I hope most of you out there are doing okay and hanging in there despite the lousy economy. Personally, I’ve come to hate turning on the news, because it seems to be filled with nothing but reports of cutbacks, job layoffs, fear, and gloom and doom.
Just how hard people have been hit has been evident by Palladium’s online sales. One day they are fantastic, the next day in the toilet, the next day so-so, the next, fair to good, followed by an excellent day of sales, followed by the pits.
Even more telling have been the number of Palladium Open House (POH) cancellations – something like three dozen in the last month. That’s why the pre-registration attendance number has been hovering around 150 for a while now -- we get several new admissions, and we lose several through cancellation. Seven just this weekend. March 1, 2009 was the cut-off date for refunds to the Palladium Open House, so they’ve been pouring in. The most common reasons: loss of work, fear of losing their job, cutbacks and financial difficulty. How does this compare to past years? Ten times more cancellations than we have ever seen before.
My heart goes out to those who had to cancel and I hope your fortunes improve. You will be missed. Take care and try to stay positive.
I guess that means there will be a few VIP night tickets made available, again next weekend, but the reason why is unfortunate.
How is Palladium doing?
At the moment, lousy. But then February is usually the worst of our slow period (the end of January thru April is always slow sales). We anticipate new book releases will help a great deal, though with the current economy, we just don’t know.
I am sad to see so many of Palladium's fans hurting right now, and I just hope our games, old and new, bring a little joy into people's lives.
So put away your worries once or twice a week for several hours playing one of Palladium’s role-playing games. We have a lot of great product planned to help keep ideas for new adventures rolling. Or dust off your old books and take a new look at them. I bet you'll find plenty of ideas for new adventures.
Do not despair and keep those imaginations burning bright.
Just One of Your Many Friends at Palladium Books,
– Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Game Designer & RPG Gamer
© Copyright March 1, 2009 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
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