rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad

Why the Changes?

29 messages from 13 participants · 05 July 2002 – 09 July 2002
original thread on Google Groups

jspektr

Wow. Get busy for a few days and look what you miss! Just to add my two cents, I don't think changing the design was a good idea, nor do I like the design chosen. I don't think the grouping rule is a good idea. And I certainly don't think the rumored changes to various cards (traditions, majesty, etc.) are necessary or good for the game, if they turn out to be true. But let's look at this from a business standpoint, shall we? White Wolf is a business. It wants one thing: to make money. More specifically in regards to VTES, to make you give it money for more cards. White Wolf makes zero dollars from old cards bought off eBay. Each dollar spent on an out-of-print card is one less dollar someone might give to White Wolf for an in-print card. Every time you sell an old card to another player, that is money the other player could be giving to White Wolf. Obviously, it is in White Wolf's best interest to make people stop wanting to have old cards. How does it accomplish this? It does it with the new Camarilla set. The design is different, making it more of a hassle to mix old and new cards. Crypts cannot be mixed, again devaluing old cards. And many old cards are reprinted in ways that make it either a hassle to use the old card (because you have to remember what the new text is without it in front of you), or make the old card much less useful by changing its function. As a player and a customer, I find this very irritating. As a businessman, I may not think it's the best plan, but I understand why they are doing it. White Wolf wants you to stop buying old cards, and the Camarilla set is designed to do that. JSpektr PS: I suppose we might see the formation of "pre-Cam" leagues now. There are certainly enough old cards in circulation to support such leagues for many years into the future. I'm going to suggest exactly that to the Prince of St. Louis (who's already operating on a pre-May 30 ruling basis), and to the rest of my group.

Jeroen

jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... > Wow. Get busy for a few days and look what you miss! > > Just to add my two cents, I don't think changing the design was a good > idea, nor do I like the design chosen. I don't think the grouping rule > is a good idea. IMO, it is not only a good idea, it's nessecary to keep things balanced. The 6 cammie clans all get 15 new vampires, giving them a *huge* advantage over the rest. >And I certainly don't think the rumored changes to > various cards (traditions, majesty, etc.) are necessary or good for > the game, if they turn out to be true. Why not? All cards at the high end of the power spectrum have been taken down a notch. Is it really that bad to stop weenie Presence decks from playing majesty 20 times a game? Most vamps have to pay a blood to untap with +1 intercept (Read the Winds, requiring 2 disciplines at superior). At the moment a Prince/ Justicar titel enables you to untap and get +2 intercept without using a discipline and without spending blood. Does this seem balanced to you? The only changes I don't get are those to Hostile Takeover and TOGP. IMO, HT already was the better card (You only need a 2 cap Ventrue to 'bleed' your prey during your Master Phase) But it's TOGP (which needs a lot more set-up) that has gotten the worst change. Maybe the Justicars in this set are a bit smaller... If they use the clan novel characters, the Tremere Justicar might be a 5 or 6 cap. > > But let's look at this from a business standpoint, shall we? OK > > White Wolf is a business. It wants one thing: to make money. More > specifically in regards to VTES, to make you give it money for more > cards. Firstly, the first target of a business is NOT 'to make money'. I know this sound filosofical and the differences are largely semantics. Anyway: The first target of a bussines is - and you can find this in any Marketing/ PR textbook - to keep existing. This can be accomplished by, for example, making enough money, but there are other ways... Making money is a short term goal, the long term goal is to keep on existing. > > White Wolf makes zero dollars from old cards bought off eBay. Each > dollar spent on an out-of-print card is one less dollar someone might > give to White Wolf for an in-print card. Every time you sell an old > card to another player, that is money the other player could be giving > to White Wolf. Not true, every item sold on eBay is a form of free advertising. > > Obviously, it is in White Wolf's best interest to make people stop > wanting to have old cards. How does it accomplish this? No, it isn't. WW wants people to search for old cards. It's a way of getting costummers more involved. Costumers who are more involved tend to be more loyal costumers. > > It does it with the new Camarilla set. The design is different, making > it more of a hassle to mix old and new cards. Crypts cannot be mixed, > again devaluing old cards. And many old cards are reprinted in ways > that make it either a hassle to use the old card (because you have to > remember what the new text is without it in front of you), or make the > old card much less useful by changing its function. Bullshit. The new cards do the same as the 'changed old ones' so you can still use the old ones. And there's a difference in lay-out between the Jyhad and V:TES cards, nobody's bitching about that, are they? Games change and evolve, get used to it. > > As a player and a customer, I find this very irritating. As a > businessman, I may not think it's the best plan, but I understand why > they are doing it. White Wolf wants you to stop buying old cards, and > the Camarilla set is designed to do that. > This is short-term thinking. As a business, it's in WW's best interest to keep the fanbase and not to stop them from playing/buying cards. Most of the changes -IMO of course- seem to be aimed at making the v:tes more playable IN THE LONG TERM. It's waaaay better to have a loyal fanbase for a long period of time than having a big influx of new players who leave the game a couple of months later. I hope you don't work in Marketing :-) Jeroen

Sorrow

> Why not? All cards at the high end of the power spectrum have been > taken down a notch. Is it really that bad to stop weenie Presence > decks from playing majesty 20 times a game? One of the really good things about this game is that it has always (until now) been unlimited. Why shouldn't those decks be allowed to play Majesty 20 times in a game? If it is really a problem (which it is not) then if you are going to start implementing limits, why not just make it so that you can't have more than X in a deck. </sar> > Most vamps have to pay a blood to untap with +1 intercept (Read the > Winds, requiring 2 disciplines at superior). At the moment a Prince/ > Justicar titel enables you to untap and get +2 intercept without using > a discipline and without spending blood. Does this seem balanced to > you? Yes. Because it requires a P/J. Sorrow --- "I am Jack's wasted life." - Narrator

