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Message no. 1
From: Steve Collins <einan@*********.NET>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 23:46:12 -0400
>-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>
>At 01:08 PM 9/10/98 -0400, K wrote:
>>In a message dated 9/10/1998 6:59:23 AM US Eastern Standard Time,
>>u5a77@*****.CS.KEELE.AC.UK writes:
>>
>>>
>>> Well.... The picture of the mine in the London >*spit*< sourcebook
>shows
>>> stalagmites of the stuff, just standing there in the cavern.
>>
>>Really Spike? Mine don't have those pics.
>
>Mine neither.
>
>Should I write FASA and ask for a refund? :)
>
>(Believe it or not, long ago, a friend of mine had bought Neo-A Guide
>to North America, and several pages were horribly faded, the text and
>pictures a very light grey instead of black. He wrote a letter to
>FASA, and they sent him out a new copy. PLEASE though, folks, if
>FASA's current finances are as bad off as I hear, don't flood them
>with phony letters... we don't want them going bankrupt on us now, do
>we? Wizards of the Coast might buy them out too, and no one wants to
>see that, right?)
>


Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.

Steve
Message no. 2
From: Adam J <adamj@*********.HTML.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 22:15:49 -0600
At 23:46 9/10/98 -0400, Steve Collins wrote

>Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
>the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
>would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
>now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
>Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.

The entire industry is in a slump.. And while FASA is probably better than
alot of companies, they have to make necessary cuts to stay competetive..
as it says in SR3, FASAs competetion isn't just RPGs anyomre, it's CCGs,
the net, computer games, etc.

I sincerely doubt we're in danger of FASA going belly up overnight, but
since the entire industry isn't in good health right now, neither is FASA..

-Adam
-
< TSS Productions down temporarily - New URL Soon! / fro@***.ab.ca >
< ShadowRN Assistant Fearless Leader / TSA Co-Admin / ICQ# 2350330 >
< FreeRPG & Shadowrun Webring Co-Admin / The Shadowrun Supplemental >
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Message no. 3
From: David Foster <fixer@*******.TLH.FL.US>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 09:42:13 -0400
On Thu, 10 Sep 1998, Steve Collins wrote:

<snip>
->Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
->the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
->would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
->now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
->Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.

Whole US economy is bracing for hard times. You've got the
expected "2000 bug", crisis in Eastern Economies, people getting laid off
their jobs (I being one in a month or so). Gee, maybe I should take up
Shadowruning?

Fixer --------------} The easy I do before breakfast,
the difficult I do all day long,
the impossible only during the week,
and miracles performed on an as-needed basis....

Now tell me, what was your problem?
Message no. 4
From: "M. Sean Martinez" <ElBandit@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 19:52:59 EDT
In a message dated 9/11/98 12:26:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
einan@*********.NET writes:

> Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
> the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
> would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
> now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
> Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.

The gaming industry has never been that large in the first place. My best
guess is that FASA sells barely covered the cost of operating and a lot of
their profits did get funneled into FASA Interactive to start the company up.
(The whole reason FASA was created according to Dowd) However you would assume
that FASA IT paid back the money.

Not too long ago FASA was paying a lot more than they should to have their
books printed, but since they have changed printers costs must have dropped.

I know several authors who FASA still owe quite a bit of money too, so I
assume they still are not doing any better.

-Bandit
Message no. 5
From: Erik Jameson <erikj@****.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 20:16:45 -0400
At 07:52 PM 9/11/98 EDT, you wrote:

>I know several authors who FASA still owe quite a bit of money too, so I
>assume they still are not doing any better.

I also know that they owe money (at least as of a few weeks ago) to Tim
Bradstreet and to John Zeleznik, and Zeleznik hasn't done work for FASA for
years now.

But my brother is an artist and he's owed thousands himself that he'll
never ever see.

Erik J.


http://www.fortunecity.com/rivendell/dungeon/480/index.html
The Reality Check for a Fictional World
Message no. 6
From: Robert Nesius <nesius@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 00:36:00 -0800
>
>Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
>the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
>would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
>now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
>Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.
>
>Steve

I've heard that the worse the economy, the better the RPG companies
do. Probably something to do with people having more time to kill.

-Rob
Message no. 7
From: 00DNA <mcmanus@******.ALBANY.EDU>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:03:44 -0400
At 12:36 AM 9/15/98 -0800, Robert Nesius wrote:

>I've heard that the worse the economy, the better the RPG companies
>do. Probably something to do with people having more time to kill.

