Paizo has said (repeatedly) that they're not going to redo the old adventure paths - among other things because they don't want people to not purchase them when they're relased because they might be re-released in a one-volume set later. The Rise of the Runelords thing happened because of Paizo turning 10 as a company, and Pathfinder 5 as a setting.
I think they might do another one in 5 years. That would be the 10 year for the RPG then.
I don't know. Doing the RotRL compilation (in addition to their normal production and the heavy winter storms) nearly overwhelmed the company.
IMHO, they should update the other 3.5 APs to PFRPG rules. Especially CoCT due to its overwhelming popularity and SD could use a bit of plot tinkering. LoF is pretty well received on its own too.
Overall, It would be nice to have every AP officially PFRPG'ed and leaving 3.5 behind for good. Hopefully the sales of RotR anniversary will be a sign of demand.
I don't want collected versions of the PFRPG APs, just the old 3.5s.
I think they might do another one in 5 years. That would be the 10 year for the RPG then.
Paizo has not only said repeatedly that they have no plans to do so, they also asked the community at large to police itself and stamp out any ideas that it might happen again. It's a nice speculation, but it's not one they want to support, as even the thought that they might do this again can drive people away from buying the APs; another big reason they did RotRL was because it was out of print and some of the issues were nearly impossible to find. That's not the case with the others (to my knowledge). I realize you're just making your opinion known, and there's nothing wrong with that, but on this particular issue, it'd be best not to spread it around.
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I think they might do another one in 5 years. That would be the 10 year for the RPG then.I don't know. Doing the RotRL compilation (in addition to their normal production and the heavy winter storms) nearly overwhelmed the company.
Meh. That's no different than how the Inner Sea World Guide, the Beginner Box, or the Pathfinder Core Rules went. We like doing that kind of overwhelming stuff! :P
I didn't get the first adventure paths at all!
I bought Carrion Crown as my first AP. I will purchase other APs once I've run carrion Crown.
I've looked through the first Paizo Golarion 3.5 products but can't say I'm particularly interested in buying them. I prefer the new updated ruleset. I have all the Dungeons and Dragons d20 products so I'm not speaking from lack of knowledge.
I will be buying the anniversary edition of RotRL though as I've invested heavily in the newer Paizo products.
Now a collected book of the other original adventure paths updated to the PFRPG rules I am interested in. I personally disagree with the opinion that collected editions of Adventure Paths will create hesitant customers or reduce sales.
Once every five years for a collected edition doesn't seem like a ridiculous idea!
I didn't get the first adventure paths at all!
I bought Carrion Crown as my first AP. I will purchase other APs once I've run carrion Crown.I've looked through the first Paizo Golarion 3.5 products but can't say I'm particularly interested in buying them. I prefer the new updated ruleset. I have all the Dungeons and Dragons d20 products so I'm not speaking from lack of knowledge.
I will be buying the anniversary edition of RotRL though as I've invested heavily in the newer Paizo products.
Now a collected book of the other original adventure paths updated to the PFRPG rules I am interested in. I personally disagree with the opinion that collected editions of Adventure Paths will create hesitant customers or reduce sales.
Once every five years for a collected edition doesn't seem like a ridiculous idea!
It's not that the idea doesn't have merit. It's that it doesn't bode well for their business model. If it caught on that Paizo would be doing the reprints regularly, less people would by the initial print runs, which means that Paizo loses money on product that doesn't sell, which means that Paizo starts printing less to make up for lost revenue, which means Paizo makes less money than they were and may or may not ever be able to publish the compilation because they might not last long enough as a company to get there in the first place. The argument that people wouldn't stop buying the initial run APs holds no water because a) there's still in-print copies for every AP that came after RotRL and b) there's a definite precedent in the comic book industry regarding trade paperbacks and the negative economic impact it had on the customer.
It's a nice thought. Really, it is, and don't think that I wouldn't like to see it as much you. But the rumors need to be quashed so they don't circulate, so we can prevent Paizo Doomsday.
The Movie, Book, DVD, Comic Book, and numerous other industries sort of prove otherwise. They release a movie out on DVD after it comes out despite that it could decrease people going to see the movie, the release books in paperback format after hardbound copies, DVDs in both TV Shows and Movies get bundled together (as do book series) after initial runs are sold, and comics have been doing trades for a long time now, and more recently then ever you can expect a comic to be bundled.
The movie/DVD analogy is not quite apt since you dont subscribe to Movie going. Also, (as I understand things anyhow - I have no special insider knowledge) the practise of bundling comics has had a deleterious effect on the sales of comics via subscription.
