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DougRed4
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Joined: 18 Jan 2013
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Location: Seattle, WA
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 Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 2:56 pm Post subject: Surprising Popularity for D6 Star Wars as late as '99-'01 |
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On another forum a friend posted the following webpage, which shows some data from around 1999-2001. Even though this is long past WEG's D6 heydey, it seems there were still a surprising number of players still enjoying the game.
The numbers below show how many people were playing the following games at least monthly:
Dungeons & Dragons (WotC/TSR) fantasy 66%
Vampire: The Masquerade (White Wolf) horror 25%
Star Wars (West End Games) sci-fi 21%
Palladium (Palladium Books) fantasy 16%
Werewolf: The Apocalypse (White Wolf) horror 15%
Shadowrun (FASA) fantasy / sci-fi (cyberpunk) 15%
Star Trek (Last Unicorn Games) sci-fi 12%
Call of Cthulhu (Chaosium) horror 8%
Legend of the Five Rings (Alderac) fantasy 8%
Deadlands (Pinnacle) horror / western 5%
Alternity (WotC/TSR) sci-fi 4%
GURPS (SJG) mixed 3%
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green |
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garhkal
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14215
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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I know our sparks group routinely sells out our 3-4 tables each day at the con's we go to. Heck there has been a few cons recently we had to scramble to get MORE GM's to run tables cause of others being full and still more people were showing up. So it is still popular now.
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Tinman
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 26 Dec 2013
Posts: 110
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| Posted: Wed Jan 08, 2014 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| A lot of people enjoy Star Wars as an RPG setting, and (like myself) many people at the same time can't stand working with D20. I'd also credit WEG for producing a great deal of well written material for the game line. |
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Centinull
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 156
Location: The Outer Rim Territories
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| Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 1:39 am Post subject: |
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| WEG's D6 RPG engine is outstanding and Star Wars is one of the greatest RPG settings ever put into print. |
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2286
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Thu Jan 09, 2014 2:11 pm Post subject: |
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Agree with all of you. For myself, the small local (Seattle area) convention me and my friends put on has had numerous SW games, and all of them have been well attended and appreciated.
And I've been to two Gary Cons (in Wisconsin) and the Star Wars D6 games there seem to sell out right away.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green |
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atgxtg
Rear Admiral
Joined: 22 Mar 2009
Posts: 2460
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| Posted: Sat Jan 11, 2014 8:29 pm Post subject: |
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Cons are't really a good test of popularity. What tends to happen is that there are so many people that a table or three will sell out easily. Especially since those who prefer skill based RPGs over level-based RPGs will naturally gravitate towards any skill-based RPG over D20 if they can.Plus Star Wars is a big name, and can draw a lot of players just because it is Star Wars.
But, D6 Star Wars was always popular. Iit just didn't sell enough to keep WEG going. Especially during the CCG craze. Timing probably hurt WEG as much as anything. Had the prequels come out a little earlier, or MtG come out a little latter, WEG might have been around and the line gotten renewed. |
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Centinull
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 30 Sep 2013
Posts: 156
Location: The Outer Rim Territories
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| Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 2:28 pm Post subject: |
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| I was always under the impression that the reason WEG lost the Star Wars license was because Lucasfilm was offered more money by Hasbro for the Star Wars RPG license than WEG could afford to counter. |
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Ral_Brelt
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 05 May 2013
Posts: 221
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| Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd heard it was breech of contract. Lords of the Expanse was pushedto meet deadline and Lucas' people hadn't approved it yet. Sothe dark lawyers stepped in cause they ffound WEGs lack of respect disturbing. |
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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
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Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA, Earth, The Solar System, The Milky Way Galaxy
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DougRed4
Rear Admiral
Joined: 18 Jan 2013
Posts: 2286
Location: Seattle, WA
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| Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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| atgxtg wrote: | | Cons are't really a good test of popularity. What tends to happen is that there are so many people that a table or three will sell out easily. Especially since those who prefer skill based RPGs over level-based RPGs will naturally gravitate towards any skill-based RPG over D20 if they can.Plus Star Wars is a big name, and can draw a lot of players just because it is Star Wars. |
While perhaps not a perfect barometer, I can tell you that I've seen with my own two eyes D6 games run at cons (in two different parts of the country, with two vastly different crowds) that were immensely popular.
Other games sometimes can't even draw a few people.
Sure, some of that could be the Star Wars name. But the fact that the d20 game wasn't even available or played, even though it's more recent, does speak a bit to D6's popularity and the love some have for it.
Not very scientific and admittedly anecdotal, but none-the-less it's something I've witnessed personally.
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DB 2.0
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Joined: 03 Sep 2012
Posts: 208
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| Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 7:50 pm Post subject: |
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Goes back to the mid 2000's but at a major Con down hear in OZ there was games of D6 Star Wars and D20 Star Wars at the same Con, D20 was being Billed as "the Official Start Wars RPG" on posters, flyers, by WotC & Con Staff at panels and over the PA but they couldn't fill tables and had to cancel sessions, night one the Con Board had to meet to amend the rules to allow for recruiting in the trading hall and to allow for the non-Player or Payer to register for Tornie Games, D20 SW games still couldn't fill tables and had to cancel one or two sessions over the rest of the weekend, tables booked for D20 SW where given over to D&D or Magic Cargs since they had booked five and could fill two at best.
D6 SW had one table booked, but was able to take over a 2nd after the folks that booked it had to pull out of the Con, D6 SW was still double and even at times triple booked for players so there where lots of alternates for the few players that had to pull out at the last moment. |
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Whill
Dark Lord of the Jedi (Owner/Admin)
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garhkal
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14215
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 13, 2014 1:45 am Post subject: |
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| DB 2.0 wrote: | Goes back to the mid 2000's but at a major Con down hear in OZ there was games of D6 Star Wars and D20 Star Wars at the same Con, D20 was being Billed as "the Official Start Wars RPG" on posters, flyers, by WotC & Con Staff at panels and over the PA but they couldn't fill tables and had to cancel sessions, night one the Con Board had to meet to amend the rules to allow for recruiting in the trading hall and to allow for the non-Player or Payer to register for Tornie Games, D20 SW games still couldn't fill tables and had to cancel one or two sessions over the rest of the weekend, tables booked for D20 SW where given over to D&D or Magic Cargs since they had booked five and could fill two at best.
D6 SW had one table booked, but was able to take over a 2nd after the folks that booked it had to pull out of the Con, D6 SW was still double and even at times triple booked for players so there where lots of alternates for the few players that had to pull out at the last moment. |
Sounds like what happened at gencon 03 (or was it 04).. Our sparks group had 4 slots each day (minus sunday) and 5 tables each slot.. We filled out every table and even had 7 additionals, where as the WOTC sponsored D20 SW games iirc had several cancelled events.
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Barrataria
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Joined: 28 Dec 2005
Posts: 295
Location: Republic of California
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| Posted: Tue Jan 14, 2014 10:25 am Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | Sounds like what happened at gencon 03 (or was it 04).. Our sparks group had 4 slots each day (minus sunday) and 5 tables each slot.. We filled out every table and even had 7 additionals, where as the WOTC sponsored D20 SW games iirc had several cancelled events. |
That's an awesome story right there. 
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