jeroen rombouts

"Sorrow" <jcb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:iGiV8.454$FW5.3...@newshog.newsread.com... > > Why not? All cards at the high end of the power spectrum have been > > taken down a notch. Is it really that bad to stop weenie Presence > > decks from playing majesty 20 times a game? > > One of the really good things about this game is that it has always > (until now) been unlimited. Why shouldn't those decks be allowed to > play Majesty 20 times in a game? If it is really a problem (which it > is not) then if you are going to start implementing limits, why not just > make it so that you can't have more than X in a deck. </sar> That's got nothing to do with it. weenie presence decks still can play majesty and can still pack 20 in a deck. Only problem is that they have to pay for it now. > > > Most vamps have to pay a blood to untap with +1 intercept (Read the > > Winds, requiring 2 disciplines at superior). At the moment a Prince/ > > Justicar titel enables you to untap and get +2 intercept without using > > a discipline and without spending blood. Does this seem balanced to > > you? > > Yes. Because it requires a P/J. Just in numbers: only 12 vamps have ANI and AUS There are 30+ vamps that are Prince or Justicar, with probably another 20 in CE ANI + AUS is 4 points in vampire 'creation' Prince or Justicar titles are mostly 1-2 points Still sounds balanced? Even with the new cost the second tradition has lower requirements AND a bigger pay-off. Jeroen

jspektr

joen...@hotmail.com (Jeroen) wrote in message news:<5f0d2397.02070...@posting.google.com>... > jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... > >And I certainly don't think the rumored changes to > > various cards (traditions, majesty, etc.) are necessary or good for > > the game, if they turn out to be true. > > Why not? All cards at the high end of the power spectrum have been > taken down a notch. Is it really that bad to stop weenie Presence > decks from playing majesty 20 times a game? Do weenie Presence decks win all the time? No. Do they win most of the time? No. Do they even win 30% of the time? No. There is no need to fix them. > Most vamps have to pay a blood to untap with +1 intercept (Read the > Winds, requiring 2 disciplines at superior). At the moment a Prince/ > Justicar titel enables you to untap and get +2 intercept without using > a discipline and without spending blood. Does this seem balanced to > you? See the questions above, but replace "weenie Presence" with "Prince Intercept." Part of the cost of the Tradition cards are paid with the cost of the Princes, who have a higher capacity cost than a non-Prince with identical disciplines. None of the rumored changes fix cards that caused a significant problem. This indicates there is a different reason for the change. I believe that reason is to devalue old cards to weaken the "grey market" for old cards. > The only changes I don't get are those to Hostile Takeover and TOGP. > IMO, HT already was the better card (You only need a 2 cap Ventrue to > 'bleed' your prey during your Master Phase) But it's TOGP (which needs > a lot more set-up) that has gotten the worst change. Maybe the > Justicars in this set are a bit smaller... If they use the clan novel > characters, the Tremere Justicar might be a 5 or 6 cap. Both these cards were powerful, but neither one consistantly won games for anyone. That should be sufficient proof they weren't broken. > > > > But let's look at this from a business standpoint, shall we? > > OK > > > > White Wolf is a business. It wants one thing: to make money. More > > specifically in regards to VTES, to make you give it money for more > > cards. > > Firstly, the first target of a business is NOT 'to make money'. I know > this sound filosofical and the differences are largely semantics. > Anyway: The first target of a bussines is - and you can find this in > any Marketing/ PR textbook - to keep existing. This can be > accomplished by, for example, making enough money, but there are other > ways... Making money is a short term goal, the long term goal is to > keep on existing. That's ridiculous. Businesses exist to make a profit for their owners. You can read that in any business textbook. That's the cornerstone of capitalism. If their purpose is just to exist, then they are a hobby. > > White Wolf makes zero dollars from old cards bought off eBay. Each > > dollar spent on an out-of-print card is one less dollar someone might > > give to White Wolf for an in-print card. Every time you sell an old > > card to another player, that is money the other player could be giving > > to White Wolf. > > Not true, every item sold on eBay is a form of free advertising. Yes, free advertising for old cards that don't provide any profit to White Wolf. If you can get old cards that are either cheaper (Jyhad, Dark Soveriegns) or better (Ancient Hearts, Sabbat) than the current ones in print, why would you buy the new cards at all? The players in my group, around 14 people, have probably spent more money on out-of-print cards in the last 6 months than we have on new cards. Do you really think White Wolf would prefer not to have that money? > > Obviously, it is in White Wolf's best interest to make people stop > > wanting to have old cards. How does it accomplish this? > > No, it isn't. WW wants people to search for old cards. It's a way of > getting costummers more involved. Costumers who are more involved tend > to be more loyal costumers. Yes it is. If a customer has $10, and can either buy a new starter, or an old starter, which one does White Wolf want them to buy? The new one. The old one has already been sold. If the customer buys the new one, they give their money to White Wolf. If they buy the old one, White Wolf gets no money. I don't know how to explain it more simply than that. > > > > > It does it with the new Camarilla set. The design is different, making > > it more of a hassle to mix old and new cards. Crypts cannot be mixed, > > again devaluing old cards. And many old cards are reprinted in ways > > that make it either a hassle to use the old card (because you have to > > remember what the new text is without it in front of you), or make the > > old card much less useful by changing its function. > > Bullshit. The new cards do the same as the 'changed old ones' so you > can still use the old ones. And there's a difference in lay-out > between the Jyhad and V:TES cards, nobody's bitching about that, are > they? Games change and evolve, get used to it. Please re-read my statement. If you own few or no new cards, and many of your old ones have changed, it will become very annoying to play games without the new text in front of you. That's one way to pressure players to buy new cards instead of old ones. Likewise, if old combos no longer work, old cards lose their value. If 5th Tradition is weakened, all those old 5th Tradition cards are less valuable, and less likely to be sought out by players. Ditto for any other changed card. > > > > As a player and a customer, I find this very irritating. As a > > businessman, I may not think it's the best plan, but I understand why > > they are doing it. White Wolf wants you to stop buying old cards, and > > the Camarilla set is designed to do that. > > > This is short-term thinking. As a business, it's in WW's best > interest to keep the fanbase and not to stop them from playing/buying > cards. Most of the changes -IMO of course- seem to be aimed at making > the v:tes more playable IN THE LONG TERM. It's waaaay better to have > a loyal fanbase for a long period of time than having a big influx of > new players who leave the game a couple of months later. Are you suggesting that the current fanbase, that kept the game alive even when no new cards were being printed at all, isn't loyal? The current game worked to keep those players, please explain how these changes will make them more loyal, instead of less. None of this seems intended to make the game more playable in the long term to me. The game has worked fine for almost a decade as-is. That seems like pretty strong proof it wasn't broken. Personally, I think these changes are intended to force players to abandon old cards and buy new ones. It's a tactic similar to that used by computer and software companies that need customers to buy new products when old ones work just fine. Come out with new products (software, operating systems, etc.) that are hard to use with old ones, to force customers to upgrade. > I hope you don't work in Marketing :-) Why? Because I actually understand how it works? Look at the reaction so far. The best responses have been "maybe this won't be so bad." It doesn't take a genius to see that's not good marketing. JSpektr

