Peking Best

Just going by what I've seen. I don't see Matrix being nearly as aggressive as some other companies when it comes to exploring different sales channels, advertising or pricing . I'm interested to hear what you're seeing.  Can you be more specific?

(5)  If you're *really* smart, build (2), (3), and (4) into a *campaign*.  Aspiring generals start with little scenarios and few rules, win a minor battle with the tutorial holding their hand, and get some cooler panzers for the next game.  Stir in a few new rules, fire up another tool palette, and show them how to <new thing here.  By the time they get their first Tiger *abteilung*, they'll be hooked. Is this the way to build a breakout game?  Maybe not.  But *something* has gotta be out there that works better than, It's hopeless!  The niche is unbreakable!  Ignore my works, ye mighty, and despair! I don't disagree with any of your suggestions in theory or in principle.  Many of these kinds of methods have been proven winners in the past, if implemented properly.  It's worth realizing though that it all costs money and time, of which there is rarely enough of both to do everything.  While budgets for most games have gone way up in the last ten years, budgets for wargames have probably gone down. Regards, - Erik

What you'd end up with is not a game I'd like to play. Didn't you like PANZER GENERAL?  I sure did.  And really all I'm proposing is a game that presents a simple, PANZER-GENERALian vibe to the newbie, but got more complex and hardcore - *if you want it to* - as the campaign progressed. Call it plagiarism, but that's exactly the way SQUAD LEADER worked; you started with simple, easy scenarios where you read a few pages of rules, and worked your way into the system gently.  But now imagine the SQUAD LEADER rulebook where you have to digest the whole thing to play the very first scenario. If you think about it, this is the way almost every super-mainstream game works.  Even in Nintendo DUCK HUNT, you didn't have four ducks taking off at the same time in the first level.

Highway to the Reich went to retail, by the way, and has been available in the secondary market at budget prices for years now. Really?  Why would they do this in a niche market? <g

I'm sorry, but I never said price is not a sales determinator.  Price changes, however, make sense if by reducing your price 10% you get at least 10% in increased unit sales.  What I'm saying is that for hard- core wargames like HTTR and COTA, price is not a key determinant.  A hard-core audience is going to be interested in it and not many folks beyond that audience will.  I may think that HTTR and COTA are fantastic wargames, but I'm deluding myself if I think most of my extended family would actually be interested in it even if it were $5.  They might recognize it as a stable, well-designed game but they wouldn't want to buy it for themselves as it's not in their area of interest.  The point is that there comes a certain point when you see that decreasing the price further actually does not result in enough incremental sales to increase or maintain the same profit level. Perhaps that last line is what you meant to say

Just going by what I've seen. I don't see Matrix being nearly as aggressive as some other companies when it comes to exploring different sales channels, advertising or pricing . I'm interested to hear what you're seeing.  Can you be more specific? How many games has Matrix tried to sell on Steam over the last 2 years? How many games has Matrix put into the stores in the last 2 years? How many newsletters has Matrix put out in the last 2 years just to keep their customers informed about what's new? Ever done a 'loyal customer's discount' and offered those gamers that spend a lot of money with you 50% off on any 1 game? Ever tried to bundle games and offer them at a heavy discount? How about a civil war pack with the games by AGE, Grisby and Gil R for $90? How many interviews has Matrix done in the last 2 years with people in gaming press? Why not sell something like HTTR for $10 or even offer it for free? If people like it, they might actually buy the next 2 games in the series for full price. Rgds, Frank