Report To The Stakeholders

[ColBosch]

Well, given that Munchkin sells about as much in a year as GURPS does in, well, ever - and I'm only slightly exaggerating - I think I'm going to have to disagree.

By the way, I have a complete run of GURPS books and literally nothing Munchkin-related, so I know how *I* feel. The market, on the other hand, disagrees. So be it.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Magic_Octopus

I do think that GURPS is more important than Munchkin in terms of Steve's legacy, and should be handled as such.

Whether Steve would agree, I haven't the faintest idea. He no longer involves himself in the GURPS editorial process, though.

Anyway, it's always been made clear that SJGames exists to be a robust, profitable company, not as a monument to Steve's design legacy. Though that leaves the question of how one explains the Ogre reprint, or whether GURPS would still be published at all without some sentimentality; companies with a huge fat cash cow and a bunch of less profitable sidelines normally end up focussing entirely on milking the cash cow, killing off the tiresome distractions, in the gaming business as elsewhere.

[pestigor]

I'm afraid of the day my signature no longer applies. Though I think we're there right now.

[mehrkat]

Even without print products GURPS is incredibly robust with one digital product and one pyramid each month.

I suspect whatever is going on with viable print products will be resolved next year.

[Magic_Octopus]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

It did? Where and in what way was it negative?

Posters earlier in the thread said that they encounter fewer weird looks and bad comments and more positive attitudes towards GURPS than before. Although you might not consider the reputation bad in general, reading forums for years I have come to the conclusion that GURPS has had, for some, an off-putting reputation of being insanely crunchy and difficult to approach.

[Andrew Hackard]

Originally Posted by Magic_Octopus

I do think that GURPS is more important than Munchkin in terms of Steve's legacy, and should be handled as such.

"Steve's legacy," although incredibly valuable to those of us who have been fans of his company for decades, is not something concrete on which one may base a business model. GURPS and Munchkin are both important parts of SJ Games' history; starting a Sharks/Jets fight about which one is more important (GURPS has been around longer; Munchkin has sold more) serves no one's interest.

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

The GURPS Basic Set is out of print? Keeping that in print at all times was set as one of the goals of the Report one year I believe, I can't remember which one though.

Characters is almost out of print; Campaigns has a few months yet. Reprints of both are very nearly through the pipeline. Not being involved in the GURPS line planning, I can't comment about whether or not this meets our goal as you state it.

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

It's been said that taking away Munchkin, that GURPS and SJ Games without Munchkin is at least as succesful as it was historically in the 3E years.

Said by whom?

Originally Posted by Phil Masters

Anyway, it's always been made clear that SJGames exists to be a robust, profitable company, not as a monument to Steve's design legacy. Though that leaves the question of how one explains the Ogre reprint, or whether GURPS would still be published at all without some sentimentality;

Sometimes, we make publishing decisions based on what we want to do, rather than what is necessarily the best for us right at that moment. I don't think we made any secret of the fact that the Ogre Designer's Edition was a game that we never would have published (certainly not as it ended up being!) if the bottom line were the only factor.

Originally Posted by pestigor

I'm afraid of the day my signature no longer applies. Though I think we're there right now.

Perhaps it's time to find a new signature, then. There's plenty of room in the hobby for Munchkin fans and GURPS fans to coexist without trying to start fights about which one is more deserving of our time and money.

[philreed]

Originally Posted by Owen Smith

Of course doing nothing but milking the cash cow runs the risk that when it dies you have nothing else to turn to, or at least nothing else ready. That might be a reason SJ Games continues to do other things.

Please note that SJGames isn't a publicly traded company. The company is owned solely by Steve, meaning that we have more flexibility than some and we are not driven purely by profits. We want to survive and grow, yes, but we also work to produce the games that Steve wants us to create.

This allows us to publish games that are fun, regardless of whether or not they are in vogue or potential smash hits. We (almost) always aim for profitability with projects -- being here ten years from now is as important as publishing great games -- but we don't have to make decisions that only increase shareholder dividends.

[Magic_Octopus]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

"Steve's legacy," although incredibly valuable to those of us who have been fans of his company for decades, is not something concrete on which one may base a business model. GURPS and Munchkin are both important parts of SJ Games' history; starting a Sharks/Jets fight about which one is more important (GURPS has been around longer; Munchkin has sold more) serves no one's interest.

I would not support basing a business model on such intangibles as a legacy. And I didn't want to start a fight, apologies for that. I just think that there must be a way to keep GURPS books coming with all the monneez from other products if that in considered important enough. Easy for me to say, obviously.

Really, GURPS support is fantastic if not getting physical books doesn't bother you. The quality of the supplements is top of the industry. I'm just a dinosaur who prefers books to PDFs.

[Phil Masters]

Originally Posted by Andrew Hackard

I don't think we made any secret of the fact that the Ogre Designer's Edition was a game that we never would have published (certainly not as it ended up being!) if the bottom line were the only factor.

Personally, although I bear Ogre in general no malice at all, I think that project was a bit of a disaster, even if it did end up making money. It clearly ate the attention of far too many staff for a year or two when they could have been doing something else - anything else, lots of anythings else - and it poisoned the company's view of Kickstarter at precisely the time when that was becoming a crucial tool for virtually every other company in the RPG business.

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by Magic_Octopus

... I just think that there must be a way to keep GURPS books coming with all the monneez from other products if that in considered important enough. Easy for me to say, obviously. ...

If there is a way to keep the printed supplements coming, then I'd love to see the rest of the SJGames back-catalog get the same treatment (and not just for In Nomine). However, I'm enough of a realist that, while I would love to see a One-Page Bulge Deluxe Edition on decent cardstock some day, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it.

If the realistic options are "electronic documents" or "no support at all", I'll happily accept electronic documents. (If the only realistic option is "no support at all", I'll be sad... but ultimately move on.)