[UA] Release Schedule, alternative products

[Dylan Craig]

> I'm sorry, but in the current industry climate, it's not enough to simply
>be a good game.  You have to constantly renew the interest of the
> people you have, while simultaneously bringing new players in to expand
> the market

I agree, and while I'm not a retailer or marketing guru, I just don't think
chucking supplements at an unresponsive market is the way to achieve this. It
was mentioned that supplements aren't the cash cow of any given line; surely the
point behind publicity is to get people who have never played interested, get
them to buy the core rules, and get them hooked? -Ten- supplements a year isn't
going to do that, especially if there are already retail bottlenecks.

Have you considered an alternative product line? What I have in mind is
something priced around $5, no binding or book-format, just a stapled,
shrink-wrapped folio with a striking loose-leaf cover, containing:

1. the core UA rules (UA chapter 3)
2. the setting (chapters one and two, maybe a short story)
3. five or six pre-gens
4. a one-shot or two-part adventure
5. teaser merchandise: a UA sticker or poster, an Invisible Clergy button,
whatever.

This is aimed at people who don't regularly play UA; basically, it occupies a
single shelf unit in the game store, and it's priced low enough that with the
impressive cover, people pick it up for curiosity value (you could also sell it
at con stalls or include it gratis with larger Atlas mail orders), play it, and
come back for the meat. It's a much better way than expecting them to buy UA,
sight unseen, after flipping through the core rules in a gaming store somewhere.
The content could be carefully moderated so that retailers don't have to be
uneasy about 'adult content' (maybe that means 'mature themes' without 'mature
language', if you guys can bear it).

Based on the interest I've seen around One Shots, I think there are a lot of
people who wouldn't mind taking a poke at UA, but there's nobody to demo it for
them or attending a demo isn't convenient for them. This way, they're running
their own demo, and paying enough to defray the costs of making the package in
the first place. Even existing fans, I'm sure, wouldn't mind shelling out $5 for
a new adventure and a piece of merchandise, so you can have your cake and eat it
too.

On the pure publicity front, how much effort is being put into UA promotion? UA
had a powerful, faintly scandalous buzz when it came out; were any attempts made
to capitalize on that subsequently, with con events and public appearances? How
about a UA road trip, complete with tour bus? You could probably sell tickets on
this list... ;)

Anyway, what I guess I'm getting at is that maybe you need to approach the UA
publicity challenge from another angle than just putting more supplements on the
shelves.

DC
--
"When you hear sweet syncopation / And the music softly moans
T'ain't no sin to take off your skin / And dance around in your bones"
Dylan Craig · Writer and Observer · Cape Town, South Africa
Contact Details: http://www.eyeballkid.co.za/contact.html

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