[INDENT]My biggest challenge in marketing 4E right now is...dealing with the excessively positive response to the RPGA under 4E. The RPGA is so strong now, with so many gamers playing RPGA events, that it’s limiting my ability to sell “unofficial” third party supplements. Endgame and Black Diamond Games are two high-volume game stores in California which should be selling a lot of my product. Instead they sell my 4E titles at a much lower ratio to their core book sales than smaller retailers. Why? Because they have enormous RPGA contingents who are gobbling up all the official 4E material. I’m currently strategizing product and marketing offers to deal with this unintended side effect of 4E success.[/INDENT]
Seems like a smart guy, and I wish him all the luck in the world.
Just for clarity and to avoid people getting all snarky, the interview is with Joseph Goodman, who is the head honcho of Goodman Games.
Curse you, sir, for getting to this before I could and ruining my fun of saying that the Goodman Games CEO is "out of his element" (or other similarly bad John Goodman quotation jokes).
Can some mod type fix it?
Although I'd actually love to hear John Goodman's thoughts on the RPGA.
Cheers,
Crhistopher
You can change the title yourself since you started the thread. Go to the forum and double click the thread (not the actual link that takes you into the thread, but somewhere in the box, like on your name or to the right of the link, or something). The title of the thread should suddenly change to a text box and you can rename the thread.
Hah! Major Freudian slip in my thread title, sorry about that!
Can some mod type fix it?
Although I'd actually love to hear John Goodman's thoughts on the RPGA.
Cheers,
Crhistopher
I can put in a request for it, but if you double-click next to the thread's name in the thread listing you'll be able to edit it directly.
OR
You can also edit the post and click "Go Advanced" for another opportunity to edit the subject line.
[EDIT to reply to Dragon9, below (without further derailment)]
The subject of the first post is the same as the title of the thread - change it, you change the thread.
Wolfstar can be Ninja'd by me. Wa-chaaa!
EDIT: Oh, and changign the subject line won't actually change the thread title... every post has a subject line that you can change. As I did above.
I'm good friends with the FLGS owner here, and his observation (from store owner forums, and especially from going to GAMA) is that stores that actively support local RPGA events are far and away having the most success with 4E sales in general.
-karma
Although that does, in some way, surprise me. I certainly see the correlation: Stores support RPGA play, more people playing 4e RPGA games, therefore they buy more official 4e material. It never stopped the sales during 3e, but as Joeseph said, that was a once in a generation sales peak (can't remember if that was in his interview or the forum post he made), and apparently there's more RPGA games happening now than there were during LG. although from his statement he seems to be sayign that smaller stores that don't have a really strong RPGA contingent are better sellers (ratio wise) of his product.
I can (unofficially) quote Chris Tulach from Origins in saying that the RPGA and (sanctioned) Magic: the Gathering are bigger (in terms of active players) right now than they've ever been in their history, fwiw.
although from his statement he seems to be sayign that smaller stores that don't have a really strong RPGA contingent are better sellers (ratio wise) of his product.
Makes sense to me.
Store 1, a no-RPGA store, sells 50 units of WotC core 4E products, and 25 units of Goodman 4E products. Ratio of 2:1
Store 2, a RPGA haven, sells 200 units of WotC core 4E products, and 25 units of Goodman 4E products. Ratio of 8:1
Even though store 2 sells the same number of Goodman products, it sells fewer units in relation to how many WotC products are sold (and thus theoretically a smaller proportion of store 2's active 4E Players are using 3PP products).
Then again... with the MYRE adventures you can buy that stuff and convert it to play in LFR. :P
Then again... with the MYRE adventures you can buy that stuff and convert it to play in LFR. :P
I've considered adapting Fright at Tristor for a MYRE. I haven't done it, and if I theoretically do eventually do it I won't parade the fact on the forums because I think it's technically against some rules somewhere...
if I theoretically do eventually do it I won't parade the fact on the forums because I think it's technically against some rules somewhere...
It's not in any of the MYRE rules. Only that you can't "reskin" official adventures. Doesn't say anything about non-LFR adventures. You'd just have to set them up as multiple MYREs each one encompassing a part of the overall adventure.
I really want to do it for some friends with the Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords. Awesome, awesome set of mods.
It's not in any of the MYRE rules. Only that you can't "reskin" official adventures. Doesn't say anything about non-LFR adventures. You'd just have to set them up as multiple MYREs each one encompassing a part of the overall adventure.