Sacha

"Sorrow" <jcb...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<iGiV8.454$FW5.3...@newshog.newsread.com>... > > Why not? All cards at the high end of the power spectrum have been > > taken down a notch. Is it really that bad to stop weenie Presence > > decks from playing majesty 20 times a game? > > One of the really good things about this game is that it has always > (until now) been unlimited. Why shouldn't those decks be allowed to > play Majesty 20 times in a game? If it is really a problem (which it > is not) then if you are going to start implementing limits, why not just > make it so that you can't have more than X in a deck. </sar> There is nothing stopping weenie pres from packing 20+ majasties with the new (rumored ) text. I stongly prefer the proposed method over the thought of card limits. > > > Most vamps have to pay a blood to untap with +1 intercept (Read the > > Winds, requiring 2 disciplines at superior). At the moment a Prince/ > > Justicar titel enables you to untap and get +2 intercept without using > > a discipline and without spending blood. Does this seem balanced to > > you? > > Yes. Because it requires a P/J. > While this is a requirement, it is not a balanced requirement. Anything other than a p/j needs to pay at least a blood to untad with only 1 intercept. Balanced would be if any and every clan had the same ability. Balanced would be every vampire having the abillity to do exactly the same thing. This would be boring. [ quoted text not captured ]

Sacha

> > > > > Most vamps have to pay a blood to untap with +1 intercept (Read the > > > Winds, requiring 2 disciplines at superior). At the moment a Prince/ > > > Justicar titel enables you to untap and get +2 intercept without using > > > a discipline and without spending blood. Does this seem balanced to > > > you? > > > > Yes. Because it requires a P/J. > > Just in numbers: > only 12 vamps have ANI and AUS > There are 30+ vamps that are Prince or Justicar, with probably another 20 in > CE > > ANI + AUS is 4 points in vampire 'creation' > Prince or Justicar titles are mostly 1-2 points > > Still sounds balanced? Even with the new cost the second tradition has > lower requirements AND a bigger pay-off. > > Jeroen As a positive note, the "3" issue (which is a hudge disapointment and really not a big deal at all, more so a really intellegent fix for a quickly mounting problem) this also reduces the number of princes available to exploit a highly unbalanced card. Thank you White-wolf.

Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com

On 4 Jul 2002 22:13:46 -0700, jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote: > >White Wolf is a business. It wants one thing: to make money. More >specifically in regards to VTES, to make you give it money for more >cards. > Making money requires a good product and a customer base. Screw with either and that will threaten the bottomline. > >Obviously, it is in White Wolf's best interest to make people stop >wanting to have old cards. How does it accomplish this? > Reprint the majority of the Jyhad/Vtes set with a few new cards and vamps as well as updating and erratting a few more cards,and thats about it. Not put the whole game into a blender and press Frappe. T

Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com

On 5 Jul 2002 05:29:06 -0700, joen...@hotmail.com (Jeroen) wrote: >jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... >> Wow. Get busy for a few days and look what you miss! >> >> Just to add my two cents, I don't think changing the design was a good >> idea, nor do I like the design chosen. I don't think the grouping rule >> is a good idea. > >IMO, it is not only a good idea, it's nessecary to keep things >balanced. The 6 cammie clans all get 15 new vampires, giving them a >*huge* advantage over the rest. > You know there was absolutely no good reason to add so many new vampires. A few per clan would've been sufficient in addition to reprints of the primary vampires. WW decided to flood us with cam vamps, and the '3' is their bandaid solution to the problem they created by doing so. > >The only changes I don't get are those to Hostile Takeover and TOGP. >IMO, HT already was the better card (You only need a 2 cap Ventrue to >'bleed' your prey during your Master Phase) But it's TOGP (which needs >a lot more set-up) that has gotten the worst change. Maybe the >Justicars in this set are a bit smaller... If they use the clan novel >characters, the Tremere Justicar might be a 5 or 6 cap. > Those 2 changes made the most sense to me actually. Very annoying cards. T

Peter Oh

<Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com> wrote in message news:3d2787fc.12558496@news... > On 5 Jul 2002 05:29:06 -0700, joen...@hotmail.com (Jeroen) wrote: > > >jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... > >> Wow. Get busy for a few days and look what you miss! > >> > >> Just to add my two cents, I don't think changing the design was a good > >> idea, nor do I like the design chosen. I don't think the grouping rule > >> is a good idea. > > > >IMO, it is not only a good idea, it's nessecary to keep things > >balanced. The 6 cammie clans all get 15 new vampires, giving them a > >*huge* advantage over the rest. > > > > You know there was absolutely no good reason to add so many new > vampires. A few per clan would've been sufficient in addition to > reprints of the primary vampires. WW decided to flood us with cam > vamps, and the '3' is their bandaid solution to the problem they > created by doing so. Wait a minute. Rewind. You are saying that White Wolf went about their business and made vampires, and as they went about this, they reached a certain number, and then they realized that they fucked up, made too many vampires and then had to cover their tracks? This is why you think the 3 rule was instituted? And you've arrived at this conclusion how exactly? Nevermind that Steve Wieck has stated that the origin of the 3 rule came from concerns raised on the Prince Mailing List when certain Princes came to realize the potential harm of duplicated discipline spreads. I'm surprised that you have that little faith in the common sense of the people at White Wolf. Peteo

