Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Illuminati Headquarters > SJ Games Discussion

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-19-2018, 05:41 PM   #1191
Žorkell
Icelandic - Approach With Caution
 
Žorkell's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Reykjavķk, Iceland
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

If DFRPG failed, despite being amazing and all that, what hope is there for future hardcover releases for GURPS?

Is GURPS dead (not dead dead just mostly dead)?

These are questions that popped into my mind soon after reading the news about DFRPG in the stakeholder's report.

It's just frustrating and/or annoying to be here some time after the release of this thing that was supposed to be amazing and be hit with the news that it failed.
__________________
Žorkell Sigvaldason

Viking kittens | My photos | More of my photos
Žorkell is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 05:24 AM   #1192
Turhan's Bey Company
Aluminated
 
Turhan's Bey Company's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: East of the moon, west of the stars, close to buses and shopping
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Smith View Post
I believe there has not been a single mention of GURPS in the Daily Illuminator in 2018.
At least four. There was a DFRPG post in January, listing of a couple of GURPS products in a "released last month" post, a passing mention in the announcement of the stakeholders report, and a "how to PDFs get made" post which was somewhat GURPS-centric. By comparison, Triplanetary, for which there was an active Kickstarter at the time, got two, Car Wars got a couple, Ogre got a few, and a number of their other games (for example, Zombie Dice) got none at all. When it comes to talking about product, the Illuminator is mostly Munchkin most of the time.
__________________
I've been making pointlessly shiny things, and I've got some gaming-related stuff as well as 3d printing designs.

Buy my Warehouse 23 stuff, dammit!
Turhan's Bey Company is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 10:55 AM   #1193
kmunoz
 
kmunoz's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Seattle, Washington
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Smith View Post
Which is my basic complaint. Part (only part obviously) of the reason other products don't sell as well is they aren't being pushed as hard.
This is one of the things that has me ambivalent. On the one hand, I understand SJG's need to focus, distribute and market the way that they do. On the other hand, I care very little about the products that make them the money that sustains the company. So while I may rail against the way GURPS is handled as a saleable product, I can't imagine that there's a better option for the company at this time.
__________________
Natural Encyclopedia: 660 GURPS bestiary entries
It Came from the Forums: A Community Bestiary with 160 entries
(last updated 2009...someday I will revisit.)
kmunoz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 11:08 AM   #1194
Anthony
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Smith View Post
Which is my basic complaint. Part (only part obviously) of the reason other products don't sell as well is they aren't being pushed as hard.
It is unlikely that being mentioned or not mentioned on the Daily Illuminator has a major effect on sales of any SJG product.
__________________
My GURPS site and Blog.
Anthony is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 12:00 PM   #1195
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Žorkell View Post
If DFRPG failed, despite being amazing and all that, what hope is there for future hardcover releases for GURPS?

Is GURPS dead (not dead dead just mostly dead)?

These are questions that popped into my mind soon after reading the news about DFRPG in the stakeholder's report.

It's just frustrating and/or annoying to be here some time after the release of this thing that was supposed to be amazing and be hit with the news that it failed.
It failed to meet its commercial expectations, it still had high sales volume, coming in at #6. I think we had an uptick on new people on the forums this year and it did generate some buzz.
As for hardcovers, while Discworld coming in at #35 was probably good news for it indications are that hardcovers are a losing proposition and going away for awhile now.
But that does not mean GURPS itself is dead.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Owen Smith View Post
Which is my basic complaint. Part (only part obviously) of the reason other products don't sell as well is they aren't being pushed as hard.
I doubt the Illuminator will make much difference, if your reading it your already a SJG fan. So its good to hit things we might otherwise miss but not at getting new people.
Though and I am embarrassed this just occurred to me, we could retweet or share on Facebook. I checked and it has the buttons.
Marketing is however expensive and the time and money spent on it needs to be focused where it has the best ROI.
I would like to see more but cant blame them for not spending more money on it.
Some ideas though...
An annual GURPS kickstarter, or perhaps generic RPG item like cardboard heroes or Monster/Treasure cards. Even if its a PDF only GURPS release its still marketing. I could see the boxed sets we talked about for other genres or maybe a setting release. Perhaps even backers choice in a vote for one of these settings thing.

