[UA] [OT] Re: Johnny Come Lately

[Michael Daisey]

Todd Erickson wrote:
> 
> Heh.  Please don't hate me for taking a totally unrelated thread
> on...*grin*
> The Johnny Come Lately article (on the Rev page) talks about how, in
> order to be successful in times to come, RPG's are either going to
> have to be
> 1. Very small, so that they aren't extending themselves too far, or
> 2. Connected to the video game market, since that's the direction many
> companies seem to be going, or
> 3. Connected to a spinoff, such as CCG's, TV series, etc.
> 
> While 1 and 3 are probably, 2 gives me pause.  

	I think that the reason 2. is true is that video games are
	MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more profitable than RPGs.

	No published books , where profit margin is low...just 
	CDs and a thin instruction manual.  Cheap to produce, 
	and a public that expects to pay $50+ dollars a pop.

	We may lament the lack of intelligence/interactivity in these
	games, but that doesn't make them less popular.

> Or am I just doomed to be attracted to a
> method of gaming which is quickly dying?

	Actually, I think it's dying slowly.  ;)

	Doubtless it will take a long time going...and self-published
	web material will prevent the games from trully vanishing.

	OTOH, the numbers just aren't there for more than a small
	niche market, unless someone can break the mold like
	M:TG did.


-- 
Michael Daisey
----
"It is not the oath that makes us believe the man, but the man the
oath." Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.), Greek dramatist. Fragments, no. 385.