I got turned off on Mongoose's practices back when they were mostly doing miniatures wargames... they seemed kind of flighty and not inclined stick with things that didn't insure quick success. I imagine that I see that continued in their RPG lines where everything on offer is some revamped license.
Add in nasty rumours of how they treated some of their creative folks... stories of substandard products... comes out the other side as a bad reputation that keeps me from indulging them.
They're the only company other that Palladium that I flat out refuse to buy from, despite having some tempting things on offer.

Quote from: Windjammer;422457If one company can thrive under the recession (Paizo) I can't see why others could not. It's not as if Paizo have got the secret recipe for success. Most of what they do is mimicking WotC at the heyday of 3.5.

Paizo is special case.   They are selling D&D to prior edition D&D fans.   They had a built-in marketplace selling the big daddy of RPGs.

Mongoose and others companies have to fight an uphill battle for customers.  

It's why the OSR publishers have an easier time than small publishers who are trying to launch fresh, new game concepts.

Quote from: Ian Warner;422770I'm toying with the idea of setting up a game shop of my own if the current trend continues and nobody employs me.

Don't build a game shop.   Build the center of a hobby community.  

If you are serious about doing it, find the "best" FLGS in the country, take a roadtrip and visit them.  

Then do lots of uncover snooping, steal their best ideas and build your own.

It's not rocket science, but a successful hobby center in a recession requires being FAR more than a retail outlet with a "build it and they will shop" mentality.

Now that Mongoose is no longer doing Conan, I'm not seeing much upcoming from them that I have an interest in buying. I might buy some of the Traveller books.

Quote from: ColonelHardisson;422879Now that Mongoose is no longer doing Conan, I'm not seeing much upcoming from them that I have an interest in buying. I might buy some of the Traveller books.

Yeah, Conan was one of the best d20 games out there. A pity to see that license go, especially since they were considering SW Conan and MRQII Conan.

I've finally picked up MRQII Core, Monster Coliseum and Vikings.

I'll still pick up MRQII Empires, Elric, and maybe Deus Vult; and I'll look into a couple of Traveller books.

I'd love to pick up Necromantic Arts (I'm a sucker for books on the undead), but the comments on editorial mistakes have been mildly discouraging.

Quote from: ColonelHardisson;422879Now that Mongoose is no longer doing Conan, I'm not seeing much upcoming from them that I have an interest in buying. I might buy some of the Traveller books.

For a while there (and largely coinciding with their statement about a peak in 2009), Mongoose was the main recipient of my RPG dollars. They were the publisher for Spycraft and Traveller.

Now I'm saturated on Traveller and Crafty Games has a new publisher/distributor, I send almost no dollars Mongoose's way.

Personal anecdote aside, I think that online gaming is supplanting sales that might have once went to printed hobby games. Sad to me, but its the way of the world.

But I ever wonder if computer games are doing all that well. Now they bank on a subscription model, which seems to me like it would thrive on a season of excess. Subscription models are nice for surviving lapses of interest, but once you are talking about an audience that is trying to cut monthly expenses, it seems like the reliability of the subscription thinking doesn't hold anymore, as subscription all of the sudden get the attention of people looking to axe monthly expenses.

Matt Sprange (of Mongoose) makes some assertions about 4E D&D and 4E Essentials.

http://forum.rpg.net/showpost.php?p=13202526&postcount=96

- "It is no secret 'in the industry' that 4e has been less than stellar. The initial core books did well enough and there has been a bump with the Essentials, but it does not seem to have been doing as well as it should. In some territories, Pathfinder (as an entire line, rather than individual titles) has overtaken 4e. If things carry on as they are, the best-selling RPG will no longer be the best-selling RPG - if you take my meaning."

- "We also know that some Traveller supplements released at the same time as some 4e supplements have sold better through the larger distributors.

That should simply never happen. Traveller is popular, sure, but it should not be able to touch D&D, especially in the official supplement market."

