Anyone care to hazard a guess, educated if possible, along with your reasoning behind it, as to how well Doctor Who is doing for Cubicle 7 sales-wise?
Of course, if the C7 people want to tell us how well its doing, we'll be glad to hear about it from them, and then no doubt comment about that.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;359126Anyone care to hazard a guess, educated if possible, along with your reasoning behind it, as to how well Doctor Who is doing for Cubicle 7 sales-wise?
Of course, if the C7 people want to tell us how well its doing, we'll be glad to hear about it from them, and then no doubt comment about that.
RPGPundit
I understand from Angus that the first print has just about sold out and C7 are seeking quotes for a second printing. That must mean it has been a success in anyone's book, even without knowing the actual numbers involved...
Quote from: Simon W;359249I understand from Angus that the first print has just about sold out and C7 are seeking quotes for a second printing. That must mean it has been a success in anyone's book, even without knowing the actual numbers involved...
I agree with you, I think that is an indication of success.
However, I disagree that it is an indication of success "in anyone's book". When the 4e PHB, DMG, and MM sold it's first AND second print run, lots of people still said it was not a good indication of success. And when Pathfinder sold out it's first run, some people said that too was not a good indication of success. So, some folks apparently do not think selling out a first print run is a good indication of success.
Or you get like Dark Heresy which sold out in under 24 hours (if that even) and got an entire RPG company closed down. :D
Selling out the first print run is irrelevant. All it means is that various distribution companies bought the amount they agreed to before it was printed. If the print run has sold out, but the boxes are sat on shop shelves gathering dust, its not a successful game.
All that said, I believe the game is selling rather well.
Yup. I think the real test has to be if a SECOND print run sells out. Then you know that a game is at least a moderate success.
RPGPundit
I think the second printing is the one where they're planning to do the big mass market push, with the new doctor on the covers and the new typeface and whatnot so that is the print run that will sink or swim based on public interest and the one to seek sales stats for.
Quote from: Broken-Serenity;359331I think the second printing is the one where they're planning to do the big mass market push, with the new doctor on the covers and the new typeface and whatnot so that is the print run that will sink or swim based on public interest and the one to seek sales stats for.
Yeah that raises an issue, is the game geared towards David Tennant? Up comes a game but it's got the "old" doctor. Is the new one at least mentioned if not stated or whatnot in the game? It's not quite as bad as Decipher continually not having a new product on the shelves whenever a LotR movie came out or was released on DVD but it could be potentially not good!
Quote from: Casey777;359369Yeah that raises an issue, is the game geared towards David Tennant? Up comes a game but it's got the "old" doctor. Is the new one at least mentioned if not stated or whatnot in the game? It's not quite as bad as Decipher continually not having a new product on the shelves whenever a LotR movie came out or was released on DVD but it could be potentially not good!
I'm quite pleased to have the game now rather than having to delay just to get Matt Smith on the cover. Having said that, I do plan to buy the version with the new trade dress when that comes out.
Allen
I think there gonna change out some of the characters for new ones, so the new doc will replace tennant and so on.
I don't think there's really anything missing in the game right now, unless you're just one of those anal obessives for "Official" stats. Because really, you can use the rules perfectly well to have the stats for the Matt Smith Doctor.
Assuming that the new printing comes out early in Smith's run, I think the only think likely to change in the manual is the artwork.
RPGPundit
Frankly i could care less if they change anything in the boxset, i think any changes they make will be due to the fact its gonna be a major release so they will make sure the new doc is the one in all the books and stuff(including the character sheets).
I forget now, I've barely had any time to actually look at my set, but is there even one pic of poor old Chris Eccelston in the whole thing?
How much do you want to bet that when the Matt Smith box set comes out, there'll still be plenty of pics of Tennant?
RPGPundit
I think they'll just add matt smiths doctor and the new companions sheets into the mix and probably offer those of us who have the set already a .pdf file of the sheets for download via that special site they plan to launch along side the public release, i wonder if the monster guide will contain anything new though? or maybe they'll release an updated version of that aswell down the line?
Quote from: RPGPundit;359660I forget now, I've barely had any time to actually look at my set, but is there even one pic of poor old Chris Eccelston in the whole thing?
How much do you want to bet that when the Matt Smith box set comes out, there'll still be plenty of pics of Tennant?
RPGPundit
But Tennant is pretty and Eccelston has those funny ears.
Quote from: RPGPundit;359660How much do you want to bet that when the Matt Smith box set comes out, there'll still be plenty of pics of Tennant?
RPGPundit
Well, to be fair, there are more Tennant episodes to pull still shots from. Would be nice if other pics of other Doctors / Companions / Monsters could be used, but that'd be a BBC call, wouldn't it?
I wouldn't mind if they dialed back the "group crouched together, looking anxiously at the reader," shots as they're just goofy, but that is a personal opinion. Still can't get over how
nice the box set is...
Quote from: jibbajibba;359694But Tennant is pretty and Eccelston has those funny ears.
And Eccleston appears eager to move on from his stint as The Doctor, not that he, personally, could prevent the BBC from licensing his image.
!i!
Quote from: Mistwell;359250I agree with you, I think that is an indication of success.