.The key point is that Paizo have structured their business around a subscription model - the sales of the current products via subscriptions is what keeps the doors open and allows them to produce the next instalment. Anything which potentially erodes that revenue stream (even if it's expected to be replaced by another, equally profitable) is a risk and why take risks with something which is working so well?
Even us fans just talking about the possibility involves a risk - namely that somebody skims the thread without reading it properly and decides not to subscribe based on a misunderstanding of wishes as fact.
I do not think that Paizo lives in such murky water that merely speculating that they might release bundled products will bring them to their knees. Also like I have said before, Paizo already bundles their APs, or at least they have in the past on Black Friday. If people were really that serious about it then they could just wait once a year to snag the APs they choose at a discount price. I know that Pazio does not want to rock the boat to much, which is fine, I would love to see some of the older stuff converted and sold in HC, but they produce plenty of things to keep me occupied that if they don't do that I will still be might entertained. I think there is money to be made, but I do not fault them for keeping to a successful business model either.
FWIW, the concern over the potential for harm arising even from mere speculation came directly from them, not from me. (Although I am paraphrasing Vic and not quoting him, so it's possible I've misunderstood the point).
.In business there is often more to consider than just the bottom line. In this specific case, I suspect it's a cashflow issue (though like you I dont claim any special insider knowledge).
I realize that all the analogies do not match up 100% but the point was more the sacrifice of some short term profit for the sake of a better long term profit. I am also not sure if I buy people do not subscribe to movies, I know that they do not literally subscribe to them, but a subset of people are going to see certain movies no matter what, there is also probably a big overlap between those people and the people that play Roleplaying games. The main difference is movies have limited shelf-life you can keep them in the theaters, once you get past that date you still would like to make money off of it, which is where DVDs come in. Pathfinder does not have that problem, as a book is a book is a book. I have also heard that comic subscriptions have taken a hit since they became so trade focused, but I find it hard to believe that every major comic company would continue to do it if it was hurting their bottom line. Ten times that, I find it hard to believe something like say "The Walking Dead" line has not prospered incredibly due to that format. It is more for new customers then old ones.
Again, it's not just bottom line which matters. I wouldnt mind speculating that, once you reach the size of the major comic publishers, cashflow is less of an issue than it is for an RPG publisher (even one of the biggest).
Also worth pointing out that the Black Friday bundles are explicitly priced so that people who were subscribers to the AP when it came out still got a better deal than those who waited for the bundle.
Here are a few of Vic's posts on the subject:
I've heard that some of the RotRL adventures are either already out of print or close to it. I would think that once this happens you wouldn't be competing with yourselves...When James talks about "competing with ourselves," there's actually two ways that happens. You're clearly thinking about hardcover sales reducing sales of the softcover editions—and you're right: that problem goes away if the softcovers sell out.
But the other way is that Rise of the Runelords hardcover sales would impact sales of whatever the current Adventure Path is; that's actually potentially worse for us, because we rely on strong sales of the current AP each month to keep us in business.
Personally I would mind the option of spending $79.95 - $99.95 for a complete adventure path set in hardcover. Probably would be about as thick as the PFRPG core rules though.Offering a collected volume of each AP would be encouraging people *not* to buy volumes as they come out. If there's one thing you should take away from everything I've said in this thread, it's that that's a *very* bad strategy for us.
Also, your proposed price point would pretty much ensure that nobody bought it any other way, because the six volumes cost $119.94 as separate volumes ($83.94 for subscribers). Quite seriously, if we offered a product like you describe, we'd go out of business.
Have you considered taking your six volumes to a bookbinder? That sort of thing can be done.
I can't see that many people forgoing their subscriptions to wait for it.I can. Once we published the hardcover Shackled City, we heard from a *lot* of people who were interested in Age of Worms or Savage Tide but didn't subscribe because they thought there would be a hardcover coming. And when we first announced Pathfinder, we heard from a lot of people who wanted to know if we'd be collecting the APs so they could avoid subscribing. I believe that announcing a plan to do regular compilations would cause an immediate and significant drop in existing subscriptions, as well as a measurable slowdown in gaining new subscribers.
Seriously, guys, please stop asking for other compilations. It's not going to happen, and I don't want people who don't read carefully thinking it's likely to happen.
One of the main reasons for not doing this one is that just having the notion out there that we *might* do this for other APs is harmful. I'd really appreciate it if everybody would help squash that idea whenever and wherever it is raised.
This is a unique circumstance.