- "It may not be unfair to say that everyone except Paizo hopes that WotC release a 5th edition very soon and that it gives RPGs as a whole a nice 3e-style boost. I don't think it will have that effect, but we can hope."

4e is only 2 years old. If people are already talking new edition, it must be doing terribly.

Quote from: Pete Nash;422675That's not to say that other issues don't need improving too, but they are being worked on and with an extra editor now back at the company we shouldn't shouldn't see any more A&E or NA in the RQ line at least.

Recent releases such as Vikings and Pavis Rises are both very tight books and thus far have been well received. Hopefully, the current level of editorial competence will continue.

That's good to hear, Pete.  I'll certainly try to keep an open mind with regard to future MRQII products.

And, as I mentioned in my earlier message, I'm looking forward to picking up Vikings.

Quote from: ggroy;422723Awhile ago I thought about picking up the main book for Clockwork & Chivalry (C&C).  From skimming it a few times at a gaming store, it looked semi-interesting.

But in the end I decided against jumping on the C&C treadmill.  I've only played one pickup game of MRQ2, and most likely will not play Runequest again for a long time.  I've been trying to avoid buying too many rpg books, which end up sitting on my bookshelf collecting dust for many years.

I find the English Civil War extremely interesting, and so enjoy simply reading the C&C books (although I do hope to run a MRQII C&C campaign eventually).

Quote from: danbuter;4230564e is only 2 years old. If people are already talking new edition, it must be doing terribly.

I figure where there's smoke, there's fire, and I'm saying that as a 4e fan. At the least, 4e probably isn't doing as well as expected after 3e's success. One can only hope that the powers-that-be take a close look at what changed and try to rebuild some of the good will of the fans. They could do this by allowing the sale of the pdfs that were pulled, moving back towards the OGL, and doing an extensive, 3e-like playtest of any new edition. I hope they'd retain a lot of the stuff I liked about 4e, but address some of the most criticized stuff like the cutting back on non-combat-related skills and making skill challenges more clear. For that matter, I hope they figure out a way to make the game more modular, so those who like either 3e or 4e could end up with a game to their liking. I don't think anything like this will happen; it's all just wishful thinking.

Quote from: ggroy;423050"It is no secret 'in the industry' that 4e has been less than stellar. The initial core books did well enough and there has been a bump with the Essentials, but it does not seem to have been doing as well as it should. In some territories, Pathfinder (as an entire line, rather than individual titles) has overtaken 4e. If things carry on as they are, the best-selling RPG will no longer be the best-selling RPG - if you take my meaning."

He's talking about book sales, not overall profit.

What I find interesting is that he's talking about what a slump 4e book sales are in and yet the competition still can't move to the number one spot...

Seanchai

Quote from: ColonelHardisson;423067I figure where there's smoke, there's fire...

We know there's fire. Go back and look at the design of previous editions - work on them began years before they were released.

Seanchai

4E's primary goal right now is damage control. They're losing so much goodwill from their hardcore customers with the haphazard release of the Character Builder that they should put all the money they got to set that straight first.

I also think Essentials was horribly timed. It's Christmas time and you can't buy a premium 4.Core product, as in, new 40 dollar hardcovers.

Quote from: Windjammer;4230714E's primary goal right now is damage control. They're losing so much goodwill from their hardcore customers with the haphazard release of the Character Builder that they should put all the money they got to set that straight first.

I also think Essentials was horribly timed. It's Christmas time and you can't buy a premium 4.Core product, as in, new 40 dollar hardcovers.

The Perfect Storm.

Quote from: Seanchai;423068He's talking about book sales, not overall profit.

What I find interesting is that he's talking about what a slump 4e book sales are in and yet the competition still can't move to the number one spot...

Seanchai

Didn't Pathfinder tie D&D for the #1 spot amongst hobby channels in a recent quarterly ICV2 analysis?