I’m perplexed

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Kevin
Yeah, The Publisher Guy
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I’m perplexed

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I’m perplexed

I’m always surprised and perplexed whenever some people seem upset by what I consider good news.

In this case, it is the positive feedback that I posted in the last Weekly Update. I pointed out that the majority of Palladium fans are quite happy with Palladium products and services. Other than our missing deadlines and delaying books (who doesn’t want to see more, quality product on regular basis?!), the majority of Palladium fans like – dare I say, love – what we do. I thought that was good, positive news so I shared it.

http://www.palladiumbooks.com/index.php ... une-7-2012


Somehow, this has stirred up some people who seem to feel they are not being heard or that Palladium is somehow running deaf, blind and dumb.

I made it clear in the Weekly Update these are “Palladium fans.” Not a broad spectrum of gamers. They are Palladium fans. The point being, the majority of Palladium fans I have spoken with (a few hundred, btw) over the last several months, are overall very satisfied with Palladium Books and its products. By the way, this casual survey is ongoing and is not limited to Lemuria crowdfunding “Benefactors,” as some have suggested. It includes the scores of gamers I spoken with at VisionCon and the Palladium Open House on a one on one basis and in panel discussions, as well as other communications and events. I have been asked some tough questions by these folks. I welcome honest, sincere questions and input from others. Furthermore, believe it or not, the info and numbers I presented in the Weekly Update fit very well with what we see from the thousands of gamers who purchase X-Mas grab bags.

FYI: This is a good thing. It means we are satisfying our loyal core of gamers. Is there room for improvement and change? Should Palladium be trying to attract a whole new generation of gamers? Should Palladium be doing things to get stronger and plumb new markets and technologies?

Yes. Yes. Yes and yes.

What I find hilarious (and at times incredulous), is that some people seem to think we don’t listen and don’t care. Somehow, they immediately jump to the conclusion that Palladium is complacent, dead and stagnant when nothing could be farther from the truth. I don’t know how they jump from good news to a half dozen bad assumptions. But it happens

Of course, Palladium needs to do the following:

- Advertise more. We are constantly looking into ways to do more with the limited resources available to us. Just because you may not see or hear about our efforts, does not mean we are not doing anything. Sheesh. The thing is, looking in from the outside, most speculation is nothing more than bias and guesswork. You just do not know what we actually think. You do not know we’ve spent a lot of time looking into a wide range of advertising avenues. You don’t know who we’ve been talking with or what we are hoping to achieve. Some of you just assume and criticize and speculate about things that may not even be true. You don’t know that we’ve just committed to a Gen Con email blast that goes out to 70,000 gamers. You don’t know about the Gen Con coupon designed to drive people to our booth and spread awareness of our products. And those are just a couple of things we have done. You don’t know, but some of you have plenty of negative things to say anyway.

- Attract new blood. Palladium needs to attract new gamers/young gamers. No kidding. So does everyone else in the hobbled and shrunken RPG industry. The question is what are the best ways to do so, and what can Palladium afford. Like advertising, we are constantly looking at, talking about and testing new ways to attract new gamers. And that includes new game ideas and simplified rules.

- Hit our deadlines or come a lot closer to them on a regular basis. Working on it.

- Listen to our fans and well intentioned people everywhere. We always do. We ALWAYS welcome constructive suggestions, criticism and new ideas.

- Crowdsource funding helps raise the funds to do some of this, but whoever said it was any company’s salvation? Not I. The Megaverse® Insider offers, and all types of crowdfunding, are just ONE way to help achieve some of our goals. One way to help fund the things we need to do. The Megaverse® Insider crowdfunding is one weapon in Palladium’s growing arsenal. It is not the end all and be all.

- PDF sales. We continue to the test waters on this fronts, but PDFs is not the panacea, salvation or money tree some people seem to believe. If it was, we'd be doing it like mad. I’ve talked to other game companies, and with a few exceptions, PDFs are not currently big selling items nor big revenue streams. Honest. Don’t you think if PDF sales were huge, we’d be doing them?

- Explore new media and technology. No kidding. Again, we’re constantly exploring new ideas. We've been looking at digital mediums of all kind. When I tell people some of my ideas they get all excited. But we can only do so much with the limited resources (money and manpower) available. As we build those resources, the bigger and faster we can grow and do more exciting things.

- Release more product. Duh. Again, don’t you think if we could release 3-4 new products a month, we’d do it? Do some of you honestly think we don’t care or are lazy? Really? We work long hours and have dealt with trials and tribulations that would have laid most people low a long time ago. We’re working on it. We have great product in the pipeline. Yeah, we’ll miss deadlines, but not by six months or a year. And the products coming out now, are rockin’.

