The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Hussar]

That’s a load of bull @overgeeked. Who spends 150 bucks on books? I haven’t spent that much in the past year. And I’ve run a weekly game for five adults.

There are very few hobbies cheaper than rpg gaming. It’s stated like this because gamers are so freaking cheap that game writers are living on slave wages.

Good grief. Privilege? Because I spend less than a dollar an hour to game and have done so for decades?

The books could be double the price and still be one of the cheapest HOBBIES we could do.

 

[payn]

 

[Cadence]

That’s a load of bull @overgeeked. Who spends 150 bucks on books? I haven’t spent that much in the past year. And I’ve run a weekly game for five adults.

There are very few hobbies cheaper than rpg gaming. It’s stated like this because gamers are so freaking cheap that game writers are living on slave wages.

Good grief. Privilege? Because I spend less than a dollar an hour to game and have done so for decades?

The books could be double the price and still be one of the cheapest HOBBIES we could do.

And so...

https://www.enworld.org/threads/is-ttrpging-an-expensive-hobby.702765/

 

[Umbran]

That’s a load of bull @overgeeked. Who spends 150 bucks on books? I haven’t spent that much in the past year. And I’ve run a weekly game for five adults.

If you don't have the disposable income, of course, staying within your means is a good thing.

But otherwise, this seems like trying to shame folks for spending on their hobbies, which is less a good thing.

There are very few hobbies cheaper than rpg gaming. It’s stated like this because gamers are so freaking cheap that game writers are living on slave wages.

You are entirely correct that, per hour, per person, RPGs can be extremely inexpensive entertainment.

But, calling gamers so cheap that writers can't make a living, in the same post that you announce that you yourself don't spend much money, is... a really weird flex.

Are you sure this makes your position seem terribly cogent?

 

[MNblockhead]

The argument is basically that RPGs are a good investment in time and money because they are, on a long enough timeline, worth the investment.

So who are you trying to justify your spending to and why? You like the things you like and, just like every other human, will bend over backwards to justify your preferences. But you don't need to. Especially not here of all places.

Why does the cost-benefit analysis of RPGs matter? Do you really think it will convince anyone to pick them up as a hobby? As I said above, there are cheaper hobbies that you can engage in more often than RPGs. Does that fact in any way persuade you to drop RPGs and pick up those hobbies instead? At a guess no. Because it’s not a convincing argument and no one picks up or abandons hobbies based on a cost-benefit analysis.

So, considering we're on a dedicated RPG forum, surrounded by RPG nerds, why is this meme so often repeated? Why repeat something that not only cannot be proven, but wouldn't matter at all even if it could? It's literally a pointless thing to say.

Yeah, it is one of those perennial discussions. Usually triggered by people complaining that the books are too expensive. I don't feel that I need to justify what I spend on my hobbies, but I really don't get the complaints over the price of the books.

 

[dragoner]

Pricing is funny. Higher the price, more gross sales, more likely to remain on the front page, and generate more sales. I just go for the $5 margin and I'll be happy, keep it cheap, use stock art, stuff like that. Some I have sold a decent amount, Solis People of the Sun is coming up on its year, and I have sold 380 copies, most of those through a memorial bundle I donated it to. Latest I fired off an email, I probably annoy them, though they answer by my first name now, "why such weird pricing?" Like what I was getting was all over the place, and they replied that it was selling all over the world, and those are the separate amounts for each place. I thought that was kind of neat. Also makes me happy to see someone download the core and setting, then three or four different accounts download the character sheet, that looks like a game starting, right on.

 

[Hussar]

If you don't have the disposable income, of course, staying within your means is a good thing.

But otherwise, this seems like trying to shame folks for spending on their hobbies, which is less a good thing.



You are entirely correct that, per hour, per person, RPGs can be extremely inexpensive entertainment.

But, calling gamers so cheap that writers can't make a living, in the same post that you announce that you yourself don't spend much money, is... a really weird flex.

Are you sure this makes your position seem terribly cogent?

Am I complaining about the price of books? No.

Have I said a single word about someone spending whatever they spend on their hobbies? No.

Are you presuming a bunch of stuff that I didn't say or even hint at? Yup.

Instead of trying to tell me what I am saying, howzabout just asking me what I think?

And, entirely right, this is a conversation for the other thread.

 

[Cadence]

A: You should try fresh pineapple on pizza sometime it's great!
B: I will next time I have pizza

<time passes>

A: How was it?
B: You bastard! I haven't had any pizza yet, it takes 34 months to grow a #%! fresh pineapple.


<- Note: Person A is not the one with the problem here.

 

[ichabod]

I feel that after I turned 50 I became entitled to complain about the price of anything.

FTFY.

 

[el-remmen]

It is one thing when someone describes an approach to the game that is completely unfathomable to me and counter to how I understand the point of it but they are having fun, so. . . that's fine.

But when someone describes an approach to the game that is completely unfathomable to me and counter to how I understand the point of it AND seems absolutely miserable about it. . .