Pathfinder Tops D&D Again

According to the latest estimates released by ICV2.com, Pathfinder was once again the sales leader in the RPG field this summer, beating out the "genre-defining title" Dungeons & Dragons. Rounding out the field are Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader by FFG, Dragon Age, and Dungeon Crawl Classics.

I've got to say that last one surprises me a bit, but I'm pleased as anything that something that is deliberately being aimed at the old-school market is doing so well when stacked up against all the other RPGs that are out there. Even if I don't personally care for it, it's helping my corner of the hobby, and thus I wish it well.

Bear in mind that these are estimates based on a variety of different sources, since most gaming companies don't publish straightforward sales statistics. They're still regarded as pretty much the only source for comparison. 

Read More

Saying Exactly the Right Things

A quick follow-up to yesterday's news regarding online gaming from WotC and Paizo. Here's Lisa Stevens, Paizo CEO, on their strategy:

Just to make things 100% clear, we don't care what VTT tool people end up using. If you like Roll20.net or d20Pro or Fantasy Grounds or Nferno or whatever, then that is fine and dandy with us. Keep using them and playing games. We just wanted to give folks another option here on Paizo Game Space. We aren't in competition with the other VTTs. We aren't going to be trying to outcompete and steal their customers away. People can play with whatever VTT strikes their fancy. We will make ours the way it makes the most sense for us, and if folks don't like that and like some other VTT better, then awesome.

I know that sounds like crazy talk, to not want to crush your enemies and hear the lamentations of the women, but we are crazy like that here at Paizo. In the end, we just want people to be able to play more regularly. If that is here, then great. If it is somewhere else, that is cool too.

Man, but that's a terrific attitude.

Read More

Some Virtual Gaming News from Wizards and Paizo

WotC's VTT

Here's a two-fer on a subject that a lot of gamers are following closely; virtual gaming.

First, from Wizards of the Coast, comes the announcement that they're shutting down the Beta test of their Virtual Table Top:

"I wanted to inform you all about an important decision that Wizards has made regarding the D&D Virtual Table and Virtual Table Beta. While we appreciate the enthusiasm and participation in the Beta phase, we were unable to generate enough support for the tool to launch a full version to the public. Effective July 30, 2012 the D&D Virtual Table Beta will be coming to an end and the VT will be closed.

Over the next three weeks, we encourage you to wrap up your existing campaigns and make sure to gather contact information from your online group members so that you can stay in touch if you like. We realize that because all data generated in the tool is in a proprietary format usable only by the Virtual Table, it is not possible to export your campaigns for use in another tool. You can, however, take screenshots of any notes, maps or adventures that you would like to hang on to or use in your home games.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the VT Beta and look forward to continuing to support D&D game play through our D&D Insider digital tools and D&D Next."

Paizo's PGS

Certainly a bummer for those who like to (or must) do their gaming online with some sort of automated play aid. The most curious thing is the timing of the announcement, because it comes just two days after Paizo announced that they are coming out with their own online Paizo Game Space at Paizocon:

Paizo Game Space is amazing software that lets you play with the people you know... anywhere in the world. All you need is the internet.

It's a virtual tabletop. Now VTTs aren't new. I'm gonna say "VTT" a lot because "virtual tabletop" is kind of a mouthful.

Virtual tabletops aren't new. There have been literally dozens of them before this. Some of them we like. Some of them we like a lot.

But none of them is exactly what we think a virtual tabletop should be.

We've talked to a lot of people and they all say the same thing:

We love playing on a VTT. We can keep our group together after people move away.

We love playing on a VTT. As Cosmo told me the other day, it lets him game in his underwear without all the catcalling and wolf whistles.

People love playing on a VTT. But they're kind of annoying!

You have to find the software. And download it. Install it. Will it run on a Mac? That's a big one for us at Paizo.

And then you get the fun part. IP addresses and firewalls and port forwarding and all that. Even network administrators don't want to deal with that stuff. That's work! We're here for fun.

So today, Paizo is reinventing the virtual tabletop.

Paizo Game Space runs right in your web browser. There's no software to install! None. Not even a plug-in.

If you can get to paizo.com, you and your friends can play on Paizo Game Space.

(The full text of the script used in the announcement is at the above link, message #22.)

Reading through the whole thing, the PGS definitely sounds like a good thing for thems as uses such fancy thingamabobs.

As far as the timing of the two announcements go, while I can't help but think that the WotC announcement is related to the winding-down of 4th edition, the timing is truly unfortunate. It makes it look like they couldn't hack it, and Paizo is stepping in once again to take over where WotC dropped the ball.

Read More

Dreamation 2012: Part 3 (Organized Play)

For my final thoughts inspired by this year's Dreamation convention, I wanted to pay a little attention to the way that companies view and deal with the people who play their games. This was a subject that was talked about at some length in the seminars run by Scott Douglas, both in the specific realm of organized play and the more general realm of companies growing their revenue streams.

Scott, having been head of the RPGA for quite some time, naturally has some great insights into that aspect of the hobby/industry. He stressed the point that having an organized play structure in place is exceedingly helpful for companies not only to market their own games, but to grow the market by bringing in fresh players.

Note, however, that just having that infrastructure isn't enough. You have to know what to do with it. One of the things I found most striking at this convention was the comparison between how the RPGA was represented and how the Pathfinder Society was.

I found the difference between the two quite illuminating. While both Pathfinder Society and Living Forgotten Realms were well-represented in the schedule, I found the Pathfinder Society to do an overall better job of representing the flag. They had colorful posters with good art around the gaming hall that not only advertised their own group, and Pathfinder in general, but specific adventures as well. The RPGA had a white oversized printout that they shared with another, local-but-aspiring-to-more group called NAGA.

The Pathfinder Society GMs were easy to spot; they all wore shirts that clearly identified who they were and what they were playing. The RPGA GMs, not so much. I don't have a dog in the Pathfinder-4E race, but my own impression was that the Pathfinder Society folks were better organized, better supported from their home base, and more enthusiastic than their RPGA counterparts.

How does this translate into sales, or growth in players? Well, hard numbers are difficult to come by, but according to the latest survey of retail stores by Purple Pawn, Pathfinder is far outstripping 4E in terms of sales. That's in line with other industry estimates that have been coming out over the last year or two. I certainly won't say that it all has to do with the way they are handling their organized play arms, but it certainly couldn't be hurting that the Pathfinder Society seems more energetic, confident, and supported, and Pathfinder is doing better in retail stores.

There is one thing of which I am not certain, since I'm not a Pathfinder player myself (although I am on record as saying I think Paizo is doing everything right in terms of how to run a game company viz-a-viz their fan base) is how Pathfinder compares in in-store play as opposed to conventions. Do they have anything comparable to the WotC Lair Assault program? I'd be curious as to what other people's experiences with organized play, either with RPGA, Pathfinder Society, C&C Society, etc. has been. Do your observations square with mine, or have you had a very different experience?

Read More