Later this evening, a new Press Release will appear. It opens with my upcoming From the Desk of Kevin Siembieda for The Rifter #39.
When I asked Alex what he thought of the Press Release, his answer surprised me:
“I thought it was great.” he said. “A heartfelt, honest, to the point update of Palladium’s current situation. I think our fans will appreciate it. Of course, it will give our detractors plenty to point their fingers at and say, ‘See, told you Kevin’s making all the wrong moves.’”
It’s that last part that surprised me.
For one, I’ll never understand some people’s need to tear other people down. Especially people they don’t know, have never met and who have never done a thing to them. I don’t get it.
For another, we all believe we are making the right moves. We’ve made tremendous headway since the Crisis of Treachery laid us low. Sure, we’re still struggling here and there. Sure, it's still mindnumbing work. Yes, we miss deadlines from time to time and don’t have the money and resources we need to do everything that needs to be done (hence my selling of more of my stuff in the upcoming eBay Auction), but we’re making good, smart moves. We’re putting more art in our books, tackling new and surprising subjects, and working toward supporting all our game lines. We remain a lean, mean machine and we’re keeping the prices of our books low compared to our competitors and despite rising printing costs. We’re trying to be imaginative and innovative and most of all fun.
When I asked Alex what some of these guys thought were “wrong moves,” he mentioned us not doing PDF books, why do an art book, and that some believe that Robotech® is, indeed, old, dead, forgotten and not worth doing, among others.
We don’t do PDFs, because, unlike our competitors, who have hundreds (even thousands) of out of print titles, most of our books remain in print because there is a DEMAND for them. Juicers, Aliens Unlimited and a host of about 20 other titles would be back in print if I had the $100,000 to print them. Few companies have ever been able to keep their back stock titles as viable, sellable product for as long as Palladium Books. Btw, we have considered releasing PDFs of some books; namely, back issues of The Rifter® and select out of print sourcebook titles.
Furthermore, I very much want to release the Downloadable Adventures, but I’m waiting from my freelancers to turn them in. These would be like the fully fleshed out adventures that appear in Rifts® Sourcebook One, Revised and Expanded, the Heroes Unlimited G.M.’s Guide or the Place of Magic in the Old Ones sourcebook for Palladium Fantasy. I don’t want to offer one adventure, get people's juices flowing and then have a 2-3 month lag between the next new downloadable adventure. I want one or two new downloadable adventures released every month. Heck, personally, I’d love to see four downloadable adventures -- one for four different Palladium game lines -- every month or two. But I’m still waiting for material. My freelance writers have lives too, you know, and they are busy with their full-time jobs, marriages and writing books. Plus, I think they figured writing their actual book was more important. However, I think the message is coming thorugh that Palladium needs these adventures and I hope to be getting a dozen or more over the next month or two. And then watch out!
Why do an art book? Because sometimes you have to do a thing of beauty. Sometimes you have to let your creative heart soar. Johnny Z did 95% of the work, so it's not like I was working on it instead of something game related. I think gamers, Palladium fans and admirers of John’s artwork will love this book, and this isn't just a Joe Average artbook. It's 15 years of John's work at Palladium Books. It's as much a retrospective of Palladium over the last 15 years as a collection of artwork. Plus it is fun, funny, full of memories and just plain gorgeous.
As for Robotech being old, dead and forgotten. Hah! I don’t think there is a day that goes buy that we don’t hear somebody (usually lots of somebody’s) ask about Robotech®, when it's coming out, or telling us they can hardly wait for the new RPG and sourcebooks. Okay, so Robotech® Shadow Chronicles® was not the next Star Wars, but is was very good and it sure made us feel nostalgic and hungry for Robotech®. Long time fans want new Robotech® material and newcomers who have discovered Robotech® over the last few years through DVD releases and Shadow Chronicles® should both find the Palladium RPG and sourcebooks desirable.
Funny thing, I recently read a line in a magazine that went something like, “Who would have thought that a tired, old, forgotten Japanese TV show like Transformers would be made into a major motion picture by Michael Bay?” Um, I did, and I think the success of the Transformers movie will make people even more hungry for the Robotech® RPG.
Okay, maybe our apparent moves are not what some people out there would do in our shoes. That's cool, but it does not make what we're doing bad or wrong. Throughout Palladium’s history, we have always done things different than the rest of the industry, or contrary to conventional thinking or industry standards. I've been hearing forever that I'm crazy to do this or that, but Palladium has been one of the most successful RPG companies for decades and we plan to be so again. Heck, you could argue that we are right now, even under our current circumstances. We are one of a tiny handful around, under one owner for 26 years, and we are still ranked among the Top Ten RPG producers. That has to say something. Doesn’t it?
All of our problems aren’t solved yet, but we are working hard to put things right and kick out fun games for another 26 years. I know the naysayers are a small, vocal minority. I know our fans have our back. Just today, I could hardly believe it, but a wonderful person sent a $500 donation to Palladium! It came at a good time and is greatly appreciated. I always wonder if such "donators" prefer to remain anonymous, so I won’t mention the name, but you know who you are and you’re awesome. But that’s true of every Palladium fan who has sent a donation whether it was $2 or $200, bought a print or an extra book, sent out the call for help across the internet when we needed it, continue to spread the word about new releases, ran a game at a store or convention, or sent me a kind letter, e-mail or PM. You – our fans – are the greatest. You always have been.
You’ve been there for us through thick and think, so I’m not ever going to jerk your chain, lie to you, or blow sunshine up your backside. I’m going to give it to you straight. Everything ain’t roses. Not yet. Palladium’s complete recovery is an ongoing battle. Probably another year, maybe two. There have been hard choices. One of them is selling my stuff, but I’d rather sell “stuff” if it can make a difference than falter after coming so very, very far. Besides, it’s stuff going to good homes . . . your homes.
And that’s just it. We are NOT giving up. Not one of us at Palladium is giving up, freaking out or taking shortcuts. We’re here for the long haul, working as hard as ever, doing things right, rebuilding our foundation, creating product we think you’ll want and enjoy, and planning for a bright and prosperous future.
Just some murmurs and meanderings from the mind of . . .
Kevin Siembieda
Publisher, Writer, Artist and probably one Crazy Son of a Gun
© Copyright June 12, 2007