Pathfinder 1E Why Didn't Paizo Do their Own "Dragon/Dungeon?"

[MKMcArtor]

This post wasn't as funny on the Internet as it was in my head. Disregard.

 

[James Jacobs]

HA! Paizo folk comin' out of the woodwork!

 

[tenkar]

Very insightful answers from the Paizo folks.

I'd rather have a quality publisher that pays it's employees then a bankrupt publisher that... well, is bankrupt.

Course, thank god for Wolfgang... or else I might be chiming in with "why no magazine?" despite my better judgment... and yours

 

[Mouseferatu]

Course, thank god for Wolfgang...

Assuming he's not scared away from the magazine biz by this thread.

 

[DaveMage]

HA! Paizo folk comin' out of the woodwork!

Gah!


Get back in there!

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Most of the companies in it are either failing or about to fail. I'd guess that something like 65% of our game industry ads, including and especially ones from names a lot of you would recognize as "healthy" companies in the industry, never paid a cent for their ads because they went out of business, because they "lost" the insertion orders, or whatever. A good half of our ad guy's time was tracking down tiny companies and sending them to collections, which was a giant waste of time.

Wow.

And yet that sounds not at all unlike some of the stories a friend of mine tells from the days when he owned a brick-and-mortar bagel shop in the mid-West. He'd often struggle with having the shop's electricty turned off and then have to haggle with the electric company as to whether they'd turn it back on and for how much of a re-instatement fee. His stories always made me feels as if he was flying by the seat of his pants when it came to running his business. I don't know why I'm surprised to read that gaming companies are no different. :\

 

[kenobi65]

Assuming he's not scared away from the magazine biz by this thread.

Heh...bear in mind that KQ is, at least at this point, purely a subscription operation. While he's still facing the advertising issues that Erik describes, at least he's not facing the newsstand hassles yet.

 

[Terraism]

If you cannot manage the volume, the thing has to sell at a higher price, and folks won't buy a magazine at a high price.

You know, while most of the other reasons seem like enough on their own, I've heard this one thrown around a lot, and I really don't get it. Over the last four or five years, Dragon and Dungeon were consistently the cheapest magazines I purchased, by far. On average, any magazine I purchased from a newstand/bookstore has a cover price, near as I can figure, of around $12. I read a few bi-monthly ones who break $20. And, yes, they're still magazines. As another example, my fiance has been picking up wedding magazines here and there lately, and hers are in the same range.

I always figured that it was a sign of the general price inflation on reading material - sorta like how paperbacks are running around $10 now, when they used to be $1.50. In any case, the fact that all those magazines do quite well is proof positive that people do buy magazines at that price. Though perhaps not enough for fairly niche (gaming) ones.

 

[kenobi65]

On average, any magazine I purchased from a newstand/bookstore has a cover price, near as I can figure, of around $12. I read a few bi-monthly ones who break $20.

All I can say is, you're buying some dang pricey magazines.

I buy a number of magazines at newsstands, too (mostly to kill time while sitting in airports). Most of the ones I buy (titles like Car & Driver, Discover, Newsweek, Mental Floss, ToyFare, etc.) have cover prices more in the $5 - $7 range.

 

[Rauol_Duke]

Thanks James, Mike and Erik for enlightening us on Paizo's decision.

Scribble, now you've hit the trifecta - Three replies from Piazo's greatest (and Mike too ... just kidding Mike).

Hopefully this clears it up for you.