So after reading that headline you may be thinking:
But search your feelings--or in this case, the internet--because it's TRUE.
If you're just tuning in, Fantasy Flight announced at GenCon this weekend that their new Star Wars RPG, Edge of the Empire is available in beta for $30. They acquired the license after Wizards of the Coast failed to renew with Lucasfilm.
So, call me crazy, but I'm a big believer that beta tests should always be FREE to testers? None of this "You get the pleasure of playing the game! Without art and certain thematic material!" Make it a downloadable PDF at no cost, or at least print-on-demand as a secondary option, please/thank you.
See, it's pretty easy actually:
- I download your product.
- I test your product, play with it, find out what works and what's broken.
- Then it goes back to you with my feedback. This is where the MAGIC HAPPENS because...
- You make it better (i.e, fix the broken stuff, put in the "art and thematic material" that comprises all that licensed stuff, and other general awesomeness).
- THEN I pay you money I earned by working my a$$ for 40+ hours to play the REAL product--the one with all the actual Star Wars spaceship zoomin', blaster firin', wookie growlin' fun in it.
Fantasy Flight, I rooted for you (though with some reservations) when you acquired the license and because, frankly, you're a hometown gaming juggernaut here in the Twin Cities. You put out exceptionally high quality games with incredible art. Arguably the best in the industry when it comes to manufacture and packaging. I really did hope this would be a step in the right direction. But you've started out in bad form.
Even Pathfinder got this right when they beta tested their version of D&D. AND GOT AN AWARD FOR IT.
Star Wars is a top-tier property and probably the single biggest science fiction license in the history of everything. It literally needs no introduction. It's both adult and kid friendly. If I were Lucasfilm, I'd be irate at the Jabba-esque deal you've doled out to the fans.
I don't follow your other RPGs close enough to know if this is "standard procedure" with your other games. But whatever that process may be--those aren't Star Wars. So it's not gonna fly with fans.
Enough griping--here's the serious part: rethink your strategy. You're coming into the license fresh and have a chance to really rally the fans who were feeling beleaguered after Wizards' dropped the ball--and introduce yourselves to others who aren't familiar with your RPG products.
Use the Force--and it's okay to take the blast shield off once in a while.
I was very interesting (if not exactly very eager) to see what FFG was going to do with the Star Wars license. I was a huge fan of the WEG D6 version, lived through the D&D-izing of the universe and looked forward to finding out what someone else's approach might be.
ReplyDeleteAh...so that's your approach. Charging a finished games price for an unfinished game. Well that approach sucks. I am not a fan of that approach.
Seriously. I am the only person aware we are living in difficult economic times?
Wow, can't believe they are going this route. I will definately pass.
ReplyDeleteWhat a dissappointment! While I am curious as to how they will handle the game, I am not coughing up $30 for an untested version.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I prefer a fairly cheap core rulebook for my rpg's, and even Pathfinders $40+ pricetag irritates me. As Barking Alien said- people are hurting for cash out there. In such times, folks will buy multiple, smaller purchases (like a core book and suppliments if they are inexpensive) with more regularity than they will one or three big ones.
Bingo! My sincerest hope for the next Star TREK RPG is a $25-30 rulebook with general info on running a game in any era (really? Are the era's all that mechanically different?) and then a TOS Sourcebook for $20, a TNG one for $20, a ENT for $20, etc.
DeleteBasically tone down the main book, beef up the supplements and you're golden in my book.
I like how Margaret Weis is doing their Marvel Heroic.
I'll not be going this route. If it were like IronCrown does when they charge for a beta product and you are basically 'pre-ordering' and you receive the final, updated product for the price you paid, that would be one thing. But I agree, asking for thirty bucks up front and then charging whatever the full price of the game will be later is horse hockey
ReplyDeleteBut, but they said it's a "limited edition"! That makes it worth $30 for an unfinished game book without artwork or certain thematic information. Right?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking the lead designer is a Hutt.
Ugh. That.. sucks. I am a huge Star Wars fan. Loved the D6 system- not so much the D20. Was curious to see what would happen to the franchise now in RPG-land. But I'm not $30 curious.
ReplyDeleteHideous and entirely missing the point of the Beta. I participated in the Pathfinder beta and happily shelled out my $40+ for their big (but excellent) brick of a Core book when the time came. Considering how snazzy the FF people have handled WH40k, I had high hopes. But I find their lack of faith in their game...disturbing...
ReplyDeleteIt certainly seems like a good time to break out the old West End Games Star Wars game. Wait... it's always a good time to break out D6 Star Wars!
ReplyDelete