Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The slow death of West End Games...

...is apparently on again. Over at RPG Blog II, Zachary Houghton has a post on the latest news (if you want to call it that) about WEG and Septimus. Eric Gibson (owner of WEG) has been so out-of-touch lately, even the author of his shiny new game setting, Bill Coffin, can't seem to contact him. Mr. Gibson responds with some lame excuse about being too busy with school. I echo the sentiments of Houghton and many of his respondents. It's time for Mr. Gibson to get out of the business, or at the very least, sell off the Septimus license to someone who will be able to publish and support it, so Bill Coffin can make some money from his work.

-Rognar-

6 comments:

Aaron E. Steele said...

I certainly agree with the idea of WEG selling the license to another publisher and or cancelling the contract and letting the author of the game shop it around.

I don't see much point in pilloring Eric Gibson -- the recession/ depression has been bad for a lot of folks, and perhaps this pushed an already fragile situation over the brink.

Rognar said...

I have some sympathy for Gibson, but there is a lot of history there that predates the current economic downturn. For instance, the initial problem with Septimus and his inability to immediately refund the preorders dates back to March '08. I think what it all comes down to is Gibson has a reputation for making promises he can't keep and his current lack of communication is only serving to further blacken an already tarnished brand.

I will add that Bill Coffin is his own worst enemy in all this. The old adage "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me" really applies here. Septimus may be beyond rescue at this point.

Aaron E. Steele said...

Good points.

Sometimes it's best to move on to other pursuits. I hope both land on their feet, and find alternatives that better suit their skills and needs.

Rognar said...

My "What would I do if I won the lottery?" fantasies often involve buying WEG and creating a viable company out of it. I think with the core IPs, Septimus, TORG and the JUNTA boardgame, there is potential there. Completing the Opend6 OGL project would help to grow the brand

Jay said...

Yeah, the website went down one day a month or so ago and never came back up for air. Thanks for filling in the gaps--I had no idea about the sordid, behind-the-scenes details!

I was able to snag all the D6 game rules to be had from a mirror site a couple of weeks ago.

Rognar said...

What I've heard about the website is that the contract with the service provider expired and Gibson hasn't renewed it yet. I don't know if it's a financial issue or just another example of neglect.

Honestly, I think even if Gibson gets back into publishing again, he will have a hell of a time hiring writers.