DWAITS - How It's Doing

[rsaintjohn]

Saw this post from Angus over on The RPGSite forum about how well the game has sold, reprint of the current (10) version, and how the core game's sales appear to be doing when compared to other recent powerhouses:

Doctor Who has been very successful for us. But bear in mind that selling out of your first print run is great - but it also depends on how many you printed in that run... Most RPGs print between 1,000-4,000 copies these days and that stock lasts them a while. We printed more than 4,000 (but a lot less than 20,000) copies of the initial set. It's certainly been a success for us and distributors are continuing to reorder (thus also prompting the reprint).

Much more at:

www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=16405&page=3

It's wonderful to see that the game is meeting (exceeding?) expectations, and it looks like we can count on it being around for a good long time! It's also great that Angus is pretty frank with numbers and so on, which is kind of rare in the gaming industry. It is a somewhat stark reminder of how those numbers are quite small, and it's somewhat amazing we even get such great games as this these days. I would love to know how it compared to Ye Olden Tymes; specifically, how many boxes did FASA sell of its first DWRPG, and how many copies of Virgin's Time Lord were printed (that was probably around 5000, IIRC the print runs of early DW novels in the early 90s).

[knasser]

I'm really interested in how DWAITS is doing, partly because I think it is a great game, but also because it is a role-playing game that shouldn't be limited to "the hobby". One of my long-standing issues is that RPGs are too often classed as their own little niche and all lumped in together. Really, if ever there was a game that ought to be mainstream, it's Doctor Who. The rules are very friendly to newcomers (yet still very elegant), it's a setting where you can really let your imagination and your improvisational skills go wild, it's staggeringly inoffensive with its emphasis on talking and thinking over aggression and violence and it's, well, Doctor Who. In the UK, Doctor Who is a national institution, it's watched by young and old from all walks of life. What I'd love, love, love to see, is this game on sale next to the stacks of plastic cyberman heads in Waterstones, listed in Argos catalogues. It would help bring role-playing to vast numbers of people, as well as being awesomely fun.

Really, every school in the UK should have at least one kid running this for their friends. Not that I'm saying DWAITS is a children's game - far from it - but this is one area it ought to take off.

EDIT: That was a really interesting post that you linked. As well as actual sales numbers of RPGs being hard to come by outside the companies, it's good to know that really was River Song we saw in the 11th Doctor trailer.

[JohnK]

Hullo, rsaintjohn,

Feb 13, 2010 21:06:17 GMT rsaintjohn said:

<snippage>

Much more at:

www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=16405&page=3

It's wonderful to see that the game is meeting (exceeding?) expectations, and it looks like we can count on it being around for a good long time! It's also great that Angus is pretty frank with numbers and so on, which is kind of rare in the gaming industry. It is a somewhat stark reminder of how those numbers are quite small, and it's somewhat amazing we even get such great games as this these days. I would love to know how it compared to Ye Olden Tymes; specifically, how many boxes did FASA sell of its first DWRPG, and how many copies of Virgin's Time Lord were printed (that was probably around 5000, IIRC the print runs of early DW novels in the early 90s).

One of the things that bothers me, after reading the whole post, is that there is the possibility that we are going to have to buy a new edition of the DW: AiTaS rpg in order to get the stats for Matt Smith's Doctor and some of his companions and allies, as well as possibly the beasties from his first season as the Doctor.

That said, I am really glad that sales of the main DW: AiTaS rpg and the GM Screen are doing well. The real test for the line will be sales on the Aliens and Creatures set, of course.

I really do wish that the Cubicle 7 folks had a more active participation here on the forums.

[skagra]

Feb 14, 2010 8:43:56 GMT knasser said:

Really, if ever there was a game that ought to be mainstream, it's Doctor Who.

While doctor who may be mainstream, I doubt RPGs or hobby games in general will ever be more than a niche market. I wish it all the best, though. I plan to buy all the products.

[ugavine]

I certainly intend to buy all the products.