Brian

jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... > joen...@hotmail.com (Jeroen) wrote in message news:<5f0d2397.02070...@posting.google.com>... > > jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... > > > >And I certainly don't think the rumored changes to > > > various cards (traditions, majesty, etc.) are necessary or good for > > > the game, if they turn out to be true. I think most of the rumored text changes will be good for game balance. I think most of the rumored text changes will be bad for the game. I think the rumors are untrue. I think the changes will be bad for the game because people like to have things to compare. It's something I've witnessed before in card games. Legend of the Burning Sands (at least the first sets) was a balanced game. It played like Legend of the Five Rings, only with no overly powerful cards. That is, no cards that catch your attention. Utterly bland. I found no motivation to make a deck because no card called out to me, "I am cool! You may have discovered my power!" Whereas L5R cards did (until they fixed them, too.) Whether the changes are good for game balance is not up to me, and discussed by others in other posts. I believe the rumors are untrue, but that will also be discussed in another post. > > > White Wolf makes zero dollars from old cards bought off eBay. Each > > > dollar spent on an out-of-print card is one less dollar someone might > > > give to White Wolf for an in-print card. Not true. Many gamers have "disposable income". If they want Ancient Hearts, they buy Ancient Hearts. If they want Camarilla Edition, they buy Camarilla Edition. If they want a four hundred dollar cheeseburger, they buy that, too. None of these precludes the other for them; if they want it, they will eventually buy it. > The players in my group, around 14 people, have probably spent more > money on out-of-print cards in the last 6 months than we have on new > cards. Do you really think White Wolf would prefer not to have that > money? If you can't afford new cards, you're probably not in the demographic White Wolf is marketing towards. > If a customer has $10, and can either buy a new starter, or > an old starter, which one does White Wolf want them to buy? The new > one. The old one has already been sold. If the customer buys the new > one, they give their money to White Wolf. If they buy the old one, > White Wolf gets no money. I don't know how to explain it more simply > than that. If the new starter is already in the store, it has been sold to the store, just as the old one has. > > > As a player and a customer, I find this very irritating. As a > > > businessman, I may not think it's the best plan, but I understand why > > > they are doing it. White Wolf wants you to stop buying old cards, and > > > the Camarilla set is designed to do that. I don't see why White Wolf would want you to stop buying old cards. It's the players with old cards who have supported the game all this time, I don't think WW wants them to leave. Rather, Camarilla Edition is as they said: A set to attract new players. Remember how WW said the Bloodlines were to be played with other clans, not as their own clans, and after months of asking "how do I build a mono-clan (insert bloodline) deck that works?", we eventually realized one by one that they were right? Their statements of intention deserve some credit. > > This is short-term thinking. As a business, it's in WW's best > > interest to keep the fanbase and not to stop them from playing/buying > > cards. Most of the changes -IMO of course- seem to be aimed at making > > the v:tes more playable IN THE LONG TERM. It's waaaay better to have > > a loyal fanbase for a long period of time than having a big influx of > > new players who leave the game a couple of months later. > > Are you suggesting that the current fanbase, that kept the game alive > even when no new cards were being printed at all, isn't loyal? The > current game worked to keep those players, please explain how these > changes will make them more loyal, instead of less. He's not saying this will make current players more loyal. He's suggesting that a _hypothetical new player_ will be more loyal with the new changes than without. > None of this seems intended to make the game more playable in the long > term to me. The game has worked fine for almost a decade as-is. That > seems like pretty strong proof it wasn't broken. And how many new players did it attract and keep during that time? I, like (I gather) most of the people on this group, have played since before the card backs changed. > Personally, I think these changes are intended to force players to > abandon old cards and buy new ones. It's a tactic similar to that used > by computer and software companies that need customers to buy new > products when old ones work just fine. Come out with new products > (software, operating systems, etc.) that are hard to use with old > ones, to force customers to upgrade. What I heard about computer and software companies is, they come out with new products (software, operating systems, etc.) that are compatible with old ones, because customers refuse to upgrade. Version 2.1 of a given program, for example, will often port text directly from v. 1.0's code to avoid unseen compatibility issues. By v. 5.1, it has so many near-useless strings of code, it must downsize (losing compatibility) or become bloatware. I do not know this, this is what I heard. But I do not want V:TES to leave overpowered cards alone, or poorly-written or ill-conceived rules unsimplified, just to keep the old players over the new. I do not want V:TES to become "bloatware". Think where the game would be today had the infamous 7/7 rulings not come to pass. LSJ and the Rules Team pissed off enough people to literally start a revolution (albeit a small one), and the result? Many are back and the game is more balanced than ever. > Look at the reaction so far. The best responses have been "maybe this > won't be so bad." It doesn't take a genius to see that's not good > marketing. People don't embrace change. Perhaps "Maybe this won't be so bad" is where we are after "I hate change of any kind" and just before "You know what? This was for the better". --Brian

