With the genuinely exciting news about Amber and Pendragon-powered games, I'm wondering if there have been any other historical press releases by RPG companies which made you sit up and pay attention.
Too many companies these days underwelm us with press releases that are as exciting as a wet blanket.
We live in a world of fast news, and we forget the darker days of getting information.
Well, Green Ronin publishing a new DC Comics RPG was a big deal for me! I love DC, love MnM2e (with a few rules tweaks), and I really look forward to this game!
Quote from: samurai007;378878Well, Green Ronin publishing a new DC Comics RPG was a big deal for me! I love DC, love MnM2e (with a few rules tweaks), and I really look forward to this game!
Really?!?!?! That's got me excited, although this is the first I've heard of it...if they put the same level of quality in to it that the new Dragon Age set has, I'll be very pleased.
Are you basically just asking "which press releases got you excited"? If so, I guess I'd say that when Doctor Who was announced, and when Robotech was brought back, those both excited me.
RPGPundit
Does this include when Siembieda was panhandling for Palladium?
When Eden Studios announced SIN CITY. Which was an April Fool's Joke. Still makes me sad.
Quote from: shalvayez;378972Does this include when Siembieda was panhandling for Palladium?
Same thing I thought. Now there's a press release that will forever live in infamy...
Quote from: The Butcher;378983Same thing I thought. Now there's a press release that will forever live in infamy...
Wonder who will own Palladium, once Siembieda passes away.
The only announcements that have really gotten me excited that I can recall are those for new editions of Earthdawn. Totally lived up to the hype, too. I luv me some Earthdawn goodness.
Quote from: ggroy;378986Wonder who will own Palladium, once Siembieda passes away.
If KS were to pass away (knock on wood), Palladium would probably go with him. Though I'm quite sure someone else might snag some IP, esp. Rifts.
I haven't heard anything about a Pendragon-powered game.
Is there a link somewhere?
I think there was a thread in the same sub-forum, Understated Pendragon News.
The original post was a request for any press release (good or bad) by RPG companies that blew you away. The news item could be from any gaming era.
Not sure if this counts but...I always loved the advert in the Dungeon Masters Guide. The one for S1. I think that fits - it was in there for many years!
I was pretty excited when I first heard that TSR was going to release a 5th Edition of Gamma World, the one using the Alternity rules. Gamma World at that point had been out of print for a while. The previous edition, while quite playable in practice, was a typical cheapo TSR book with half baked rules and nasty, recycled art. It looked dated even when it was brand new. The Alternity range of games, by contrast, looked so pretty, so modern. It had things like skills!
In practice, things didn't quite work out and 5th edition Gamma World was a disaster, the whole Alternity range was cancelled before it was even released.
I've not really got worked up about game announcements since.
Quote from: Tommy Brownell;378978When Eden Studios announced SIN CITY. Which was an April Fool's Joke. Still makes me sad.
My thought when I read this was, Eden Studios still publishes books?
Quote from: Soylent Green;379134I was pretty excited when I first heard that TSR was going to release a 5th Edition of Gamma World, the one using the Alternity rules. Gamma World at that point had been out of print for a while. The previous edition, while quite playable in practice, was a typical cheapo TSR book with half baked rules and nasty, recycled art. It looked dated even when it was brand new. The Alternity range of games, by contrast, looked so pretty, so modern. It had things like skills!
In practice, things didn't quite work out and 5th edition Gamma World was a disaster, the whole Alternity range was cancelled before it was even released.
I've not really got worked up about game announcements since.
You blaspheme! The 4th edition of Gamma World was the best one printed! A darn site better than the Alternity edition at least.
I was blown away when Hasbro/WotC announced the My Little Pony RPG, because I thought: "Finally, those idiots have realized that they need to be targeting players outside the 14-40-year-old male demographic."
Then I realized that it was an April Fool's joke and became disappointed.
Then when I realized that those nitwits had the best idea they've ever had and thought it was a throwaway joke, and became even more depressed for the hobby.
But then, this is a company that has never figured out how to connect the dots and make RPGs out of Magic, GI Joe, Transformers, etc. even though they own the game rights to them and have an RPG studio.
Quote from: jdurall;379274I was blown away when Hasbro/WotC announced the My Little Pony RPG, because I thought: "Finally, those idiots have realized that they need to be targeting players outside the 14-40-year-old male demographic."
Then I realized that it was an April Fool's joke and became disappointed.
