by Jon Compton
The Distribution Front A few weekends ago I attended ORCCON with the rest of the GPG crew. It was our first convention with a couple issues of GameFix under our belt. Several of the retailers there related tales to us that have become all too commonplace. Usually the conversation starts out with "I hear you guys are sold out of issue [insert number here]." "No," we respond, "where did you hear that?" "Our distributor, [insert name here], says that GameFix is out of stock at the source whenever we try to reorder." If I had only heard that tale from one or two people I might not think much of it, but this problem has been related to me by numerous retailers spread out all over the US. Unfortunately, there is not much that we at GPG can do about this problem. We have made distributors aware that back issues are still available, and have related these tales to them when appropriate, but we cannot make them buy our product. What we can tell you is this: If you are a retailer who is trying to get back issues of GameFix, be assured that there are plenty of them left. If your distributor refuses to reorder them for you, contact us and we will provide you with an alternate list of distributors who carry GameFix. If you are still unable to get back issues of GameFix, we will ship them to you COD, but you must provide proof that you have attempted to order them through a distributor first. We will provide this service only where the distribution network fails to do so. We do not wish to compete with any distributor, nor take away any of their business; but at the same time it is imperative that our business survive as well. Remember, please make use of this offer only as a last resort! In the Hopper Lots of folks have been asking what games are in the hopper for GameFix, beyond the next half dozen. A company policy at GPG is that we only issue a contract for a game when it is completed, and then we only do so for six games at any one time. GameFix is still a new venture, and we are unwilling to obligate the company to publish more than six games in advance of the current issue. (This policy could change at some point in the future after the magazine has taken off, and GPG is on sounder financial ground.) The games that GPG is currently contracted to publish in GameFix are:
From the beginning, we saw that GameFix offered the perfect opportunity to explore current conflicts as they developed. Joe has proven to be just the man for the job. Other potential hot spots he will be exploring for us in the future include the Caribbean and Africa. We also have two games contracted for boxed publication:
Playtesters Wanted GameFix and GPG are always on the lookout for new playtesters. People interested in this job should contact Keith Schlesinger online at KEITHSCHL@AOL.COM. If you see a game mentioned that you would like to work on, let Keith know. By the way, call him "Kirk" (too many Keiths in this business, but the number seems to be shrinking... Game Designs Wanted! GPG is always on the lookout for new design talent and new design topics that fit the GF format printed in issue #1 and available by e-mail. A couple of subjects that we would like to see games on include:
Back to Table of Contents Competitive Edge # 6 Back to Competitive Edge List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by One Small Step, Inc. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com |