Some 15 minute or so video clip about GURPS on the Youtube channel.
Maybe the GURPS News or an unboxing type video discussing that months release plus the Pyramid. Fans could share it and that would generate more buzz.
I subscribe to it but its mostly Munchkin.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS9...UuxeVYUxV5nigA
But with 2,882 subscribers it should not be ignored. Every new release should get some love there, as it spreads the word to SJG fans of other products. I'll add such items to the Digital Spec thread.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 12:16 PM   #1196
Kromm
GURPS Line Editor
 
Kromm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post

[....] hardcovers are a losing proposition and going away for awhile now.

But that does not mean GURPS itself is dead.
Which very important information to disseminate. The current market for GURPS supports art-light B&W PDFs, mostly on the short side . . . and GURPS is alive and well in that form.

Everybody has the right to their preferences: hardback, softback, or PDF; color or B&W; art-heavy or art-light; 256 pages, 128 pages, 64 pages, or shorter; and so on. However, "GURPS done according to the precise preferences I enjoy" is a subset of "GURPS." From the perspective of someone whose entire income has depended on GURPS for 23 years, it's distressing when the failure to meet specific preferences is spoken of as death. That leads to the sort of rumor that can put a guy out of a job.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post

[...] we could retweet or share on Facebook.
Yep. Nothing prevents that. Lots of stuff on our site can be shared this way – the news here, for example.

—

Digital publication and social-media sharing are just realities of living in the current age. Reluctance to adopt may be a sign of a graying market, with all that implies.
__________________
Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com>
GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games
My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News]
Kromm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 12:28 PM   #1197
Ulairi
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
Which very important information to disseminate. The current market for GURPS supports art-light B&W PDFs, mostly on the short side . . . and GURPS is alive and well in that form.

Everybody has the right to their preferences: hardback, softback, or PDF; color or B&W; art-heavy or art-light; 256 pages, 128 pages, 64 pages, or shorter; and so on. However, "GURPS done according to the precise preferences I enjoy" is a subset of "GURPS." From the perspective of someone whose entire income has depended on GURPS for 23 years, it's distressing when the failure to meet specific preferences is spoken of as death. That leads to the sort of rumor that can put a guy out of a job.

Yep. Nothing prevents that. Lots of stuff on our site can be shared this way – the news here, for example.

—

Digital publication and social-media sharing are just realities of living in the current age. Reluctance to adopt may be a sign of a graying market, with all that implies.
Is there any chance we can see continued DF RPG support (for the box set) that is digital or POD? Or because we aren't going to see another printing of the box set and since it's almost sold out mean that we aren't going to see any more support specifically for the box set?
Ulairi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 12:34 PM   #1198
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post
That leads to the sort of rumor that can put a guy out of a job.
Or kills my favorite game, neither of which I find acceptable.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post

Yep. Nothing prevents that. Lots of stuff on our site can be shared this way – the news here, for example.
Sigh. And I never noticed or thought about that either.
I only have 27 twitter followers, mostly political but like my blog it means I am hitting people who may not be gamers. So that could be a win.
The fans need to remember and retweet or otherwise share these things, Every little bit helps.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 12:48 PM   #1199
Kromm
GURPS Line Editor
 
Kromm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Montréal, Québec
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ulairi View Post

Is there any chance we can see continued DF RPG support (for the box set) that is digital or POD? Or because we aren't going to see another printing of the box set and since it's almost sold out mean that we aren't going to see any more support specifically for the box set?
I cannot address that. I'm in charge of GURPS content: I have the final say on which queries, proposals, and drafts we accept – and even on specific words and rules, if I'm not so overcommitted that I have no time for review. How the game is marketed, published, licensed, distributed, etc. veers into more fiscal territory, and falls well outside my ambit. This is why I'm called "Line Editor" or occasionally "Line Developer" but never "Brand Manager."

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post

The fans need to remember and retweet or otherwise share these things, Every little bit helps.
Yes. That's why we love things like this, for instance.
__________________
Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com>
GURPS Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games
My DreamWidth [Just GURPS News]
Kromm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-20-2018, 01:37 PM   #1200
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: Report To The Stakeholders

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kromm View Post

Yes. That's why we love things like this, for instance.
Along these lines, could we get a share link on the product pages?
W23 or the GURPS book pages? Also the line ones, if they all use the same template it might be an easy push.
We could then share books we like when they come out, or even since the Gifting option is now available share some over the holidays or birthdays.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:19 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.