The big problem continues to be a lack of resources, money and manpower.

Releasing more dynamic product is huge! Being able to do so on a regular basis (which we’re getting back to) will help even more. We’re still rebuilding and reorganzing Palladium Books. And we're still only six people plus freelancers, friends and volunteers, but we're making headway.

Megaverse Insider crowdfunding is only one way to help Palladium build and grow.

http://www.palladiumbooks.com/index.php ... rn-gun-one

The more money we can generate by every means available, the more product we can produce. The more product we release, the more we sell. The more product we sell, the more advertising and risks in new areas of gaming, technology and marketing we can take. It’s the "snowball effect" of basic business.

And Step One in building your business is satisfying your core customer base. Your core will spread the word and help build the company on many different levels. They -- YOU -- are the rock upon which we build. So, yes, I am happy that the majority of Palladium fans are very satisfied. I’m thrilled that even many of Palladium’s harshest and nastiest critics want more product and want to see Palladium get strong. They just have a funny way of showing their support. :-D

I don’t mean to be rude, but to those of whom this applies, do some of you really think I’m idiot? That I don’t know all of the above? That I would not investigate new mediums and opportunities?

And even if I was an idiot, do you think EVERYONE at Palladium Books are idiots? That one of my staff or freelancers wouldn’t make suggestions and point out opportunities and problems? I know there are some crazy rumors out there about me being a control freak and megalomaniac, and other crazy things, but I thought those false rumors, lies and misrepresentations had been dispelled by now. I guess not. Sad. Most of all, I’d think those of you (like you, Jorel!!!) who have met me, talked with me, had me sign 400 @#$%ing books between the last two Open Houses (not an exaggeration) would certainly know better. Gee whiz. (And yes, much stronger expletives came to mind).

I never said I don't listen to everyone. I do. Always have.

Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

I'm not ignoring information from other sources or data from previous years or other sources.

I don’t snub my nose at other gamers or anybody. Never have. (Can some of you say the same?)

That would be foolish.

Please know I am always looking into EVERY way possible to expand into new market areas, new mediums, new technologies, and to improve our games as well as attract “new” gamers outside our current audience. But when resources are tight, your options are limited. If we’re not doing things on the level or at the speed you'd like to see, there are very real reasons for it. Most commonly, it is a lack of funds. And lack of funds means I can’t place those ads, try new things or hire skilled people to do more for us, etc. It is a vicious circle, but it is a circle we are pulling out of. We are making steady moves and progress. We are releasing fun and dynamic new product and reprinting old favorites. We are doing more advertising and exploring ALL POSSIBILITIES behind the scenes. We are working toward all these goals. That’s the truth whether you can see it or not, or want to believe it or not.

I don't pretend to be perfect. I make mistakes, but I also learn from them. I know a lot more than you might believe I do, and that’s because I listen to EVERYONE. I investigate EVERYTHING. I don’t close my mind to any possibility, and I dream large. If you choose to believe anything else, then you are the fool.

WE can do anything if we pool our resources and work together. And we are. The Megaverse Insider crowdfunding is one tool, one weapon, one means to building the company. By itself, crowdfunding is helpful, but not enough. We know that. That’s why we are doing so very much more. I can’t reveal everything for a variety of reasons (for one thing, we can’t let the competition know everything we are thinking about), but we are working hard on all fronts. We are building an army of dedicated writers, artists, Megaverse Insiders and other helpers and allies. And we have an onslaught of epic new releases in the making.

There will always be people who don’t believe. Who prefer to see the negative, condemn and kill dreams. That’s okay. They keep me on my toes reassessing and double-checking our plans to make sure we are on the right path.

The entire Palladium crew is breaking their backs to make Palladium grow and thrive. Count on it. Help as you can. Just buying the books you like is huge. This is our time to rise like the Phoenix. And that’s exactly what we are working toward.

Hmmm, I went on a bit of rant, but I think it had to be said.

Keep those imaginations burning bright. Dare to dream. Dream BIG. Share Palladium's dream and game on. The possibilities are, after all, limited only by your imaginations.

Me, I can imagine quite a lot. How about you? ;)

Sincerely,
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer and Game Designer

© Copyright June 11, 2012 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.

Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, The Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, Coalition Wars® and After the Bomb® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Heroes Unlimited™, Beyond the Supernatural, Dead Reign, Warpath, Shemarrian Nation, and other published book titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc., and Kevin Siembieda.

Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
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