Then when I realized that those nitwits had the best idea they've ever had and thought it was a throwaway joke, and became even more depressed for the hobby.
I am totally agreed here. I have a little girl who was all about watching the Pony/Dora kinda of stuff when they did that and I thought it was a hideously lost opportunity.
They just put out that "Heroes of Hesiod" thing but they're still trying to make it 4e D&D instead of thinking outside the box.
Most of those kids shows - Dora is the best example - are structured EXACTLY LIKE A FUCKING RPG ADVENTURE. Just with less combat crunch.
There's a party, a goal, and 3 obstacles to overcome to get there. The obstacles require you to solve little puzzles or do little activities. Heck, it could be formatted to be the perfect thing for a parent and a batch of kids; the activities could be things that don't require the parent's constant supervision ("To get by the troll at the bridge, you each have to draw him a picture of himself!") You make a pad of adventures, licensed-character toys to use as character representations, and bang you have 10-20% of the kids in the US doing starter roleplaying. A bunch of people are talking about kid roleplaying right now but it's always in the same retarded "they need base attack bonus and encounter powers!" kind of sense. But it would be so simple to think outside the box and get something kids starting at like 4 would enjoy.
Quote from: Tetsubo;379268My thought when I read this was, Eden Studios still publishes books?
This was like...two weeks...before they announced City of Heroes. The announcement dampened the enthusiasm for CoH, IMHO.
Quote from: jdurall;379274I was blown away when Hasbro/WotC announced the My Little Pony RPG, because I thought: "Finally, those idiots have realized that they need to be targeting players outside the 14-40-year-old male demographic."
Then I realized that it was an April Fool's joke and became disappointed.
Then when I realized that those nitwits had the best idea they've ever had and thought it was a throwaway joke, and became even more depressed for the hobby.
But then, this is a company that has never figured out how to connect the dots and make RPGs out of Magic, GI Joe, Transformers, etc. even though they own the game rights to them and have an RPG studio.
Agreed 100%. It's worth noting that
Bella Sara (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bella_Sara) is a horse-themed trading card game for young girls that has been and continues to be quite popular.
The press releases that are discussed the longest seem to be the ones for terrible games that claim to be the best game ever.
Quote from: ggroy;378986Wonder who will own Palladium, once Siembieda passes away.
It will be buried with him, in a pyramid with an eye that shoots lasers, and then a robo-dinosaur will eat the pyramid.
Quote from: Age of Fable;379317It will be buried with him, in a pyramid with an eye that shoots lasers, and then a robo-dinosaur will eat the pyramid.
And a cyborg warrior will mount it and train it to do cartwheels.
Quote from: Tommy Brownell;379311This was like...two weeks...before they announced City of Heroes. The announcement dampened the enthusiasm for CoH, IMHO.
You just mentioned one of my counter-examples. I remember Eden making a big deal about an upcoming announcement. "We're so excited about this. Blah blah blah." And then it was . . . City of Heroes. Don't get me wrong. I like City of Heroes just fine as an MMO. But the thought of turning it into a tabletop RPG(much less being *excited* about the idea) seriously made me wonder if someone had been hitting the "pipe" a little too hard.
I have 2 daughters aged 7 and 4, and they would adore the idea of a Dora The Explorer type RPG.
Quote from: winkingbishop;379324And a cyborg warrior will mount it and train it to do cartwheels.
Not just cartwheels, but cartwheel kicks, for 1d6 x 10 mega-damage (counts as two attacks).
Quote from: GeekEclectic;379370You just mentioned one of my counter-examples. I remember Eden making a big deal about an upcoming announcement. "We're so excited about this. Blah blah blah." And then it was . . . City of Heroes. Don't get me wrong. I like City of Heroes just fine as an MMO. But the thought of turning it into a tabletop RPG(much less being *excited* about the idea) seriously made me wonder if someone had been hitting the "pipe" a little too hard.
Did Eden ever even make either the Sin City game or the City of Heroes game?
Have they put out any books in like the last three years? That zombies in space book was the last one I remember ever coming out from them, and I know that was a very long time ago.
Quote from: jgants;379573Did Eden ever even make either the Sin City game or the City of Heroes game?
Have they put out any books in like the last three years? That zombies in space book was the last one I remember ever coming out from them, and I know that was a very long time ago.
Sin City was an April Fool's Joke.
City of Heroes wasn't SUPPOSED to be...
Print books? I don't think so. I'm pretty sure the PDFs of Ghosts of Albion and Eden Studios Presents #3 both came in the last two years.