What to Think?
Andy Kitkowski:
Quote from: hoefer on September 11, 2009, 01:12:56 PM
Is this a normal showing?
As others have noted, there's no 1to1 correlation between Fun Demo and Buying Game.
My relevant question would be "How much is your game?" If it was $15-20, then your numbers seem a little low to me. If it's $30-35 or more, then I don't think those numbers are low: I go to the waterpark, I like to go down the waterslide, and it's fun as hell when I'm sliding, but when it's done I don't turn around and purchase the waterslide.
If you have an expensive game, then there's more you have to consider than just running fun sessions at cons.
-Andy
hoefer:
Points well made Chris and Andy...
I guess I'm not sure where to go next. I do love this game, but on the other hand, delivering it at the quality I want to produce it in (art, number of supplements, bound-book format) is going to eventually require me to make more sales/profit (the date at which I need to make a return seems to be getting nearer all the time...). Beyond this, I already have a new product in mind/development that is going to require some capital to get going too. So, I guess even the aspect of this being a "fun thing to do" is a bit perplexing. I love making games. I want to continue to make games, but to do that in the format that I enjoy requires me to expand my sales. So I'm wrestling with concern over whether the initial sales should be a hint that the product is not marketable, is marketing fine and just needs time to grow, or is not being marketed well. Chris, at what point, or why, did you make the jump from running games to having a booth? Were you selling games out of someone else's booth back when you were running them? Did it lead to a drastic increase in sells? Did you couple it with having GMs run your games while you sold from the booth?
Cost-wise I was selling the book for $30 -a little high for a softcover (according to my gamer buddies) but reasonable when looking at content/volume (again according to my gamer buddies). I might be a mutant, but I normally won't bat an eye at a con over any book below $45 (this seems to be the new going-rate for hardcover game books without major distribution channels). I am by no means wealthy, by con purchases (for me) are only a couple-time-a-year event. Most my test players and gaming buddies indicated that $40 was the threshold beyond which they became hesitant to try an new RPG product -a small survey sample to be sure, but it seemed a reasonable response to me...
Looking at this thread, I'm coming to think that 3 sales directly related to ~32 players isn't so bad for the first shot out of the gate (I guess we all can't be Luke Cranes...). So, now I just need to figure out my selling strategy for 2009-2010. Let me know what you guys have found useful. I'm thinking direct from play sales is probably the way to go (since that's the main source so far) -but it's a b*tch finding Cons that are reasonably close to Indiana here in the Fall. What are some of the better sites for locating cons?
Callan S.:
Hi Louis,
Did you get around to talking with all 32 players after each game, individually? Or do you mean some gave feedback after the game had finshed and you were wrapping up?
hoefer:
Obviously, I couldn't talk with every player (some were moving to other games after mine), but I would say a safe estimate would be 60% of the players who played took at least a few minutes to talk with me about my game and my company. I didn't approach the players directly unless they seemed to be hanging out waiting for me to finish packing up, I just talked to them as they came up to me afterwords or during the restroom break. I had an intensive 5-15 minute conversation with at least 1 of the players after most sessions -usually about the setting or self-publishing in general (again these were player-initiated). I had prepared actual surveys for the players but I sort of wussed out on using them (I felt thins would take away from the come. play. have fun. atmosphere I like to exude during conventions).
By all accounts these conversations were overwhelmingly positive about the adventure and the game itself. Flattery? Nicety? I don't know, but it sure didn't seem insincere.
Louis Hoefer
www.centurysedge.com
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