jeroen rombouts

"jspektr" <jsp...@sprynet.com> wrote in message news:196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com... [ quoted text not captured ] note the difference between "fixing something that's broken" and "balancing what is unbalanced" > > > The only changes I don't get are those to Hostile Takeover and TOGP. > > IMO, HT already was the better card (You only need a 2 cap Ventrue to > > 'bleed' your prey during your Master Phase) But it's TOGP (which needs > > a lot more set-up) that has gotten the worst change. Maybe the > > Justicars in this set are a bit smaller... If they use the clan novel > > characters, the Tremere Justicar might be a 5 or 6 cap. > > Both these cards were powerful, but neither one consistantly won games > for anyone. That should be sufficient proof they weren't broken. see above. > > > > > > > > But let's look at this from a business standpoint, shall we? > > > > OK > > > > > > White Wolf is a business. It wants one thing: to make money. More > > > specifically in regards to VTES, to make you give it money for more > > > cards. > > > > Firstly, the first target of a business is NOT 'to make money'. I know > > this sound filosofical and the differences are largely semantics. > > Anyway: The first target of a bussines is - and you can find this in > > any Marketing/ PR textbook - to keep existing. This can be > > accomplished by, for example, making enough money, but there are other > > ways... Making money is a short term goal, the long term goal is to > > keep on existing. > > That's ridiculous. Businesses exist to make a profit for their owners. > You can read that in any business textbook. That's the cornerstone of > capitalism. If their purpose is just to exist, then they are a hobby. In your world businesses are out to make a quick buck and then dissapear into thin air? If 'profit' is the only goal, why bother with things as Brand Loyalty, PR, Customer Services.... (This is gettins waaaaay OT) > > > > > White Wolf makes zero dollars from old cards bought off eBay. Each > > > dollar spent on an out-of-print card is one less dollar someone might > > > give to White Wolf for an in-print card. Every time you sell an old > > > card to another player, that is money the other player could be giving > > > to White Wolf. > > > > Not true, every item sold on eBay is a form of free advertising. > > Yes, free advertising for old cards that don't provide any profit to > White Wolf. If you can get old cards that are either cheaper (Jyhad, > Dark Soveriegns) or better (Ancient Hearts, Sabbat) than the current > ones in print, why would you buy the new cards at all? *boggle* But those cards were already sold to distributor and local stores. Wotc or WW already sold those cards years ago. > > The players in my group, around 14 people, have probably spent more > money on out-of-print cards in the last 6 months than we have on new > cards. Do you really think White Wolf would prefer not to have that > money? They already got it when the original buyer bought their stuff. > > > > > Obviously, it is in White Wolf's best interest to make people stop > > > wanting to have old cards. How does it accomplish this? > > > > No, it isn't. WW wants people to search for old cards. It's a way of > > getting costummers more involved. Costumers who are more involved tend > > to be more loyal costumers. > > Yes it is. If a customer has $10, and can either buy a new starter, or > an old starter, which one does White Wolf want them to buy? The new > one. The old one has already been sold. If the customer buys the new > one, they give their money to White Wolf. If they buy the old one, > White Wolf gets no money. I don't know how to explain it more simply > than that. Look, it's a TRADING card game. Do you think WW cares (financially) wether you trade your cards, buy them from Errol, or from eBay? NO, because those cards are already sold. Granted, WW does give an incentive to all players to buy new cards (New base set for newer players and 100 new vamps+15 new cards for veterans), and who can blame them for that? But giving incentive to buy new cards is not the same as "wanting people to stop looking for old cards" > > > > It does it with the new Camarilla set. The design is different, making > > > it more of a hassle to mix old and new cards. Crypts cannot be mixed, > > > again devaluing old cards. You mean: "not improving the already strong and tried deck archtypes". Nothing is being devaluated. > > >And many old cards are reprinted in ways > > > that make it either a hassle to use the old card (because you have to > > > remember what the new text is without it in front of you), or make the > > > old card much less useful by changing its function. > > > > Bullshit. The new cards do the same as the 'changed old ones' so you > > can still use the old ones. And there's a difference in lay-out > > between the Jyhad and V:TES cards, nobody's bitching about that, are > > they? Games change and evolve, get used to it. > > Please re-read my statement. If you own few or no new cards, and many > of your old ones have changed, it will become very annoying to play > games without the new text in front of you. That's one way to pressure > players to buy new cards instead of old ones. Likewise, if old combos > no longer work, old cards lose their value. If 5th Tradition is > weakened, all those old 5th Tradition cards are less valuable, and > less likely to be sought out by players. Ditto for any other changed > card. If that's true, why would they search for or buy the new ones? > > > > > > > > As a player and a customer, I find this very irritating. As a > > > businessman, I may not think it's the best plan, but I understand why > > > they are doing it. White Wolf wants you to stop buying old cards, and > > > the Camarilla set is designed to do that. > > > > > This is short-term thinking. As a business, it's in WW's best > > interest to keep the fanbase and not to stop them from playing/buying > > cards. Most of the changes -IMO of course- seem to be aimed at making > > the v:tes more playable IN THE LONG TERM. It's waaaay better to have > > a loyal fanbase for a long period of time than having a big influx of > > new players who leave the game a couple of months later. > > > Are you suggesting that the current fanbase, that kept the game alive > even when no new cards were being printed at all, isn't loyal? The > current game worked to keep those players, please explain how these > changes will make them more loyal, instead of less. I'm talking about new(er) players, of course. > > None of this seems intended to make the game more playable in the long > term to me. The game has worked fine for almost a decade as-is. That > seems like pretty strong proof it wasn't broken. reread the statement: broken < > unbalanced > > Personally, I think these changes are intended to force players to > abandon old cards and buy new ones. It's a tactic similar to that used > by computer and software companies that need customers to buy new > products when old ones work just fine. Come out with new products > (software, operating systems, etc.) that are hard to use with old > ones, to force customers to upgrade. Totally different. Not enough suppliers => no real choice or a very limited choice for the consumer. And, of course, cross-selling (a new PC with an OS already installed) > > I hope you don't work in Marketing :-) > > Why? Because I actually understand how it works? Everyone think they know how marketing works. But it's a proven fact that NOBODY does. > > Look at the reaction so far. The best responses have been "maybe this > won't be so bad." It doesn't take a genius to see that's not good > marketing. Old Players have an aversion to change. But there has to be change, otherwise our game would end up in stasis. Do you prefer that? Jeroen

jeroen rombouts

<Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com> wrote in message news:3d2787fc.12558496@news... > On 5 Jul 2002 05:29:06 -0700, joen...@hotmail.com (Jeroen) wrote: > > >jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote in message news:<196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>... <snip> > > > >The only changes I don't get are those to Hostile Takeover and TOGP. > >IMO, HT already was the better card (You only need a 2 cap Ventrue to > >'bleed' your prey during your Master Phase) But it's TOGP (which needs > >a lot more set-up) that has gotten the worst change. Maybe the > >Justicars in this set are a bit smaller... If they use the clan novel > >characters, the Tremere Justicar might be a 5 or 6 cap. > > > > Those 2 changes made the most sense to me actually. > Very annoying cards. > OK, let met re-state what I said. Changes to HT and TOGP had to be made. The part that I don't get is why TOGP (the most difficult one to play) is hamstrung more that HT. If it was up to me, I would have changed them just the other way around. Making TOGP only target 7caps and lower en making HT only playable once per game. Jeroen

jspektr

Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com wrote in message news:<3d268732.12357030@news>... > On 4 Jul 2002 22:13:46 -0700, jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) wrote: > > > > > >White Wolf is a business. It wants one thing: to make money. More > >specifically in regards to VTES, to make you give it money for more > >cards. > > > > Making money requires a good product and a customer base. Screw with > either and that will threaten the bottomline. We'll have to see what the new set is really like, but so far what I've seen indicates they are threatening the bottom line quite effectively. > > > >Obviously, it is in White Wolf's best interest to make people stop > >wanting to have old cards. How does it accomplish this? > > > Reprint the majority of the Jyhad/Vtes set with a few new cards and > vamps as well as updating and erratting a few more cards,and thats > about it. That's just it. Merely reprinting a bunch of old cards wouldn't make people buy the new cards. But breaking a significant percentage of deck archetypes (most Prince decks, Presence with Majesty, etc.) by changing the text of commonly used and non-imbalanced cards will, especially if the only way to rebuild them is with the new 15 cards, some of which may fill similar roles to the old versions of the changed cards. I'm speculating here. The rumors of text changes might be just rumors, and nothing significant has changed. But no one at White Wolf has denied that those cards are changing, and I don't see why they wouldn't do so unless there is some truth to it. Maybe they have their reasons, but if people are getting upset about rumors, it seems to me that it'd be good PR to quell the rumors. Failing to do so just lends them credibility. Also, the Game Trade article mentioned that many cards have extensive text changes. Unless the article is wrong, that proves that at least some old cards are going to be significantly different. > Not put the whole game into a blender and press Frappe. We'll know soon enough. JSpektr

