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Old 02-03-2015, 09:01 AM   #21
Kromm
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

The "attract new players" angle is a serious concern, and we're quite aware that having books in shops is the commonly accepted solution. However, it's evident that there are alternatives to be found in some mix of social media, blogging, and crowdfunding. It's just that those tools are so new relative to printed books and brick-and-mortar shops that the "best" approach hasn't surfaced yet. To be continued.
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Old 02-03-2015, 09:27 AM   #22
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

Even before ever seeing a GURPS book in person I knew of GURPS from RPG humor like the real men/real roleplateys/loonies/munhchkins bit

One thing that really appealed to me at the FLGS about gurps is found bunches of GURPS books in the used/clearance scrap heap at low low prices so was very willing to take a flier on it, and then I found they were really fun reads
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:13 AM   #23
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
The "attract new players" angle is a serious concern, and we're quite aware that having books in shops is the commonly accepted solution. However, it's evident that there are alternatives to be found in some mix of social media, blogging, and crowdfunding. It's just that those tools are so new relative to printed books and brick-and-mortar shops that the "best" approach hasn't surfaced yet. To be continued.
I would imagine that its also very hard to judge how many new players and customers a hundred copies of a print book will add! IME most roleplayers learn about games from other gamers: most FLGS are doing well to stock the three most popular systems and a few bits and pieces from others in between the card games, comics, board games, minis, and geeky kitsch. With the Apple Store and Amazon, I think that the idea of buying entertainment digitally rather than in hardcopy is pretty widely accepted.

If we like print GURPS books, the best we can do is buy them, encourage our fellow gamers to buy them, and play GURPS with new people. Edit: The first two would be easier if new books were appearing in print, but we can certainly do the third.
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Last edited by Polydamas; 02-03-2015 at 10:26 AM. Reason: Afterthought
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:27 AM   #24
Kromm
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

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Originally Posted by Polydamas View Post

I would imagine that its also very hard to judge how many new players and customers a hundred copies of a print book will add!
The only litmus we have is the volume of restock orders, which was definitely dwindling rather dramatically when we bit down and decided to go digital for everything except occasional "feature" products. Whether 100 books sitting in shops being visible but not being bought helps GURPS is impossible to say. My thinking is "No, it doesn't . . . it looks desperate," but now I'm speaking as a customer with one voice, not as an employee with the support of market stats.

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With the Apple Store and Amazon, I think that the idea of buying entertainment digitally rather than in hardcopy is pretty widely accepted.
I tend to agree. I try hard to see the viewpoint of those who like physical product . . . but as I do all my tabletop gaming with PDFs, store my digital games in the cloud, watch my movies on Netflix, and have gone paperless everywhere but where I can't (clothing, food, and other necessities, plus physically experiential pastimes such as mixology and tango), I'm most likely hopelessly biased. I mean, I haven't even used cash recently, except in dive bars with "cash only" signs – I handle all my business digitally, too, and can't deny that I actually feel annoyed when someone asks for or pays with a check instead of a funds transfer.

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If we like print GURPS books, the best we can do is buy them, encourage our fellow gamers to buy them, and play GURPS with new people.
Pretty much this. Our unofficial intelligence-gathering suggests that the biggest issue is the phenomenon of one gamer per group, usually the GM, buying a copy of the book, which then sits on the table for all to consult. This discourages sales of additional copies to that group. Digital supplements get shared illegally, we know, but we still sell more than one copy per group.
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:32 AM   #25
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

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I tend to agree. I try hard to see the viewpoint of those who like physical product . . . but as I do all my tabletop gaming with PDFs, store my digital games in the cloud, watch my movies on Netflix, and have gone paperless everywhere but where I can't (clothing, food, and other necessities, plus physically experiential pastimes such as mixology and tango), I'm most likely hopelessly biased.
Well, you do have a RL-wife, don't you? Or does that count as "physically experiential pastimes"?
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:52 AM   #26
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

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Well, you do have a RL-wife, don't you? Or does that count as "physically experiential pastimes"?
Everything I mentioned counts as "things" . . . "people" is its own category, and my wife is the most important person in my life.
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Old 02-03-2015, 10:56 AM   #27
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Everything I mentioned counts as "things" . . . "people" is its own category, and my wife is the most important person in my life.
A crucial and often overlooked distinction.
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Old 02-03-2015, 12:52 PM   #28
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

What I most want to see are electronic versions well formatted for tablets and e-readers, and very well indexed.
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Old 02-03-2015, 12:56 PM   #29
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

The problem is that the 4e Basic Set is a lousy point of entry. I've been running my store for three years now and running GURPS demo games as often as I can. I've sold, three copies of Basic Set volume one and nothing more. The GURPS Basic Set scares too many people off.

I've advocated doing some simple, cut and paste supplements to GURPS Lite that would let people try a cut down and focused version of the system without spending any money but I think arguments for a GURPS Medium are also viable.

But I think there's another road that should be considered. Board Games are huge and I realize that they are expensive to produce but a GURPS based starter that cut the game back and focussed it might work. I'm not going to suggest plastic figures. I know, I know, shockingly out of character, who is this really? But what about a folio game product like the early Yaquinto games. Pick something hot, say superheroes (sadly the most complex and unapproachable thing to do in GURPS) and make a game that includes characters, map tiles ,(I like big sheets and I cannot lie but I don't think they'd be cheap in color or sell the game) scenarios, and pogs or cardboard heroes.

Most of the material already exists and I know it's not a small project, but I think SJG has invested enough in GURPS that it might be worth putting some money and effort into promoting it. And even if the money's a problem I expect the fans would be more than willing to support a kickstarter to promote GURPS with a solid point of entry product.

Disc World will be cool but, like GURPS, it's a name that carries certain connotations. I probably wouldn't put GURPS in big letters on the starter game. People already "know" GURPS is too complex, we want to trick them into finding out that it's not.
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Old 02-03-2015, 01:05 PM   #30
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Default Re: Reprinting GURPS 4E books?

I'm assuming the Basic Set always remains "in print". That's your visibility right there. People will find other books in used/clearance, but need the Basic Set so you can make use of them.

I bought every single 4e Hardcover except setting books (IW, T:IW and Vork; got Banestorm from Kromm), and will keep buying them - but there's really no need to have all of them on shelves all the time. And let's be honest, the average gamer will impulse buy a book once in a while, but completing your collection is done on Amazon, not at your FLGS. Powers was published in 2006 - that's NINE years ago - how many 2006 books does your FLGS restock?

Not much stuff even gets reprinted anymore. Maybe, if PoD doesn't come together, there will be a Kickstarter a few years down the line to get a new print run of a bunch of stuff - but expect a one-time "get it now" thing, like OGRE.
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