If one goes by what one sees with SJGames says in their report to shareholders both Discworld and Mars Attacks for Gurps 4E sold yet very poorly.
For sure, I said the same above
Especially when many were and are asking for Gurps vehicles for 4E. Yes I know it is being worked on for at least a decade or more. If it is not is not in stores at this point I am close to considering the rpg equivalent of vaporware.
It is a bit of a curate's egg, in my opinion. It is, at the same time, the product that is both highly requested and (at least in 3e guise) the poster-child for 'GURPS is too complex' as a meme.
Dungeon Fantasy was a very good step in the right direction unfortunately like the Hero System fanbase not enough fans want that level of complexity and crucnhiness and voted with their wallets and at this point perhaps too little too late.
The problem with many of these initiatives is that the current fan base have largely already got this stuff, certainly they don't need the box set. Though, I have personally found it extremely useful in arranging an intro game for players used to RPGs but not GURPS specifically. I think SJG's marketing is poor and they fail to put across well the strong points of GURPS in a way to attract new gamers into the system.
I see some here say that D&D does not come with a setting and that is true yet unlike Gurps many are willing to overlook that flaw as imo the system is still easier to teach to newcomers to the hobby.
I disagree that D&D is easier to teach new players. It may be easier for new players to learn 'all of it' versus all of GURPS (even the bits just focussed on Dungeon Fantasy) but GURPS is more reality based and so players can try anything they would try in the real world. D&D is more stylised in how it plays (at least for 3rd edition onwards). I think the big difference between D&D and GURPS is that there has been a dearth of GM-assets in the form of monsters, adventures and so on. To SJG credit they are working hard on that and making real progress. There is a significant body of work available for GURPS Dungeon Fantasy in particular and the are slowly opening up to 3rd party publishing which will allow this to accelerate.
The fans are also the problem as they refuse to want any changes to the either Gurps or Hero in their current form.
There are True Believers for most systems, and I agree that GURPS can attract a certain kind of detail-obsessed players. But there are also people like myself for whom GURPS is just 'good enough' whilst without being perfect. I've yet to find that perfect game...
Yet expect a miraculous Renaissance for both which will never come back. As once again the gamers voted with their wallets. Which is towards rules light less crunchy rpgs like Fate and Savage Worlds. Which fans of both refuse and pretend to accept.
GURPS isn't going to be for everyone, for sure. And that is cool. In this inter-connected world the trick is finding the audience who want what you are offering and that (again) is where I think SJG are failing. The fans need to spread the word more, too. So I am trying to do my bit without shilling
As Hero Games is on life support and Gurps is seeing less and less support from sJGames with the company focusing on more profitable IPs in their company. Again they flat out stat that in their report to shareholders which I notice the fans ignore.
Here's a link to the latest one. It paints a fairly brutal picture. The only GURPS product in the top-40 by sales value is
Characters. If SJG was publicly traded then GURPS would have been put to pasture long ago. It is only SJ's personal patronage that keeps it running. These things get regularly and hotly discussed on the SJG forums, too, btw.
I don't think SJG are pulling back from supporting GURPS
at the moment. They are in a transitional period away from the regular publishing of Pyramid into a model where you get more 'proper' supplements throughout the year. That just hasn't started to pay out yet, however if you look at the
GURPS News you'll see that they have eight new releases in production. Also, GURPS has only ever had two full-time resources on it in recent years (Kromm and P. Kitty) and they are still there, even if P. Kitty is rarely heard from as he is head-down in a big project that hasn't yet been announced.
There was also an
interesting hint that GURPS Girl Genius is still a live project, too.
So, GURPS isn't dead yet...