Being Doctor Who I think Cubicle 7 should try and get it into high street store like W.H.Smith, at least in the UK when Doctor Who enjoys the most success.

[rsaintjohn]

Feb 16, 2010 20:29:02 GMT ugavine said:

Being Doctor Who I think Cubicle 7 should try and get it into high street store like W.H.Smith, at least in the UK when Doctor Who enjoys the most success.

Is the game not carried at WH Smith's or Waterstones? I saw it listed on the latter's website and just assumed it was on shelves there.

It's no different here in the States. You can get the game and screen from Borders and Barnes & Noble online. B&N lists it as "out of stock" at the physical stores, but I'm not sure it was ever stocked there.

But I agree, so much effort was made to make the game attractive and accessible to a larger audience, I hope it will see those higher profile venues, at least when "the 11 reprint" comes out. I bought the FASA DW game at a hobby shop in the 80s, but I did actually get Time Lord at Borders in the 90s. The stocking of RPGs at our bookstores is so hit and miss these days, and often limited to WotC, White Wolf and sometimes SJG. But there are exceptions like Margaret Weis' Galactica and Serenity books.

[knasser]

Feb 16, 2010 22:03:24 GMT rsaintjohn said:

Feb 16, 2010 20:29:02 GMT ugavine said:

Being Doctor Who I think Cubicle 7 should try and get it into high street store like W.H.Smith, at least in the UK when Doctor Who enjoys the most success.

I looked in Waterstones and WH Smiths here when it was first released but didn't see it, so I ordered it from Leisure Games in London. It really should be in those two chains. Even just from a sales point of view, it's a good move.

Selling to 1% of the people not into role-playing games generally, must be easily a dozen times more in raw numbers than selling to even 50% of the people into role-playing games generally.

But for the hobby itself, it would be a positive thing. I can't recall the last time I saw a role-playing game that was so approachable rules-wise, had such easy potential for running (the Dr. Who setting provides countless plot-ideas and you have ready-made familiar characters) and brand-recognition that is beyond ridiculous. I meet people from all walks of life and they love Dr. Who. I don't know what it's following is like in the US (I get the impression it's a little viewed as "Sci fi" for "Sci Fi fans", but in the UK this is one of the biggest and most popular shows we have. David Tennent's swan song was a two parter aired on prime-time TV on Christmas and New Year's Day. I've found fans from female managers in their mid-forties to school children to (I kid you not) professional opera singers. In fact, the only groups I can think of right now that don't particularly 'do' Doctor Who are some drop-out role-playing gamers and some computer programmers in my company's software department. If I don't see this box set in WH Smiths and Waterstones, it's going to be a horrible waste.

[Corone]

I believe the plan is to sell the game in as many places as possible.
However, getting your product into mainstream stores is tricky as you have to build new distribution links.
This comes with negotiations over wholesale price etc.

As the Who RPG develops more supplements and proves its viability in the mainstream market place I'm sure the guys will be able to forge links into more mainstream shops.

While a comparison between sales figures for our Who and the FASA version might be interesting, it was a very different time for the industry. Individual RPGs sell a lot less units than they used to in the 1980s. Not only due to the market having less mainstream appeal as it did but also now there are so many games out there the competition is so much more fierce.

[Dom]

Feb 14, 2010 15:48:02 GMT JohnK said:

One of the things that bothers me, after reading the whole post, is that there is the possibility that we are going to have to buy a new edition of the DW: AiTaS rpg in order to get the stats for Matt Smith's Doctor and some of his companions and allies, as well as possibly the beasties from his first season as the Doctor.

That would bother me too, so we are trying to make sure that you don't have to buy the Matt Smith version.

One option is to just give a free download of the character sheet. Another is to get a Matt Smith season 1 pack out as soon after the season finishes as possible, which includes and expands upon the relevant info in the revised core game. Or we could put together a PDF product with the new information in. We're still thinking about the best way to do it.

