paizo

[leperkhaun]

Here is a link to a letter from paizo about them and 4E.



http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards...STILLUNDECIDED

I dont know how to spoiler, if you cant get to the link

Folks,

The clock is ticking, and we still have not seen a copy of the new Fourth Edition rules, nor have we seen a draft of the new SRD. I hear conflicting things from WotC as to when (or even whether) third-party publishers will be provided the rules in time to have 4e-compatible products for next Gen Con. I have spoken before (at length) about the uncomfortable position in which this places Paizo, but I remain hopeful that we will get to look at the rules during the playtest phase and plan accordingly. This was, after all, how things worked for trusted publishers during the 2.0/3.0 transition, so I have every reason to believe that the business folks at WotC understand the benefits of third-party support when it comes to converting their audience. But still we wait.

As it stands there remains a chance that Paizo will not convert to 4.0 next year, mostly because we will not have the materials in hand with enough time to do so. The only viable option, at that point, is to stick with 3.5 for the time being. This opens the option of producing an improved "3.75" somewhere down the road to address a few commonly acknowledged problems with the rules without throwing out the three decades of tradition that have kept D&D, fundamentally, the same game since the very beginnig. At that point, it seems, Paizo would be producing a "Pathfinder" RPG that would be wholly independent of Dungeons & Dragons and Hasbro's plans. Such a plan carries with it considerable risk, but it may be the only serious option available to us for 2008.

Beyond that, it's difficult to say. If Fourth Edition is awesome and if the OGL for the game does not tie our hands creatively or financially, we'll certainly strongly consider converting, and again I'd really like to see the material in time to judge whether or not it's a good game that our audience will like. But we've already passed the deadline for August solicitations in the book trade, and at a certain point the window for us to have Fourth Edition material at launch will close.

So I've been spending the last few nights thinking seriously about NOT converting. What it would mean for our business, what it would mean for our company, and potentially even what it would mean for the RPG industry as a whole.

It's pretty clear to me, from reading Wizards of the Coast's information releases on the new game, that they are designing a D&D for the "next generation," and that attracting a new audience to D&D is their utmost concern. It's for this reason that we've seen a lot of the old "sacred cows" slain, and from a business perspective it makes perfect sense why they would want to do this.

Wizards of the Coast is a multi-million-dollar subsidiary of a billion-dollar toy corporation. The designers, editors, and art folks working on D&D probably represent one of the most expensive Research and Development teams in the entire Hasbro "family," and an expense like that demands mega-profits. I'm not sure that a simple pencil and paper RPG can deliver the kind of profit to keep Hasbro's support, which is why I think you're seeing pushes toward micro-purchases (say of "virtual" D&D Miniatures for use on the Virtual Tabletop similar to the "virtual" cards in Magic Online), ongoing opt-out low-cost digital "subscriptions", and a strong emphasis on the highly profitable prepainted plastic miniatures. It behooves Wizards of the Coast to "monetize" as many aspects of D&D as possible, to keep the game as fresh and free of limiting "baggage" (such as continuity), and to keep up with the design approaches taken by massively multiplayer online roleplaying games that appeal to the next generation of gamers. To keep Hasbro happy, D&D must deliver huge profits similar to the company's other brands to remain a viable business for the corporation.

Paizo is a much smaller outfit. We do not need to sell 50,000 or even 100,000 copies of a book to mark it as a success, mostly because we have a much smaller overhead. We could literally survive--and survive well--on 20-30% of Wizards of the Coast's business. In fact, numbers like that would be hugely successful for us.

Are there enough players willing to make a break from Wizards of the Coast and the Dungeons & Dragons brand to sustain a healthy 3.5-based Pathfinder business? I don't know. A part of me is very skeptical about it, but until we get a chance to evaluate the new rules set, this is exactly the sort of scenario we are forced to consider, and I do not find the prospect wholly without its merits.

What do you think? Assuming the third Pathfinder Adventure Path, Second Darkness, remains 3.5, will you stick around? I know most of you are as in the dark about fourth edition as we are and I understand that it's too early to make a serious call. But how is the 4.0 hype treating you these days? Do you plan to start up a new 4.0 campaign on day 1?

What do YOU want Paizo to do?

Thanks,

Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC

[Escef]

This worries me. This tells me that someone over at WotC (possibly several someones) has dropped the ball or has their head in a warm, dark, smelly place.

And this is not the fault of the designers. More likely marketing or legal. This vexes me.

[Newtkeeper]

Hmm.. glad to know that Paizo is firmly with me in the 'meh, let's see happens' camp.

I find it vexing, though, to learn that WotC is not communicating. I mean, if they won't even talk to Paizo, are they talking to anyone?

Meh, let's see what happens.

EDIT: And, apparently, what happens is that I become a dwarf.

[Malnourished]

For those who haven't followed the link, it may be important to note that the original post from Paizo was written in October of 2007. Doesn't change the situation, but does anyone know if Paizo has done anything since?

[Jokes]

Didn't WotC announce a while (maybe a month or so) ago when they were going to start letting publishers access the rules to come up with their own stuff? If I recall correctly (which I probably cant) it was about 6 months before the official release. So Paizo shouldn't be seeing those rules for a little while longer yet.

[EvilElitest]

This opens the option of producing an improved "3.75" somewhere down the road to address a few commonly acknowledged problems with the rules without throwing out the three decades of tradition that have kept D&D, fundamentally, the same game since the very beginnig. At that point, it seems, Paizo would be producing a "Pathfinder" RPG that would be wholly independent of Dungeons & Dragons and Hasbro's plans. Such a plan carries with it considerable risk, but it may be the only serious option available to us for 2008.

Paizo, please please please do this. Even if 4E turns out to be an amazing game, this would be very interesting to see

It's pretty clear to me, from reading Wizards of the Coast's information releases on the new game, that they are designing a D&D for the "next generation," and that attracting a new audience to D&D is their utmost concern. It's for this reason that we've seen a lot of the old "sacred cows" slain, and from a business perspective it makes perfect sense why they would want to do this.

Very interesting, it looks like other people agree with me
from
EE

[Panda-s1]

Wait a tick, if this is all the way from October, why are you posting this now? They've discussed this before, hell I've met him in person and he said they're waiting on the SRD to see if it's a good idea. Given that the Paizo was part of the conference call back in January they're probably going over 4e right now, or will be by the end of the month.

[EvilElitest]

Go paizo
from
EE

[Dragonmuncher]

I think it'll be fine- wasn't one of the things mentioned about 4e that it'd be even easier for third parties to make material?

[Timaoh]

Easier isnt always better. Look at lego and Mega blocks! Damn you mega blocks! Damn you to the abyss!