Getting Books Out On Time

CavScout · January 22, 2009, 08:28:08 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit;279909On the one hand, I must say "touche" to that one. A good rhetorical hit on your part.

On the other, I would riposte by saying that I don't expect that the correct response to a product being delayed would be "well, fuck it, I'm never buying anything from these assholes ever"; I'm suggesting that repeated delays that go well beyond the level of what would be reasonably expected, particularly if this is a repetition of similar mistakes being done over and over again, is very likely to lead to a reduction in sales.

To use your comparison, I would think someone was something of a dick if they came to this site, found it offline once or twice, and decided to give up on it. On the other hand, I am extremely concerned about the technical problems this site is encountering, and we (Brett and I) are on the verge of deciding to switch a new server, in no small part because I DO assume that regular repeated errors of this type will lead to a decrease in site activity overall.

And if a publisher is always late and has less than stellar products, I expect them to be affected as well. If the product is top-notch and relevant, even after delays, I expect the product to do well.

QuoteLike I said in another thread, I think that ongoing and unresolved technical errors are more likely to lead to long-term harm to the population of these forums than all of the controversy you or jackalope caused put together.

It's a sad commentary if "controversy" gets folks moderated here. That will harm your site far more than occasional technical glitches.

RPGPundit · January 22, 2009, 11:01:21 PM

It wasn't the controversy what did it, it was the disruption. The statement above was in response to people who were talking about how the controversy should be the issue, which I disagree with.
But this isn't the place to talk about this, if you want to discuss it, discuss it in the Help forum.

RPGPundit

EDITED to add: Yes, it was fine that you responded ONCE, just stop now.

CavScout · January 23, 2009, 12:03:41 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;279935It wasn't the controversy what did it, it was the disruption. The statement above was in response to people who were talking about how the controversy should be the issue, which I disagree with.
But this isn't the place to talk about this, if you want to discuss it, discuss it in the Help forum.

My apologies. Since you put it out there, I figured it was appropriate to respond.

Serious Paul · January 23, 2009, 10:50:40 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit;279804Well, it certainly is education for them. It tells them that gamers are a bunch of pussies you can walk all over, and that they are being invited to be incompetent and unprofessional.

Seriously?

I mean maybe some "Rogue Publisher" out there is looking to take advantage of me, and my wallet, but that seems a little hard to swallow.

Quote from: PaladinCA;279841Or it could just be showing them that some of us have more important things to worry about than IF an RPG product comes out late or not. I could personally care less when something is released, as long as it is well written.

A good bet.

Quote from: chaosvoyager;279897OK, I see that most of you do not care about a delay if it leads to a better product, but how exactly are we defining 'better'?

Good question, but do you think there is a single answer? I don't think so.

QuoteI've been getting increasingly pissed off over poor conduct from both companies and customers these days. Respect is one of those things that has to be earned, and that's kinda tricky to do when both sides keep dropping the ball.

I'm not involved enough to see all of this, but I can see your point, and agree with it at first glance.

QuoteTiming is everything, and companies like Apple, Microsoft (Halo anyone), Sony, and Nintendo use announcements and release dates to make far more profit than they would otherwise. You also really don't want to miss that holiday window for recreational products.

However, I'd submit that few of the people out there publishing RPG's have the kind of money those companies do to study their market. Or the kind of sales to justify it.

QuoteI think it's important to realize that there is no single most important factor in a successful business. Sadly, people usually tend to overvalue the segment of the business they are, or wish to be, involved in.

I think that's very true.

Thulcondar · January 23, 2009, 01:53:41 PM

I've got to say, I am much more irked by silence when a release date is blown than if a release is delayed and a conscientious effort is made by the publisher to inform the customers and fans as to the nature of the delay.

A simple statement to the effect of "Sorry, our printer went belly-up and we're looking for a new one as quickly as possible. We're having to push back the release date to the next quarter" is infinitely preferable to just seeing the date come and go with no explanation. Or, worse, with the company principals yakking it up on the company message board assiduously ignoring requests for info on why such-and-such a product hasn't hit the shelves yet.

RPGPundit · January 23, 2009, 02:25:15 PM

Quote from: Thulcondar;280042I've got to say, I am much more irked by silence when a release date is blown than if a release is delayed and a conscientious effort is made by the publisher to inform the customers and fans as to the nature of the delay.

A simple statement to the effect of "Sorry, our printer went belly-up and we're looking for a new one as quickly as possible. We're having to push back the release date to the next quarter" is infinitely preferable to just seeing the date come and go with no explanation. Or, worse, with the company principals yakking it up on the company message board assiduously ignoring requests for info on why such-and-such a product hasn't hit the shelves yet.

Yes, you're quite right about that. It doesn't look good when you blow a release date; but its much much worse if you blow the date and then go completely silent about it rather than manning up and explaining the situation. But you also have to be careful NOT to specify a new release date at that point until you're really sure you'll be able to get it out that time.

RPGPundit

Anon Adderlan · January 23, 2009, 10:40:31 PM

Quote from: Serious Paul;279991Good question, but do you think there is a single answer?

No, but I don't care. I just want ANY valid answer, because claiming to prefer that a book be late if it leads to a better product is meaningless without it.

Quote from: Serious Paul;279991However, I'd submit that few of the people out there publishing RPG's have the kind of money those companies do to study their market. Or the kind of sales to justify it.

Quite possible, but do these companies do business this way because they are big, or are they big because they do business that way? And many small businesses I know are run as small businesses, which limits their potential for growth, even if the owners seek it.

Then again, growth is a bit overrated.

Rezendevous · January 25, 2009, 11:58:28 AM

I rarely pay attention to release dates, so it's a non-issue for me. If I did, I'd be fine with the company waiting to announce it until it was being printed.