Ah, so, all we have to do is hack into the stock exchange and wipe it all
out...ah I see. (:
--00DNA
<<Replication Terminated>>
Message no. 8
From: Tim Kerby <drekhead@***.NET>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:25:38 -0400
On 15 Sep 98, at 0:36, Robert Nesius wrote:

> >
> >Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
> >the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
> >would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
> >now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
> >Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.
> >
> >Steve
>
> I've heard that the worse the economy, the better the RPG companies
> do. Probably something to do with people having more time to kill.

That, and the fact that when people spend money on a game, they are
looking for something that will provide a long turn of investment.
RPG's have the highest replay value of any game.

--

=================================================================
- Tim Kerby - drekhead@***.net - ICQ-UIN 2883757 -
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Reality is the only obstacle to happiness." - Unknown
Message no. 9
From: "M. Sean Martinez" <ElBandit@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:47:09 EDT
In a message dated 9/15/98 9:26:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time, drekhead@***.NET
writes:

> That, and the fact that when people spend money on a game, they are
> looking for something that will provide a long turn of investment.

Let's not forget that for a long time, a lot of people were buying Magic: The
Gathering beacuse the cards were "so collectable and valuable" as opposed to
RPGs.

I always hated the customer that would open a pack of magic cards in the store
and then try to sell you or trade you the rare card for more packs.

-Bandit
Message no. 10
From: Justin Bell <justin@******.NET>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:38:02 -0500
At 12:36 AM 9/15/98 -0800, Robert Nesius wrote:
# >
# >Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
# >the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
# >would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
# >now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
# >Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.
# >
# >Steve
#
# I've heard that the worse the economy, the better the RPG companies
# do. Probably something to do with people having more time to kill.

actually, no, the worse the economy the less people have to spend on fun,
so the more expensive hobbies get dropped in favour of the least expensive
ones.

--
/- justin@************.com ---------------- justin@******.net -\
|Justin Bell NIC:JB3084| Time and rules are changing. |
|Simon & Schuster | Attention span is quickening. |
|Programmer | Welcome to the Information Age. |
\------------ http://www.mcp.com/people/justin/ ---------------/
Message no. 11
From: David Foster <fixer@*******.TLH.FL.US>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:34:47 -0400
On Tue, 15 Sep 1998, Justin Bell wrote:

->At 12:36 AM 9/15/98 -0800, Robert Nesius wrote:
-># >
-># >Does anyone know a reason why FASA would be in financial trouble? With
-># >the Success of the Battletech and Shadowrun lines I would think they
-># >would be doing OK. I know the entire industry is having problems right
-># >now but I would have thought FASA's diversification (RPG's, Computer
-># >Games, VWE, Novels) would have shielded them somewhat.
-># >
-># >Steve
->#
-># I've heard that the worse the economy, the better the RPG companies
-># do. Probably something to do with people having more time to kill.
->
->actually, no, the worse the economy the less people have to spend on fun,
->so the more expensive hobbies get dropped in favour of the least expensive
->ones.

RPGs (AD&D excluded) I've always found to be relatively
inexpensive considering their replay value. $60 for a new N64 game or $60
for three books that'll let you play for many, many hours in many, many
places you can only imagine.

Fixer --------------} The easy I do before breakfast,
the difficult I do all day long,
the impossible only during the week,
and miracles performed on an as-needed basis....

Now tell me, what was your problem?
Message no. 12
From: Steve Eley <sfeley@***.NET>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 15:53:34 -0400
David Foster wrote:
>
> RPGs (AD&D excluded) I've always found to be relatively
> inexpensive considering their replay value. $60 for a new N64 game or $60
> for three books that'll let you play for many, many hours in many, many
> places you can only imagine.

That's assuming you actually *use* every sourcebook over and over. The
core books, like the BBB's and Grimoires/VRs/Riggers I can say have "many,
many hours" of replay value; but there are others that aren't referenced
as universally. How many of the people on this list buy every SR
sourcebook when it comes out, including settings? Of those people, how
many have run adventures in *every* location published by FASA? More than
once?

I'm not suggesting FASA should stop publishing setting books, or even that
buying sourcebooks you rarely use is a bad thing. I've got a Big Fragging
Bookcase of SR materials myself. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate to
your argument that $20 for a sourcebook is "relatively inexpensive."
RPG's *are* expensive on a sustained basis. They're as highly priced as
the market will allow. That we buy them anyway is a measure of their
perceived merit, not their economy.


