Decipher Trek not doing so well?

I found this thread over at the rpg.net forums and wondered what your take is on it.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?threadid=7553

While most of the discussion does not actually address sales, I still find it disturbing to here this news. The very fact that Decipher has a new rpg line out is very significant to me for a couple of reasons: one, it is a major rpg contender that is not d20; two, it is a good quality game (aside from technical bugs--typos and concept errors). And I wish it no ill will.

If there is one rpg line that I want to do very well it would be this one. So what is going on?

Well, until someone in the know says that Dec is having problems I will say "Bloomington is a 'small' chunck of real esatate" compared to US and Canada. It may have "more geeks then a rap video has shot-shorts," but that dosen't mean anything. To me the guy answers his own question, at least partially, "...sold 11 copies of Star Wars D20 Revised." Now, I don't know the actual gamer demographics for the area in question, but it sounds to me that there are more SW fans then ST fans (gamers) in town. Or, the ST gamers have already bought all the ICON stuff and are just reluctant to change.

My LGS has, I believe, brought in at least a few copies of both books and they are not on the shelves. Could be special orders, yes. But the owner says they are selling well. (shrug) obviously the gamers in his area see something they don't like. As has been said around here multiple times "can't please everyone."

I wouldn't worry.

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Originally posted by E W Dawson
I found this thread over at the rpg.net forums and wondered what your take is on it.

http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?threadid=7553

While most of the discussion does not actually address sales, I still find it disturbing to here this news. The very fact that Decipher has a new rpg line out is very significant to me for a couple of reasons: one, it is a major rpg contender that is not d20; two, it is a good quality game (aside from technical bugs--typos and concept errors). And I wish it no ill will.

If there is one rpg line that I want to do very well it would be this one. So what is going on?

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All I know is that I bought the books and I like them. I have no control over anybody else's choices.

At my FLGS here in California the manager bought 6 copies of each book. So far he has sold 2 of each.

Star Wars is selling like hotcakes. Nobilis was a 100% sell (he got in 2 copies and sold both on the first day he put them out). D20, well, is D20. GURPS sells oddly -- it is VERY hard for him to tell which supplements will sell and which won't, other than the basic rules. And most of the supplements are sold to people who can't stand GURPS, but love the background material.

Star Trek is generating very little enthusiasm at the store. Why? Anyone's guess, but I think the fact that the setting is "old hat" to many people (and he is still trying to get rid of some of the LUG material at about 1/4 price) may have a lot to do with matters.

CODA strikes many people as "almost but not quite D20". Be fair, there are a LOT of similarities. Because D20 is hot currently and so many games have jumped on the bandwagon (Deadlands, CoC, Fading Suns, etc.), a lot of younger gamers in particular are assuming, "Why learn another system?" Also the D20 material is showing up on schedule for the most part; the CODA system material is showing up a month or more late from the scheduled release dates posted at Decipher.

Then let's hit the kicker -- a lot of casual browsers have muttered about two things: the character sheet hurts their eyes and the character generation system is muddled (and I'm toning down the vocabulary there on both counts). That is not helping sales.

That's a lot of counts against it. Does that mean DecTrek is dead? No, but it DOES mean it has a major uphill battle if it wants to spark interest.

My LGS sold out both the PG and NG within a few days after initial receipt. So, I'm not seeing this problem in my little corner of the world. :)

Its a question of market appeal isn't it.

Face it, SW has a larger audience than Trek and since SW is using a system everyone is familiar with, doesn't it stand to reason it'll sell better. Lookee we can play SW D&D style :).

I very much doubt that LUGTrek sold as well as 1st ed SW either.

Well at my local store, they brought in four copies of the Narrators Guide on Tuesday and when I went to buy my copy on Thursday they had all sold out... and this from a store that mainly deals with WH40K.

I had to make a special order and have them put me away a copy... because on Saturday my copy was all that was left. Make that six copies in a week. For my hometown that is a success.

As a point of reference, in the RPG department, the only games that tend to be stocked (and sell well) are d20, Storyteller, and (now) marginally Palladium.

Same here, the RPG shop I go to got something like 6 copies and sold out within a week ... they had to reorder cause the special orders were piling up. Admittedly, it is one of the only shop in Paris that managed to get the books a mere 2 days after the official release day, which is a real achievement here in France ;).

Some numbers:

NG - sold out in less than 48 hours.

PG - 15 copies ordered, 2 are now left; last time I checked (I don't know about re-orders)

mind you I'm in Berlin, which has at least half a dozen gaming stores... NONE of which knew there even WAS a trek game until it arrived on their doorstep. (or so they claim)

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Originally posted by Joe Dizzy
mind you I'm in Berlin, which has at least half a dozen gaming stores... NONE of which knew there even WAS a trek game until it arrived on their doorstep. (or so they claim)

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The biggest problem with the new system seems to be the information flow to the retailers. Sure, if you're like me and you check Deciphers web page daily, there's no problem. But I've heard too many stories about retailers who simply didn't know the game existed to believe that there isn't a problem.

One thing to consider is the fact of Attack of the clones has just come out. Everyone has Star Wars fever, even my son who is normally a Trekkers. When NEmisis comes out I expect to see sales of the Star Trek game jump up everywhere.

Makes me wonder if Decipher release the product too early. Maybe they should have started with the LOTR core rulebook.

No offense, guys, it is just the Ferengi Merchant in me.

I just hope that Decipher got a marketing gameplay for Star Trek products when Nemesis is out.

You are right. Star Wars is on everyone's mind, and if not that, it's Spider-Man. The sales of WizKids' Marvel HeroClix minis game is shooting through the roof, surpassing the sales of their MageKnight products. It parallels Wizards' sales of their Pokemon TCG vs. their Magic: The Gathering.

In fact, I notice a change in trend at a local gaming convention called Games Day. Past events have mostly TCGs and Warhammer, with few RPG tabletop sessions scattered around. Now CMG (Collectible or Clickable Minis Games) such as MageKnight and HeroClix took half of Warhammer gaming tables.

Well, I like the system. Everytime I like a game, it bites the dust.

So I wouldn't be surprised. but then again, I'm a pessimist.

I think the idea that "the game will sell itself" is not enough. We live in the commercial culture. You got to push your wares out there in order to get sales and keep your business alive.

Yeah same sort of thing in the stores in the west Toronto area. I asked a the sales fella at a major WOTC retailer about SW and the new Decipher RPG books and told me that the new revised SW D20 was selling madly since they just ran out of stock. He knew absolutely nothing about Decipher's
new ST line even though he sells tons of the Decipher cards every day. I go to their nearest affiliate or sister store if you will and lo and behold they had both books of D2) SW Revised and the ST RPG PG right by the cash. Go figure. So I'd have to say SW has the advantage especially in wake of a recent movie release and awesome game titles (ie. Jedi Knight Outcast on PC).