LSJ

jspektr wrote: > I'm speculating here. The rumors of text changes might be just rumors, > and nothing significant has changed. But no one at White Wolf has > denied that those cards are changing, and I don't see why they > wouldn't do so unless there is some truth to it. Maybe they have their > reasons, but if people are getting upset about rumors, it seems to me > that it'd be good PR to quell the rumors. Failing to do so just lends > them credibility. Clue: denying rumors that aren't true and not denying rumors that are true allows anyone with an IQ above that of reheated swamp water to "scrye" the truth. Also, answering speculation before the scheduled release of information in a way that attempts to preserve that release schedule as much as possible is activity that some players out there call lying (at least on some web forums, if not here). So, since (at least some) players feel sleighted when we answer what we can and remain silent about the rest, and since answering some and not answering others can lead to premature divulging of information, it is avoided. Sensible players should always check there sources, anyhow. A list reported to have been conveyed verbally from an unnamed source to a user posting under a hotmail account holder doesn't inspire confidence. Possible explanations: the poster knew/suspected that the information was priviledged and should not be posted on a public forum, or the poster knew/suspected that the information was not reliable. Possibly others. Decide for yourself how much weight to give it. Or ask the poster to cite his sources, if you need additional assurances. WW will post the official list of reprint updates when it is scheduled to be posted. -- LSJ (vte...@white-wolf.com) V:TES Net.Rep for White Wolf, Inc. Links to V:TES news, rules, cards, utilities, and tournament calendar: http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/

jspektr

LSJ <vte...@white-wolf.com> wrote in message news:<3D275019...@white-wolf.com>... > jspektr wrote: > > I'm speculating here. The rumors of text changes might be just rumors, > > and nothing significant has changed. But no one at White Wolf has > > denied that those cards are changing, and I don't see why they > > wouldn't do so unless there is some truth to it. Maybe they have their > > reasons, but if people are getting upset about rumors, it seems to me > > that it'd be good PR to quell the rumors. Failing to do so just lends > > them credibility. > > Clue: denying rumors that aren't true and not denying rumors that are > true allows anyone with an IQ above that of reheated swamp water to > "scrye" the truth. Clue: any official rep with an IQ above that of reheated swamp water can couch their answers in such a was this is not the case. Personally, I think you are in fact capable of doing so, and are using the answer above to deflect from your real reasons for not releasing a bit of truth to calm people down. I don't know what those reasons might be, they could just be pure stubborness or some clever marketing strategy. Either way, I don't think you're being completely honest. You could make a post explaining that while some card texts will change, you do not think it will change the fundamental nature of the game (unless that isn't true). I think that is one of the main concerns people have, that the game will no longer play the same because staple cards have been altered. That would not reveal anything significant about what the new text will actually be. You could make a post saying that the cards listed will not have the changes listed (unless that isn't true). That still reveals nothing about what is actually changing. You could even say *some* of them aren't changing, or aren't changing as rumored, and it would still help. Or, and really this is a last, desperate resort, White Wolf could move into the new millenium and accept that the internet exists, and news moves a bit faster these days. Once the rumors start flying, refusing to release information you plan to release anyway doesn't benefit White Wolf in any way. Oh no, we'll find out Majesty has been changed (or not) a week ahead of time! Mercy, the entire marketing plan will be in shambles! That seems a bit silly, don't you think? JSpektr

Sacha

> Or, and really this is a last, desperate resort, White Wolf could move > into the new millenium and accept that the internet exists, and news > moves a bit faster these days. Once the rumors start flying, refusing > to release information you plan to release anyway doesn't benefit > White Wolf in any way. Oh no, we'll find out Majesty has been changed > (or not) a week ahead of time! Mercy, the entire marketing plan will > be in shambles! That seems a bit silly, don't you think? > > JSpektr Want to know what I thinks a bit silly? Ya, it's you. Why is it that this news group is errupting into chaos over the release schedule White-wolf has adopted? The information is going to be released when they feel it is appropriate, not before. It's not a conspiricy, it's their buisness. If you don't like it, find a hobby that doesn't pend on release dates. Think frisby, no high tension release dates there. The positive thing about this is that you as the consumer can choose to suport or not support the company that creates this "game" as you chose. If you feel that they have made a bad buisness decision, don't buy their product. I understand that you have pumped thousands of dollars and hours into this "hobby" but this does not give you a say in how they run their buisness. Perhaps if you had pumped that money and time into stock, but that isn't at issue. Be patient, all will be released with time. Then you can bitch.

Derek Ray

In message <196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>, jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) mumbled something about: >LSJ <vte...@white-wolf.com> wrote in message news:<3D275019...@white-wolf.com>... >> jspektr wrote: >> > I'm speculating here. The rumors of text changes might be just rumors, >> > and nothing significant has changed. But no one at White Wolf has >> > denied that those cards are changing, and I don't see why they >> > wouldn't do so unless there is some truth to it. Maybe they have their >> > reasons, but if people are getting upset about rumors, it seems to me >> > that it'd be good PR to quell the rumors. Failing to do so just lends >> > them credibility. >> >> Clue: denying rumors that aren't true and not denying rumors that are >> true allows anyone with an IQ above that of reheated swamp water to >> "scrye" the truth. > >Clue: any official rep with an IQ above that of reheated swamp water >can couch their answers in such a was this is not the case. Really? I can assure you that the only way to maintain actual secrecy in cases like this is either to remain completely silent, or to directly lie by denying everything. Those of us who are capable of putting two and two together and who have more than a passing familiarity with semantics are MORE than able to assemble the truth from a barrage of half-truths and half-denials. If nothing else, I could post 3-4 different rumors from seemingly "real" accounts via Google, and the form in which someone denied them all would tell me rapidly what I could expect to see. At a bare minimum, posting the denial tells me what ISN'T going to happen. Posting nothing is the ONLY correct response. >You could make a post saying that the cards listed will not have the >changes listed (unless that isn't true). That still reveals nothing >about what is actually changing. You could even say *some* of them >aren't changing, or aren't changing as rumored, and it would still >help. And it would still tell someone plenty. Especially after I grab onto the fact that you're actually responding to rumors, and use that information to post other, different rumors under the names of two different people "arguing" with each other. -- "There's no gray. There's just white that's got grubby." -- T.P.

Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com

On Sat, 06 Jul 2002 06:15:19 GMT, "Peter Oh" <ohb...@wam.umd.edu> wrote: >> You know there was absolutely no good reason to add so many new >> vampires. A few per clan would've been sufficient in addition to >> reprints of the primary vampires. WW decided to flood us with cam >> vamps, and the '3' is their bandaid solution to the problem they >> created by doing so. > >Wait a minute. Rewind. You are saying that White Wolf went about their >business and made vampires, and as they went about this, they reached a >certain number, and then they realized that they fucked up, made too many >vampires and then had to cover their tracks? This is why you think the 3 >rule was instituted? And you've arrived at this conclusion how exactly? > No I think they did this intentionally, so that CE would stand on its own as a game. And that clearly was their intention as they have stated as such. Best way to do this? Put 100 new vamps in it and require you to play them over the old cam vamps. In short, the grouping problem is one created by them. Nobody wanted all these vampires, they wanted reprints of vtes/jyhad with a few new cards and vamps added to the mix, much like Sabaat War was to Sabaat. T

Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com

[ quoted text not captured ] I think the majority of players, here at least, view TOGP as the more powerful card. The losing controller gets nothing. And you can have 2cap justicars as well. T

jspektr

PAUL...@HOTMAIL.COM (Sacha) wrote in message news:<d072c0.020706...@posting.google.com>... > Want to know what I thinks a bit silly? > > Ya, it's you. Or maybe it's silly to forget to actually read the post you're replying to? > The information is going to be released when they feel it is > appropriate, not before. It's not a conspiricy, it's their buisness. > If you don't like it, find a hobby that doesn't pend on release > dates. Think frisby, no high tension release dates there. No mention of conspiracy in my post. I did mention how stubbornly sticking to a release schedule when the information has already been leaked seems pointless and counter productive. I didn't say anywhere that the release schedule makes me upset or makes me not like the game. Those are complete fabrications on your part. I did say I questioned the wisdom of their not releasing information for damage control. I'm not sure how you twisted that into needing to play frisbee. > I understand that you have pumped thousands of dollars and hours into > this "hobby" but this does not give you a say in how they run their > buisness. Perhaps if you had pumped that money and time into stock, > but that isn't at issue. I certainly haven't pumped thousands of dollars into it, but you've already invented all kinds of stuff I didn't do or say, so why stop now? I'm a customer. No company has to listen to their customers. The ones that survive, however, do. (It's funny how people on this newsgroup get upset when you criticise the game or White Wolf, then claim *you* are the one getting upset. Pointing out that something doesn't seem right or done in the best way does not equal being angry or unhappy) JSpektr

jspektr

Derek Ray <lor...@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<udmfiu0btm0n59ss9...@4ax.com>... > In message <196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>, > jsp...@sprynet.com (jspektr) mumbled something about: > >You could make a post saying that the cards listed will not have the > >changes listed (unless that isn't true). That still reveals nothing > >about what is actually changing. You could even say *some* of them > >aren't changing, or aren't changing as rumored, and it would still > >help. > > And it would still tell someone plenty. Especially after I grab onto > the fact that you're actually responding to rumors, and use that > information to post other, different rumors under the names of two > different people "arguing" with each other. Let's look at the facts: 1. The cards are done, the changes exist 2. White Wolf is planning on releasing the information 3. Some potential buyers have decided not to preorder due to uncertainty over the changes What possible benefit does it serve, then, to not move up the release of the information? If the pre-order deadlines at some distributors are coming up, waiting as planned will not get those pre-orders back. Waiting will not calm potential buyers, and it will certainly not increase chances of selling lots of product. The only reasons I can see for waiting are: 1. Stubborness. 2. The information release has been timed to coincide with other marketing events, such as magazine articles, advertisements or personal appearances. I could totally understand it if #2 was the case. Then the surprise of the official information coming out serves to back up the excitement of some other event. I'm not aware of White Wolf releasing information in coordination with marketing campaign events in the past, however, so I suspect it's really #1. If someone can think of other reasons for waiting, great. I'd like to hear them, maybe it will make sense of all this. JSpektr

Peter Oh

<Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com> wrote in message news:3d2da123.5080969@news... > On Sat, 06 Jul 2002 06:15:19 GMT, "Peter Oh" <ohb...@wam.umd.edu> > wrote: > > > >> You know there was absolutely no good reason to add so many new > >> vampires. A few per clan would've been sufficient in addition to > >> reprints of the primary vampires. WW decided to flood us with cam > >> vamps, and the '3' is their bandaid solution to the problem they > >> created by doing so. > > > >Wait a minute. Rewind. You are saying that White Wolf went about their > >business and made vampires, and as they went about this, they reached a > >certain number, and then they realized that they fucked up, made too many > >vampires and then had to cover their tracks? This is why you think the 3 > >rule was instituted? And you've arrived at this conclusion how exactly? > > > > No I think they did this intentionally, so that CE would stand on its > own as a game. And that clearly was their intention as they have > stated as such. > Fine fair enough. Confusion from your use of the phrase "bandaid solution" as I took it to mean something else. > Best way to do this? Put 100 new vamps in it and require you to play > them over the old cam vamps. > Can you point me to the source that says that? Where does it say anywhere that you are required to play with the new vamps over the old base set vamps? It does not say that anywhere that I can find, nor is the implication made anywhere. Lets say that I want to make a new deck with Baltimore Purge, Weighted Walking Stick, Will of the Council, the Zoning Board and Tension in the Ranks. Guess what? I still can use Emerson Bridges, Sir Walter Nash, and Timothy Crowley to do that. It doesn't say anywhere that in order to use Baltimore Purge, I have to use Marcus Vitel (or any other Group 3 vampire) in my crypt. > In short, the grouping problem is one created by them. Nobody wanted > all these vampires, they wanted reprints of vtes/jyhad with a few new > cards and vamps added to the mix, much like Sabaat War was to Sabaat. Nobody wanted all these vampires? Sure no one was screaming on the news group or Prince List "We need more vampires!" But under your proposed plan of sticking in a few library cards and only a few vamps here and there, how do you propose that this New Base Set sell to veteran players? If WW were to only add 30 new vampires, do you think any of the veterans out there would throw a couple hundred bucks for the sake of 15 new library cards and 30 new vampires? No, I would venture not. There had to be a high number of new vampires in this set or it wouldn't have been feasible to go to print. White Wolf isn't going to spend thousands of dollars on a new set that has minimal appeal to veteran players even if their primary goal is to attract new ones. Futhermore, the grouping rule is not a problem created by White Wolf. It is a problem created by the very nature of the game. White Wolf is being proactive in trying to deal with the problem now as opposed to later on down the road. The only feasible ways to avoid the problem of custom crypting entirely is to either a) never ever print another new vampire again or b) print vampires with uncommon or crappy discipline spreads which would never see use anyway, so what's the point? If they put more new library cards in, that would detract from the number of valuable reprints they could put in the set. Then it would cease to be a Base Set and it would not serve its primary purpose of attracting new players. Peteo