I really want to do it for some friends with the Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords. Awesome, awesome set of mods.
I remember someone somewhere talking about getting the copyright holder's permission first. It seemed like hogwash to me (the whole purpose of adventures is to play them - seems kinda like getting permission from PepsiCo before drinking a Pepsi that I've purchased), but someone was claiming it.
You cannot use material from a 3rd-party publisher in your adventures or publicly unavailable content that is the property of Wizards …
As I read that, you can't use a module from Goodman Games or Piazo. WotC stuff, except for re-skinning LFR adventures, seems to be fair game.
I think it's hogwash. If you're not distributing it, it's no different that if you buy the module and run it for your friends straight. If you convert it to fit into the LFR structure it's no different than if you convert a 3e mod to play in 4e. Or earlier... ooo... maybe i should convert Pool of Radiance. :D
There is a line on leading off the second paragraph of "What Resources Can I Use?". It's on page four of both MYRE1-1 and MYRE1-2 …
As I read that, you can't use a module from Goodman Games or Piazo. WotC stuff, except for re-skinning LFR adventures, seems to be fair game.
*nods* I'm no lawyer or anything, but I'd think Distribution isn't the issue (since we can't share/distribute "our" MYRE modules anyhow).
However, it could be argued that the conversion to LFR is a derivative work, and since it's being played in LFR, and therefor officially sanctioned by the RPGA (and therefore by WotC) - it could put WotC on risky legal ground.
Not so much because, say, Goodman Games is going to sue for people buying and enjoying their product - but becase those derivations (setting it in Forgotten Realms, then changing whatever the DM wants to fit his vision/version without ANY checks/limitations whatsoever) could eventually rub someone the wrong way (no matter how unlikely it is or seems that that would happen).
There is a line on leading off the second paragraph of "What Resources Can I Use?". It's on page four of both MYRE1-1 and MYRE1-2 …
They must have reissued the PDF. The MYRE1-1 I have doesn't even have that section in it.
Not that it's going to stop anyone if they really want to do it.
They must have reissued the PDF. The MYRE1-1 I have doesn't even have that section in it.
Not that it's going to stop anyone if they really want to do it.
No, but it does mean that WotC said "no" and therefor any liabilities fall on the DM. ;)
Although I'd actually love to hear John Goodman's thoughts on the RPGA.
Well, the last time John Goodman DM'd an RPGA game, it went pretty poorly. The players easily beat the module, leading Mr. Goodman into a ranting at his own miniatures.
"You know, when you were a baby in your crib, your father looked down at you, he had but one hope - some day my son will grow to be a man. Well look at you now. You just got your asses whipped by a bunch of ******* nerds."
"Nerds!"
"Well, if I was you, I'd do something about it. I would get up and redeem myself in the eyes of my father, my maker, and my dungeonmaster!"
He wasn't invited back to DM again, so there might still be some bad blood there.
Do another one! Tell about when John Hodgeman DMed! :D
Well, the last time John Goodman DM'd an RPGA game, it went pretty poorly. The players easily beat the module, leading Mr. Goodman into a ranting at his own miniatures.
"You know, when you were a baby in your crib, your father looked down at you, he had but one hope - some day my son will grow to be a man. Well look at you now. You just got your asses whipped by a bunch of ******* nerds."
"Nerds!"
"Well, if I was you, I'd do something about it. I would get up and redeem myself in the eyes of my father, my maker, and my dungeonmaster!"
He wasn't invited back to DM again, so there might still be some bad blood there.
I think it's hogwash. If you're not distributing it, it's no different that if you buy the module and run it for your friends straight. If you convert it to fit into the LFR structure it's no different than if you convert a 3e mod to play in 4e. Or earlier... ooo... maybe i should convert Pool of Radiance. :D
Correct, it's not Copyright/Trademark law that's at issue this time, since you aren't distributing.
However, WotC would be within their rights to disallow your MYRE as an LFR event or even pull sanctioning from your convention, if they somehow found out about it.
-karma
Oh, this is awesome! Thanks!
Do another one! Tell about when John Hodgeman DMed! :D
Unfortunately, John Hodgeman refuses to play 4th edition. He still drags his 3rd and 3.5 edition books to conventions and tries to get people to keep playing 3E. I think he still runs Living Greyhawk, too.
I hear Justin Long runs a good 4E game, though.