However, I disagree that it is an indication of success "in anyone's book". When the 4e PHB, DMG, and MM sold it's first AND second print run, lots of people still said it was not a good indication of success. And when Pathfinder sold out it's first run, some people said that too was not a good indication of success. So, some folks apparently do not think selling out a first print run is a good indication of success.
Except Pathfinder didn't sell out it's first print run when they said that it did. They over-estimated sales for GenCon and ended up with a surplus. You could buy left overs from their site on the Thursday after GenCon. That's how I got my first copy. But does that indicate failure? I don't think so. I do believe they are in their second (or later) run now and, like Pundit said, that's really the true measure of success. It's easy to sell those original copies based on hype but what happens if the public cracks the book open and finds out that the final product is nothing like what the playtest or hype indicated (not saying this about Pathfinder, just hypothetically)? Continued orders from distributors shows that the books are moving, so those second and third sell-outs are very strong indicators.
Success seems to be a -very- hard thing to measure when it comes to RPGs. I would definitely say Pathfinder is a success. I hope that Doctor Who is a success (haven't heard much about it yet, but I'm eying that box very closely). Bu my opinions are kind of worthless in that I hope every RPG succeeds just to strengthen the industry. =/
Quote from: Ian Absentia;359744And Eccleston appears eager to move on from his stint as The Doctor, not that he, personally, could prevent the BBC from licensing his image.
!i!
That doesn't sound very likely to me; I can't imagine an actor would be given that kind of power by the Beeb.
RPGPundit
Quote from: RPGPundit;360182That doesn't sound very likely to me; I can't imagine an actor would be given that kind of power by the Beeb.
Which is essentially what I stated. On the flip-side, though, I'd have to wonder if the BBC might want to put a little distance between their IP and an actor who's none too enthusiastic about his role in it.
!i!
We're actually reprinting the Tennant edition for now as the Matt Smith edition won't be out until late summer (once his first season has finished airing in the UK so we can use all the imagery without spoilers).
When the Matt Smith edition comes out we'll be changing the Doctor and Companion mix of sheets in the set - adding new ones such as the 11th Doctor, Amy Pond and River Song and removing the 10th Doctor, etc.
The 10th Doctor, and companions, will be reappearing in the Tenth Doctor Supplement (and Ecclestone's 9th Doctor will be in, you guessed it, the Ninth Doctor Supplement and so forth through the various incranations).
We'll be doing a big push when the 11th Doctor Core Set is released. The reprint of the current set is really to make sure stock is still available through to the release (or atleast close to the release) of the 11th Doctor Core Set. It's not good to have your core rules out of print whilst still releasing supplements for the game. Plus if we are left with some Tennant Core Sets over I don't think that will harm us as there are lots of Tennant fans out there as well as Doctor Who/RPG memorabilia collectors who will probably still be interested in the choice.
Doctor Who has been very successful for us. But bear in mind that selling out of your first print run is great - but it also depends on how many you printed in that run. Dark Heresy and Pathfinder both printedin the region of 20,000 copies in their first run - sold out quickly and reprinted more (Pathfinder is on their third reprint I believe). The D&D 3rd Edition books sold about 500,000 copies in the first year they were available. Most RPGs print between 1,000-4,000 copies these days and that stock lasts them a while. We printed more than 4,000 (but a lot less than 20,000) copies of the initial set. It's certainly been a success for us and distributors are continuing to reorder (thus also prompting the reprint). I'd imagine we're probably currently fourth or fifth in the years core rulebook sales - after Pathfinder, Dark Heresy, D&D and maybe Rogue Trader. Warhammer 3rd Edition may have also given us a run for our money.
The real test of any game is not necessarily how well the core rules sell (although games such as Mouseguard that has no supplements is still selling very, very well and should be considered a success) but how well the supplements sell. That shows you how many of the people who brought that first set of rules are actually playing or continuing to support the game.
For us the Doctor Who Screen, which was our first supplementary release, has been a very good seller two so we are hopeful. But we'll get a better picture when we release things such as the Aliens and Creatures set and Defending The Earth: The UNIT Sourcebox as they are meatier products with new game info.
Hope that helps a little?
Best wishes,
--
Angus Abranson
Cubicle 7 Entertainment Ltd
//www.cubicle7.co.uk
Publishers of SLA Industries, Victoriana, Starblazer Adventures, QIN:
The Warring States and the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game
oxxxx[====================>
Thanks for the clarifications and info. I'm more interested in the current images at the moment anyway. Will there be a free 11th Dr. pdf update for those who buy one of the current printings?
Quote from: Angus_A;360207Defending The Earth: The UNIT Sourcebox
A boxed UNIT set?
WANT
Um, is there a Doctor Who RPG page on your website? I see the listings on the storesite (including a very cool cover for the UNITbox) but nothing on the site. Is it over at the Beeb's site perhaps? :confused:
- needs coffee
Yeah, I am buying the UNIT set come what may, and may well therefore pick up the core set at the same time.
Just as an aside, I've been playing in a Dr. Who game online via chat on Infrno, and am extremely impressed with how easily it lends itself to that format.
The simple resolution mechanic works well with the dice mechanic and the straightforward system is very intuitive for people who don't have the rules.