An email from Decipher

[Balok]

Here's the problem with subcontracting: Decipher has to make at least enough money on that to make it not a losing proposition. You have to manage subcontractors, at least to some extent, and that means you have to dedicate some person to that job (at least part-time).

Now, the hints we've been getting suggest Decipher can't make money publishing the books themselves. And they'll need to take a little bit off the top to subcontract, which means the subcontractor's margins are likely to be even tighter. Any subcontractor you'd want doing the job will realize this, because they'll be smart enough to conduct a due diligence.

We don't know what standards have been established for the line -- are the books required to feature art from the shows? Are they required to be color? What happens if they decide they can't make money and cease production before the contract expires? Without these answers, it's really hard to guess what they'll do.

I suspect the delay is basically Decipher shopping the property around. I can't see any of the major players wanting the property, and I think the minor players probably can't handle it (financially or otherwise). And, some of the minor players have a poor quality track record -- if someone with a bad rep buys the property, it might as well be dead, since some customers won't migrate.

Right now, LoTR has a much better chance of being picked up that Star Trek. The former is a hot property at the moment, and the latter is not. Add to that the fact that fantasy roleplayer does better than science fiction roleplaying (with a few noteworthy exceptions). But I don't think either of these lines will be active in six months.

[koraldon]

actually from the posts around here and rpg.net I think the LotR RPG makes money.
But not as much as decipher wanted - they wanted to go toe to toe with D&D. Given the luckluster support they gave the game, it is no surprise they failed.

[Turloigh]

Originally posted by ReptileJK
I have this weird thing about a game no longer being supported by the company and still playing it. I know it seems like a cop out, but it feels like backing a lame horse. I guess it's short-sighted on my part, but I'm the same way with comics. If I can't have all of the issues for a given title, I hesitate to even start collecting it. It's a weird problem of mine (some people are addicted to gambling, women, or booze, this is my addiction ).

With comics, I feel the same. With only one issue missing, the story is not complete. RPGs are different, however. They are not stories, but an invitation to tell your own. I think that is the reason that so many gamers use only the Core Book and little else.

When we started our LotR game not too long ago, I knew the line could be cancelled any day. That's no reason for me to be mad at the publisher. Yes, they let us down, but I don't take it personal. I will simply continue to play.
I'll be disappointed if there should be no RotK sourcebook because I'd really like to have the trilogy complete (see above!). On the other hand... if there'll be no more books, I won't be tempted to spend money on them, so it's not too bad.

Come to think of it, a lot of the RPGs we've been playing had long been cancelled by that time: Warhammer, GDW's 2300 AD, FASA's Star Trek, Albedo, and RuneQuest (my all-time favourite, even though it had a shorter life here in Germany than in the US). I don't care if they're "officially" supported. They're just rules!
With LotR, things are even better because there is so much support of the "inofficial" kind, here at this board and in many other places.

So, what the hell. Let's just play!

[ReptileJK]

We don't know what standards have been established for the line -- are the books required to feature art from the shows? Are they required to be color? What happens if they decide they can't make money and cease production before the contract expires? Without these answers, it's really hard to guess what they'll do.

I wonder about this too. For example, say that they were to follow along the vein of Mongoose Publishing. Assuming they aren't required to print things in color, on glossy paper, etc., they could put out decent products at a reasonable cost (or so it would seem). I could care less if the supplements are soft cover, paper pages, and all black and white. They'd probably be cheaper for us to purchase then as well. The average Mongoose supplements for Judge Dredd is about $15.

With comics, I feel the same. With only one issue missing, the story is not complete. RPGs are different, however. They are not stories, but an invitation to tell your own. I think that is the reason that so many gamers use only the Core Book and little else.

To each his own, I guess. I agree that it's different with comics than RPGs, but I get that same feeling for some reason. Can't really explain it any better than that. THere's no doubt that I agree with you on saving the money, but it seems that their should be ways around the books costing so much (see above).

I'll keep playing LOTR, no doubt. We played MERP up until a few months before the Decipher game came out. Just doesn't feel the same. More than anything else, it's just my dissapointment in how the whole thing was handled by the company.

Cheers,
Reptile