Re: Non-commercial emphasis

From: Carol Mulholland <Carol@flagship-uk.demon.co.uk>

Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2001 10:09:46 +0000

Jesse wrote:

> I think the reason Greg chooses
> not to focus on the Commercial (or ignore, if you will) is because they're a
> corporation. They're there to make money. They can afford to pimp their own
> games. Just my thoughts.

I think you've made a basic misunderstanding. (A fairly common one, though.)
A commercial PBM firm can't - by its very nature - make vast amounts of money.
Why not? Because it's providing a regular service. Once players are
dissatisfied, they stop paying and you lose your income. It's not like selling
boxes.

Quest and DungeonWorld are both commercial games run by commercial firms even
though they're low-cost. Middle Earth is more expensive than they are because
the game materials are luxurious and the charges have to cover royalties. And
Middle Earth has plenty of devoted players, despite its higher cost.

Also, MEPBM is a fantasy wargame, not an adventure game, so it appeals to a
different taste. Players will sometimes avoid cheap and free games because
they believe that these attract a more casual type of player, who's less
likely to stay with a game until it ends. Dropouts are bad for other players
in a wargame, but they don't matter as much in an open-ended adventure game.

Carol

References

Non-commercial emphasis
gamerman12@usa.net (GamerMan12)
Thu, 01 Nov 2001 11:31:44 +0000
Re: Non-commercial emphasis
"Jesse" <jessesgaming@alltel.net>
Fri, 02 Nov 2001 04:51:14 +0000