Have Fun,
- Steve Eley
sfeley@***.net
Message no. 13
From: David Foster <fixer@*******.TLH.FL.US>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:19:14 -0400
On Tue, 15 Sep 1998, Steve Eley wrote:

->David Foster wrote:
->>
->> RPGs (AD&D excluded) I've always found to be relatively
->> inexpensive considering their replay value. $60 for a new N64 game or $60
->> for three books that'll let you play for many, many hours in many, many
->> places you can only imagine.
->
->That's assuming you actually *use* every sourcebook over and over. The
->core books, like the BBB's and Grimoires/VRs/Riggers I can say have "many,
->many hours" of replay value; but there are others that aren't referenced
->as universally. How many of the people on this list buy every SR
->sourcebook when it comes out, including settings? Of those people, how
->many have run adventures in *every* location published by FASA? More than
->once?

I only buy the BBBs and primary suppliments anyway. I have the
NANs because they were on sale for $5.00 each at the bookstore. I got
Aztlan because it was cool and had blood magic in it. Most of my books I
buy at bookstores I get a 20% discount at and then, usually the older
books (just before they're out of print, except for Awakenings & VR2,
which I missed) which are less expensive ($10-$15 maybe).

->I'm not suggesting FASA should stop publishing setting books, or even that
->buying sourcebooks you rarely use is a bad thing. I've got a Big Fragging
->Bookcase of SR materials myself. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate to
->your argument that $20 for a sourcebook is "relatively inexpensive."
->RPG's *are* expensive on a sustained basis. They're as highly priced as
->the market will allow. That we buy them anyway is a measure of their
->perceived merit, not their economy.

Also depends on how many RPGs you're trying to sustain. I've
dropped all but SR and the costs are negligible considering my budget.
And I always buy my books because they look worthy of having in my
campaign, if not for any other reason. If people really want something
they'll scrimp and save.

Fixer --------------} The easy I do before breakfast,
the difficult I do all day long,
the impossible only during the week,
and miracles performed on an as-needed basis....

Now tell me, what was your problem?
Message no. 14
From: "M. Sean Martinez" <ElBandit@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 16:42:59 EDT
In a message dated 9/15/98 4:12:16 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
fixer@*******.TLH.FL.US writes:

> If people really want something
> they'll scrimp and save.

Or sell plasma :)

-Bandit
Message no. 15
From: Robert Nesius <nesius@******.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 13:54:38 -0700
Justin Bell on -268443600 wrote:
> At 12:36 AM 9/15/98 -0800, Robert Nesius wrote:
> #
> # I've heard that the worse the economy, the better the RPG companies
> # do. Probably something to do with people having more time to kill.
>
> actually, no, the worse the economy the less people have to spend on fun,
> so the more expensive hobbies get dropped in favour of the least expensive
> ones.
>

Actually, I was told this by the woman who stocks rpg's at Powells books
in Beaverton, OR. She looks like she's been doing her job long enough
to have seen how the ups and downs of the economy affect her
inventory.



-Rob
Message no. 16
From: Michael vanHulst <Schizi@***.COM>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 21:04:45 EDT
In a message dated 9/15/98 1:44:04 PM Pacific Daylight Time, ElBandit@***.COM
writes:

>
> Or sell plasma :)
>
> -Bandit
what is the going rate for the plasma of an awakened raccoon anyway?
Message no. 17
From: Patrick Goodman <remo@***.NET>
Subject: Re: Fasa's finances was Re: Orichalcum Mine
Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 20:19:01 -0500
> RPGs (AD&D excluded) I've always found to be relatively
>inexpensive considering their replay value.

<rant style="mini">
I have to chime in here. AD&D, just like Shadowrun, is remarkably
inexpensive, since you only *need* a couple of books (Player's Handbook and
Dungeon Master's Guide), with a third book (Monster Manual, or whatever the
hell they're calling it these days) as a useful addition to the fun. But,
just like Shadowrun supplements (or supplements to any game), you don't need
any of the rest of the crap to get a game going. You need a somewhat higher
initial investment in AD&D than you do in Shadowrun (since with SR, all you
need is one book and the GM screen for critters), and a slightly higher
investment in dice since AD&D uses half a dozen different types of dice, but
it is *not* inherently a great deal more expensive than SR or CP2020 or
Earthdawn or any of a variety of other games.
</rant>

---
(>) Texas 2-Step
El Paso: Never surrender. Never forget. Never forgive.

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