[kalan]

Feb 23, 2010 11:27:22 GMT Dom said:

Feb 14, 2010 15:48:02 GMT JohnK said:

One of the things that bothers me, after reading the whole post, is that there is the possibility that we are going to have to buy a new edition of the DW: AiTaS rpg in order to get the stats for Matt Smith's Doctor and some of his companions and allies, as well as possibly the beasties from his first season as the Doctor.

All of the options sound cool. Though honestly since I have Wife Approval (tm) to purchase any and all DW:AiTaS books regardless of packaging, I will likely get everything anyways
That would bother me too, so we are trying to make sure that you don't have to buy the Matt Smith version.

One option is to just give a free download of the character sheet. Another is to get a Matt Smith season 1 pack out as soon after the season finishes as possible, which includes and expands upon the relevant info in the revised core game. Or we could put together a PDF product with the new information in. We're still thinking about the best way to do it.

[JohnK]

Hullo, Dom,

Feb 23, 2010 11:27:22 GMT Dom said:

Feb 14, 2010 15:48:02 GMT JohnK said:

One of the things that bothers me, after reading the whole post, is that there is the possibility that we are going to have to buy a new edition of the DW: AiTaS rpg in order to get the stats for Matt Smith's Doctor and some of his companions and allies, as well as possibly the beasties from his first season as the Doctor.

That would bother me too, so we are trying to make sure that you don't have to buy the Matt Smith version.

I'm definitely glad to hear this, Dom, as it had me really worried oddly enough.

Feb 23, 2010 11:27:22 GMT Dom said:

One option is to just give a free download of the character sheet. Another is to get a Matt Smith season 1 pack out as soon after the season finishes as possible, which includes and expands upon the relevant info in the revised core game. Or we could put together a PDF product with the new information in. We're still thinking about the best way to do it.

I like this option, to be honest, although I guess it would depend on how reasonably priced the material would be., (Some of us live in Canada, and pay slightly inflated prices due to the difference in the Can$, the US$, and the pound.) Please keep us up-to-date on what happens with this, mate, as I'm sure the folks around here will also appreciate this.

[Mark Anthony Quested]

Feb 13, 2010 21:06:17 GMT rsaintjohn said:

Saw this post from Angus over on The RPGSite forum about how well the game has sold, reprint of the current (10) version, and how the core game's sales appear to be doing when compared to other recent powerhouses:

Doctor Who has been very successful for us. But bear in mind that selling out of your first print run is great - but it also depends on how many you printed in that run... Most RPGs print between 1,000-4,000 copies these days and that stock lasts them a while. We printed more than 4,000 (but a lot less than 20,000) copies of the initial set. It's certainly been a success for us and distributors are continuing to reorder (thus also prompting the reprint).

Much more at:

www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=16405&page=3

It's wonderful to see that the game is meeting (exceeding?) expectations, and it looks like we can count on it being around for a good long time! It's also great that Angus is pretty frank with numbers and so on, which is kind of rare in the gaming industry. It is a somewhat stark reminder of how those numbers are quite small, and it's somewhat amazing we even get such great games as this these days. I would love to know how it compared to Ye Olden Tymes; specifically, how many boxes did FASA sell of its first DWRPG, and how many copies of Virgin's Time Lord were printed (that was probably around 5000, IIRC the print runs of early DW novels in the early 90s).

Details of the FASA and Time Lord games should be in Howe's Transcendental Toybox book - volume 1. I'll have to try and look it up sometime.

[whichdoctor]

All I know is that it's doing so well that it sold out on Amazon Prime and I had to go to one of their affiliates to get it. Totally worth it, though.

[da professor]

I'm surprised noone has mentioned that the game has been nominated for an Origins Award, which I think is pretty cool.

[JohnK]

Hullo, daprofessor,

Mar 28, 2010 13:51:30 GMT da professor said:

I'm surprised noone has mentioned that the game has been nominated for an Origins Award, which I think is pretty cool.

Yep, I saw this and was pretty chuffed about it. Whether it wins the award given the competition it's up against is another matter, but I love the fact that the game got nominated. Here's rooting for the DW: AiTaS win!

[azimerthemad]

Does anyone know what else is nominated this year?