many that only ever use one or two. GM aides are also a great way to release content with a minimum amount of bloat. If done right they can sell better than adventure modules. Again, they suffer from the fact that the most that any group of players needs is one copy, and not every group will buy in. Setting books do well, but there is generally a lot of time poured into the decent ones and again, the most that is likely to ever be sold is one per group of players.
The products that tends to bring in the highest sales outside of core products are content for player characters. This is usually things like new classes, feats, and spells to name a few examples. It is the non core products that could see more than one copy to feasibly be found in each group of players. This is also the type of product that is most likely to provide more options than the game really needs. Sure, each group can use or ignore these products as they see fit. The problem is that this is the very thing that hurt third edition in the end and if they aren't careful this is what can hurt Pathfinder as well.
I agree that Pathfinder is pretty good where it is right now. I am interested to see how they continue to maintain or build profit levels while avoiding the traps other companies have fallen into when they have to depend on content beyond the core products to keep up with previous sale levels.
Precisely the problem Hasboro encountered when they bought Wizards of the Coast, and why they immediately set about developing 3rd Edition. Not because there was a demand for it, or because there was a need for it from the consumer's point of view, but because sales of 2nd Edition books had dried up.Part of the problem with pen and paper games from a business perspective is that the core products tend to make a complete game. Most players are going to buy a player's handbook so it is a big seller. Every group (so approximately one out of every four to six consumers) will also likely own a copy of the game master's guide and a monster manual. That's all a group needs.
To keep going the company has to put out product if it wants to stick around. The question becomes what product to release for maximum sales with minimum bloat.
They also wanted a game that was simpler (dumbed down some might say) to appeal to Hasboro's core market, 4 years old and upwards; rather than D&D's target of 12 years old and upwards.
[QUOTE=Darth Gavinius;1096098]Distrbution of games, is becoming a little like Democracy (all about money and control) - in the end choice is an illusion and you have to choose your lesser evil.
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]
And everything is hidden in the fine print.[/QUOTE]