Tremendous Value or Signs of Weakness?
A few days ago, Chris discussed the high profile project that is Pathfinder Online. He hit all the high notes, the comments lit up, and I truthfully considered the matter covered and closed… until last night. Pathfinder, in a move that falls somewhere between shrewdness and desperation, has decided that this must happen and are willing to give away the store to ensure that it does.
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water and all that, so let’s give it another look, shall we?
As it stands right now, Paizo no longer wants you to pay $100 because you really believe in their project – they want you to do so because of their two for one deal on the assembled swag (a four to one deal if you include the value of the actual game they are trying to make.) As you can see, the project is not dead yet by any means, though they do have an uphill battle ahead of them.
They are giving away the store in order to convince you kick in. This is ironic to me given how easily they reached the goal for their original project a few months ago. I’m against supporting this project, and even I think this is a hell of a deal that is only likely to get better. If you are looking for a high-end RPG grab bag, you might never find a better deal, and should give the package offered below serious consideration. If, on the other hand, you are interested in the game they are selling I would instead take a look at some of the really great Steam sales going on right now and come back to check on this particular project a little closer to release date.
I have no interest in supporting this project, but I am rather tempted by the growing pile of swag; they’d still have to do a lot more to get my money, but let’s just say I’ll be keeping an eye on it. So what do you say, is this project a buy yet for the hardcore gamer?
Here is the full listing of the PDFs you get for supporting the project:
Paizo Publishing—Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to the River Kingdoms
0one Games—Basic Paths: Fangs from the Past
4 Winds Fantasy Gaming—Inkantations: A Sourcebook of Tattoo Magic & Body Art
Abandoned Arts Games—Class Acts: Clerics, Class Acts: Fighters, Class Acts: Rogues, Class Acts: Wizards, Feats of Subterfuge
Above Average Creations—Oracle Curses
Alluria Publishing—Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting
Dragonwing Games—Torn Asunder: Critical Hits
Drop Dead Studios—The Artisan
Ennead Games—Background and Details Kit, Vol. I: Fantasy, Hive Mind Feats
Eridanus Books—Gritter, Veil of Truth: Corporate Solution
Faceless Entertainment—Eat, Drink, and Be Merry #1: The Giggling Gorgon
Fat Goblin Games—Racial Ecologies: Guide to the Feyborn
Four Dollar Dungeons—The Firemaker
Game Room Creations—The Modern Path: Arcana of the Modern World, The Modern Path: Heroes of the Modern World 2.0
K2 Games—Classic Encounters Revisited: The Inn
Kobold Press—Zobeck Gazetteer
Lost Spheres Publishing—Transcendent 10—Spells of Synergy: Elemental Exchanges
Louis Porter Jr. Design—Enemies of NeoExodus: Folding Circle
Pelgrane Press—Lorefinder
Purple Duck Games—The Gods of Porphyra, Legendary I: Legendary Blades, Purple Mountain I: Temple of the Locust Lord, Random Encounters Remastered
Raging Swan Press—All that Glimmers, Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands, Scions of Evil
Rising Phoenix Games—Lunatic Labyrinth
Shadowland Press—Secrets of the Synod Horrenda: Conjuration Spells
Solace Games—Undead Evolution Series: Zombies
Thor’s Gate—Book of the Summoner
Tilquinith’s Gaming Tools—Creature Stat Cards
Tricky Owlbear Publishing—Learning Curve: Apprentice-Level Characters
Zaboom Press—Unusual Races: The Del’shy
Zombie Orpheus Entertainment—The Mask of Death
Zombie Sky Press—The Faerie Ring: Along the Twisting Way Prelude
Caffeineforge 
I haven’t been keeping a diligent eye on Pathfinder Online’s progress since my original post, but the “superpack” is enticing. Paizo runs its own e-store, and no doubt the cost to assemble and deliver this grab bag is pretty low, but it makes one wonder how much they’re really counting on Kickstarter money, versus their private equity.
I agree. This calls the whole premise of “this is just extra money for them” into question, and raises whole new questions. How bad do they need this money, for instance.
Well, if they’re scrambling to throw stuff at you for pledging, they probably need SOME of that money pretty badly. Probably not a million bucks on top of the $300k they already got from their “tech demo” KS. And that’s what I think is biting them on the ass. It felt greedy and shady.
I think if they’d come in saying “We got $300k, we need a million, so the goal for this is $700k”, I think people would be more inclined to support them, and I’ll bet they’d be putting out stretch goals instead of desperation rewards. I think they are discovering that KS backers are (slowly) getting a little more savvy to these kinds of tricks.
I don’t think it’s a matter of ‘how bad do they need it’, it’s more a case of ‘What will it cost them to get it?’
They started out by just flat out asking it.
“Give us a million dollars!”
Then they started negotiating.
“Give us a million dollars, and we will give you some books and some minis which will cost us only ten thousand dollars.”
Wouldn’t you cough up ten grand if you got a million dollars back? Only, it doesn’t look like they’ll hit the goal, so they’re back at the negotiating table.
“Give us a million and we’ll give you books, and minis, and pdfs, and be your best friends.”
As long as the cost to them remains < $1M, it's money in their pocket. Of course, they less they have to spend, the more they get in the end.