RJL
Kai Lord
Posts: 5
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Post by RJL on Apr 10, 2005 4:29:50 GMT
Lone wolf seems to be very popular, why is the whole last half of the series so hard to find? The final 8 books never even had an American release, who owns the printing rights, and why do they not cash in on this? The demand IS there, (just check the prices for these books on eBay!) Where is the supply?
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Post by Thomas Wolmer on Apr 10, 2005 8:27:01 GMT
After Red Fox let them run out of print, the rights reverted back to Joe Dever. Since then, he's been waiting for some publisher to offer him a decent deal...
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Post by Doomy on Apr 10, 2005 10:11:12 GMT
Wouldn't a new publisher be more likely to completely relaunch the series with Flight From the Dark rather than starting from book 21 onwards?
Obviously Project Aon's very existence means that the Kai, Magnakai, and Grand Master series have had their day in terms of commercial viability. No publisher is going to touch books which are freely available- in an improved form - to anyone with an internet connection. That Joe Dever must have been aware of this when he granted Project Aon's license - keeping the books in the public domain at the cost of any prospect of future royalties- is to his credit.
What makes the New Order books different? My guess is that Joe Dever feels short-changed by their token publication and hopes to see them get a fair crack.
How likely is this? It seems a lot hangs on this question: "how accessible are the New Order books to someone who has never read a Lone Wolf book, or even another gamebook of any kind?"
Frankly, I have my doubts...
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Post by Gazguz on Apr 10, 2005 10:23:36 GMT
If they released the complete set again I'd buy new copies just to give my original set a rest.
Besides I would assume the next time it is published part of the publishing deal will likely include the remaining books. Having an online copy you can download is one thing but actually buying the books is something else.
I have bought several E-books is pdf format, but the books I have liked I have bought the printed version as well.
Maybe I am an exception... is there anyone else who would buy the full set of books in a new edition?
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Post by Doomy on Apr 10, 2005 10:35:32 GMT
Maybe I am an exception... is there anyone else who would buy the full set of books in a new edition? Many of us on this forum- myself included - would almost certainly buy all 28 books if republished. But frankly, there are not enough of us. Commercially speaking, gamebooks are deemed a fad which peaked around 1987, gradually waning in popularity until their virtual extinction by the mid-1990s. The gamebook's last hurrah was probably the Fabled Lands series, which was itself axed halfway through its run. Perhaps one ray of hope could be seen in Wizard Books' Fighting Fantasy relaunch, which has clearly proven popular enough to continue for 20-odd books to date, but I would be amazed if sales of the new versions hold a candle to those enjoyed by Puffin's originals. It would be interesting to see how many of Wizard's books are being bought by kids, seduced away from videogames (surely the chief culprit in the demise of the gamebook), rather than nostalgic fans. |
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RJL
Kai Lord
Posts: 5
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Post by RJL on Apr 10, 2005 20:27:48 GMT
That's why I am talking about 21-28, they are going for $80.00+ each on eBay, a run of 5,000 at $10.00 a piece would not be very expensive to print and I'm pretty sure that they'd sell out, make them available only via internet orders. 8X5000X10=$400,000.00 of almost pure profit, not a bad payday. What's wrong with my logic? This seems like money ready to be made.
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Post by North Star on Apr 11, 2005 14:12:09 GMT
20-odd books to date?? I've only got the first six books of the new release! *scrambles to get the others manically*
NS.
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Post by Black Cat on Apr 11, 2005 20:02:47 GMT
Besides I would assume the next time it is published part of the publishing deal will likely include the remaining books. I'm sure that is why he kept the rights for himself and didn't gave them to PA. Publishing 12 books would be more lucrative for a publisher than just 4 books: that's an advantage that Joe wants to show to book companies during the negociations. |
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Post by Zipp on Apr 12, 2005 0:51:05 GMT
... seduced away from videogames (surely the chief culprit in the demise of the gamebook), rather than nostalgic fans. Surely not the demise but the evolution. You must see how closely the two are related. It was even Joe's wish to have the Lone Wolf series turned into a video game. |
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Post by Gazguz on Apr 12, 2005 8:40:23 GMT
How about this for an idea...
You remember those old code wheels they used to have with old computer games to stop them being copied?
(Yeah, I know the games were cracked and you never actually had to buy the full game... but stick with me here.)
Well instead of having a code wheel, how about a gamebook with a computer game based on the book. Only loosely based of course.
I don't know about you guys but most new computer games cost about $90 here whereas these gamebooks cost me between $12 and $15 dollars each when I got them. I always think... is that it? When I open that near hundred buck carboard box to find a 4 sheet pamphlet with instructions to load the game and a CD in a CD case. Those few games you got a T shirt or a decent manual were always better games because of it.
Parents might like that too... getting kids to read anything that isn't on some form of electronic screen is so hard these days.
In fact that offers another potential idea.
An electronic book. A book like computer that you open up and it basically has two inside pages made up of LCD screens and perhaps another screen on the front and back. Plug a memory card in the top or side that contains the book touchscreen controls to turn pages, backlit LCD screens to read in the dark etc etc. Download new books for $1 or 50c each... Cut out the paper. Even get laptop sized models for the morning paper... electronically delivered at 6am and you don't need to worry about it getting wet or blowing away or being pinched.
Hardware costs probably prevented the idea in the past but now it might be unique enough to give it a try.
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Post by Zipp on Apr 13, 2005 5:37:54 GMT
Well, in fact Gazguz, they do have electronic books in Japan.
And as for using gamebooks to help get children back into reading, I am currently offering a project to my company to start producing gamebooks to help people learn new languages. More details later.
[ Mod was here ]
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Post by BenKenobi on Apr 16, 2005 11:05:05 GMT
Ehi !!! Here, in Italy, they're re-printing the ENTIRE serie, New Order included, from book 1 to book 28 !!! Few days ago I've seen the (almost) entire serie in a library... and the last time I saw it, was many years ago !!! Can it be... a Lone Wolf's RETURN ?  |
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Post by einsamerwolf on Apr 19, 2005 19:42:10 GMT
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Post by Zipp on Apr 19, 2005 21:50:19 GMT
I believe it was because of this, but go figure img236.exs.cx/img236/1926/tradition9gu.gifThere's no nudity, and it's actually just demonstrating the ancient Japanese art of "pantsu" tying. Still, I like Thomas, I ain't complaining. He's the most lenient moderator you'll find. God knows he could've found reason to delete half of my posts... and didn't! And I did post it as an image, which can be annoying for other readers. |
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