CurtAdams

jsp...@sprynet.com writes: >That's just it. Merely reprinting a bunch of old cards wouldn't make >people buy the new cards. But breaking a significant percentage of >deck archetypes (most Prince decks, Presence with Majesty, etc.) by >changing the text of commonly used and non-imbalanced cards will, >especially if the only way to rebuild them is with the new 15 cards, >some of which may fill similar roles to the old versions of the >changed cards. Majesty and 5th tradition have needed fixing from the get-go. How to fix them (and some other overpowered cards) has been under discussion since 1995. Check the archives. If they did get fixed, I'll get LSJ a bottle of good champagne. You'll still have weenie presence; it just won't win half the tourneys in LA. You'll still have prince decks; you'll just see some other kinds of Camarilla decks as well. The crypt incompatibility by set is an essential change to avert escalation and to keep a larger set of vampires in circulation. There will be problems when future expansions get printed (e.g. future Camarilla expansions must either favor base set 3 with a 4 grouping or escalate with a 2). However, I don't see a better way. It's a great way to give new players a fairer shot, since there's one out-of-print set they don't need for a top flight deck. Pity it's the one easiest to get, but that's the way the cookie crumbles, due to WotC's print runs. Curt Adams (curt...@aol.com) "It is better to be wrong than to be vague" - Freeman Dyson

jspektr

"Peter Oh" <ohb...@wam.umd.edu> wrote in message news:<r17W8.85149$UT.57...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net>... > White Wolf isn't going to spend > thousands of dollars on a new set that has minimal appeal to veteran players > even if their primary goal is to attract new ones. Really? You could have fooled me. JSpektr

Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com

On Mon, 08 Jul 2002 02:45:43 GMT, "Peter Oh" <ohb...@wam.umd.edu> wrote: > >> Best way to do this? Put 100 new vamps in it and require you to play >> them over the old cam vamps. >> > >Can you point me to the source that says that? Let me clarify...if you buy any cards from CE and mix them in with old decks, you have a lot of useless CE vampires you cant use. If you do wish to use them, you can use only them vs the jyhad/vtes cam vamps. This is a simple way to force people to adapt to this 'new' edition. > >> In short, the grouping problem is one created by them. Nobody wanted >> all these vampires, they wanted reprints of vtes/jyhad with a few new >> cards and vamps added to the mix, much like Sabaat War was to Sabaat. > >Nobody wanted all these vampires? Sure no one was screaming on the news >group or Prince List "We need more vampires!" But under your proposed plan >of sticking in a few library cards and only a few vamps here and there, how >do you propose that this New Base Set sell to veteran players? If WW were >to only add 30 new vampires, do you think any of the veterans out there >would throw a couple hundred bucks for the sake of 15 new library cards and >30 new vampires? No, I would venture not. > I'm actually surprised that there were so few new library cards. Someting like 30 vamps and 30 library cards would be a good start. Look at Sabaat War as an example, it had plenty of reprints both minion and vampire, and it sold just fine. I thought they would do the same with CE but apparently not, to my disapointment. T

Joshua Duffin

<Tal...@nodamspamhotmail.com> wrote in message news:3d2da123.5080969@news... > In short, the grouping problem is one created by them. Nobody wanted > all these vampires, they wanted reprints of vtes/jyhad with a few new > cards and vamps added to the mix, much like Sabaat War was to Sabaat. I did! Me! (raises hand, waves) I like new cards. I like new vampires. I like new sets. I don't mind if they can't be mixed with the original-Jyhad-set vampires. New stuff is cool. The only thing I would've really liked in a "Sabbat War style" Camarilla set would be the uncommon Freak Drives. Other than that, I've got plenty of "old" cards already. *Especially* vampires. Josh easily pleased

James Coupe

In message <196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com>, jspektr <jsp...@sprynet.com> writes: >No mention of conspiracy in my post. I did mention how stubbornly >sticking to a release schedule when the information has already been >leaked seems pointless and counter productive. Bear in mind that a company placing things into the public domain can often have effects upon Non Disclosure Agreements. -- James Coupe PGP 0x5D623D5D I am woman. Here, me raw. EBD690ECD7A1FB457CA2 13D7E668C3695D623D5D

Joshua Duffin

"jspektr" <jsp...@sprynet.com> wrote in message news:196f2577.02070...@posting.google.com... > I could totally understand it if #2 was the case. Then the surprise of > the official information coming out serves to back up the excitement > of some other event. I'm not aware of White Wolf releasing information > in coordination with marketing campaign events in the past, however, > so I suspect it's really #1. > > If someone can think of other reasons for waiting, great. I'd like to > hear them, maybe it will make sense of all this. Well, I ain't no CCG marketing exec, but I have been told that too much availability of information about a new set before release tends to depress sales. That is, people are more interested/ excited about the new stuff when they don't know exactly what they're going to be getting. This is why, as I understand it, WW didn't release spoiler lists for previous sets before they came out (or even when they came out, if I remember right - more like a month later). Josh best before 7/10/2002