The End Has Come

[Cut]

So if you buy a DecTrek book now, from, say, Paizo.com, who gets the money?

That one is easy: Paizo.com gets the money.

They bought their stock and paid their share to Decipher.


I would asume that the lisence allows the ex-owner to sell old stock, as long as that will last, but doesn't allow for new production runs of that old material.

I do not know how Trek RPG.pdf releases fit into this picture. Maybe DriveThru has purchased a number of downloads in advance and once they have been sold, the books will go...

[The Tatterdemalion King]

So the authors will get all they can out of this?

[Cut]

I'm not sure that I know what you mean.

I'm reasonably sure, that all the copies of the physical books out there in store at online shops and FLGS have been bought from Decipher. So there Decipher has seen the money. Not as much as they would get once they sell them theirselfs (as a trader you always get a better price). Ususally the company won't work on commission, handing a box of books to a store and say: well, let's see what you can sell... The books that are in stores have been sold by Decipher and made them their share of money.

The books that they try to sell via their own online shop haven't made 'em money as yet.

That's what I figure at least...

[tonyg]

Um...I think if any game had a hand in this it was the series of computer games, most specifically the X-Wing and Tie Fighter games. The RPG probably turned an acceptable penny, since it kept WEG alive despite all of the vagaries of the RPG business, for over a decade.

Nope, it was the RPG. Reason being that Lucas was so impressed with the Wend End RPG (well, actually Chaosium/West End) that he suggested them to all the 3rd part SW lines. Zhan actually had RPG experience too (some of his early work was published in SpaceGamer). In interviews Zhan mentioned how he drew heavily from the RPG, as it was the only SW soruce that really gave any new info or details.

Basically, the kinda stuff that GMs need to RPG a campaign is just the sort of background material writers need.

it was the Zhan books that revitalized the franchise and got Lucas thinking of making Ep 1-3, although that is a mixed blessing.

If WEG had not gone under for a few months at just the wrong time, they'd still have the SW liscense today. Heck, even Lucas swiped a few things from the RPG.

[tonyg]

That one is easy: Paizo.com gets the money.

They bought their stock and paid their share to Decipher.


I would asume that the lisence allows the ex-owner to sell old stock, as long as that will last, but doesn't allow for new production runs of that old material.

I do not know how Trek RPG.pdf releases fit into this picture. Maybe DriveThru has purchased a number of downloads in advance and once they have been sold, the books will go...

Yup, for the most part (the DMCA and Priate Act being the stupid exceptions) once someone had legally purchased something, they can resell their original as they wish. So if someone had bought up a ton of Decipher RPG books they can sell them for decades. That's how some places still sell old RPG stock. For example, you can still buy the old Victory Games James Bond stuff, even though Victory Games, Avalon Hill, And TSR are all long gone, and the rights for Bond have reverted back to Danjaq and the Fleming Estate.

Any other method would be impractical, as retailers would never keep anything in stock for fear of losing their investment the moment a liscense expired. It would be the kiss of death for local gaming shops. I know one that still has some FASA Trek stock on the shelves.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Any other method would be impractical, as retailers would never keep anything in stock for fear of losing their investment the moment a liscense expired. It would be the kiss of death for local gaming shops. I know one that still has some FASA Trek stock on the shelves.

Dude, whyyy? Ebay!

[tonyg]

Dude, whyyy? Ebay!

Because Ebay sales would fall under the same category, if the law worked that way for books. As it is now most local RPG stores don't make much money, and if their backstock has an expiration date of a few years, they'd keep no stock. Fortunately the law doesn"t work thay way (except for digitial products. That's one reason why the DCMA is flawed. Technically, it makes it a crime to resell a DVD that you legally own.).

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

Y'know it's been quite a while since I was last on here, and I am amazed that it took them this long to get the balls to actually admit the line was dead.

Pity, it was a good game.

[Cut]

Pity, it was a good game.

It still is, Daniel.

Anyway: Nice to have you back! Are you here to stay? And what have you been up to in the meantime?

[Dan Gurden]

Because Ebay sales would fall under the same category, if the law worked that way for books. As it is now most local RPG stores don't make much money, and if their backstock has an expiration date of a few years, they'd keep no stock. Fortunately the law doesn"t work thay way (except for digitial products. That's one reason why the DCMA is flawed. Technically, it makes it a crime to resell a DVD that you legally own.).

I suspect that the suggestion is that you might want to buy the Fasa stuff and sell it on ebay?

[tonyg]

I suspect that the suggestion is that you might want to buy the Fasa stuff and sell it on ebay?

No, chatting about how the end of the Decipher liscense doesn't prevent any vendors from selling their stock of CODA products.

But, with the way the DCMA is worded, digital version of CODA products are now by law unsellable.

Personally, I suspect illegal copies of CODA books like Worlds will be traded/given among CODA fans for years.

[Capt Daniel Hunter]

It still is, Daniel.

Anyway: Nice to have you back! Are you here to stay? And what have you been up to in the meantime?

I plan to hang about, since I actually managed to log in again after all this time. It's nice to be back here, since this is one of the more civilised Trek boards around.

Got involved in the whole fanfilm thing, which, as it turns out, is rather more time-consuming than I thought it'd be.

[tonyg]

I plan to hang about, since I actually managed to log in again after all this time. It's nice to be back here, since this is one of the more civilised Trek boards around.

Got involved in the whole fanfilm thing, which, as it turns out, is rather more time-consuming than I thought it'd be.

Despite the fact the board isn"t as active as it once was, and how many people don't stop by much anymore, this is still my favorite board to chat. It's got some of the best people to chat with on the net.

Even that C. Huth guy was alright.

[The Tatterdemalion King]

Despite the fact the board isn"t as active as it once was, and how many people don't stop by much anymore, this is still my favorite board to chat. It's got some of the best people to chat with on the net.

Even that C. Huth guy was alright.

Nah, he was a jerk.

[Liquidator Queeg]

Yeah, people from Tronna are so full of themselves!