Misleading statements made by a computer games publisher

[Windigo]

So I always thought the Matrix/Slitherine deal was a merger! Two companies sharing the load, so to speak. But from what has been said here, Slitherine bought out Matrix?

I wonder about the identities involved, and why you have such a divided set of communities, and facilities, why they haven't properly integrated the whole lot into a single place. Presumably because it would take a lot of time and money and they might lose some members/customers on the way..?

Slitherine have a store and a dedicated forum community (with developers like Lordz Studio and many others in tow)
Matrix have a store and a dedicated forum community (with lots of developers in tow)
Wargamer.com have a dedicated (if a little lighter) forum community.

All these resources on stores and forum communities could possibly be better served in a single place, with a single identity?

Presumably Matrix is out on top in terms of recognition amongst wargaming communities as the leading seller of games? But Slitherine have been making headway into the mobile market big time, and have even dabbled in TV licensing and what not. It's like Slitherine is the "trendy" side to the whole business. :)

I'm not wishing to labast any company or their current identities, but I would welcome speculation and conjecture on the reasons why they keep all their assets fragmented and disparate. And what would be the consequences for good or ill if they tried to transpose them into a single entity with its own store and forum community.

Maintaining separate identities and separate store fronts is hardly a unique or unusual corporate retail strategy. It widens your market base and permits you to specialize.  You've already noted that matrix is better known and respect amongst the wargaming community, whereas Slitherine has a broader appeal.  That is the key.  You may lose, alienate or confuse your customer base if you consolidated everything under one roof.

Here in the United States, you have large retail chains that specialize in some product or products, but are owned by the same corporate entity.  For instance, take Bed Bath and Beyond.  This is a rather large department store that sells products for the home.  Items for the bedoom, bathroom, kitchen, etc.  This company also owns a chain called Harmon.  Harmon is like a drug store that sells over the counter medicine, grooming/hygiene products, etc.  Finally, Bed Bath and Beyond also owns another large chain called Buy Buy Baby.  This large retail outlet sells products exclusively for infants, babies and toddlers.  Same company owns all three chains, but they each have different websites and different store fronts.

There is no conspiracy here...just one rational corporate marketing strategy.

+2

[hurryover]

Who cares? If they make games I like, I'll buy them, if not, I won't. Is Matrix the same company it was 5 years ago, no but, neither is BattleFront or any other company.

I've seen this comment a couple times already.

I care, and I'll tell you why:

Because it has to involve the PC wargaming niche as a whole. So many developers have rushed over to Slitherine, like they're the  Second Coming of Christ or something, and now most of the market is under Slitherine's influence. If Slitherine fails, then all of these developers have to either start publishing their own games again, or find another publisher, or go to Steam.
Let's be honest, it's the developers that create the games, and it's their ideas that become the games.

So, it's pretty worrisome. I care for the hard working developers here. The developers are a larger part of the wargaming niche  than people give them credit for. The publisher is a much smaller part than people give them credit for. 

But feel free to sit behind your computer screen a say: "I like them if they make good computer games. If they don't, I wont buy them. I don't care about anything else."
Sure, that's all good and fine for your wallet. But if these developers disappear, or are influenced to create shallower games by their publishers, then the wargaming niche and the games we all love to play will die out.

[Bison]

Interesting how hard you are grinding this ax. 

[hurryover]

Interesting how hard you are grinding this ax.

Indeed. Everything is in the post above.
I guess you'd have to be wargaming long enough to have this much emotion tied up into it.

[eyebiter]

With digital distribution, if one publisher falls another will appear to fill the niche.  Look at what happened with Strategy First.  Lord only knows how many small developers were ******* over in that fiasco.  A few closed, others moved on and found an alternate method to sell their games.

Far as the "controversy" if  Matrix/Slitherine is a private held company, is this really an issue?

[bayonetbrant]

I guess you'd have to be wargaming long enough to have this much emotion tied up into it.

I dunno - some of us are going on 40 years of wargaming and are still fairly rational about it all...

[Windigo]

I guess you'd have to be wargaming long enough to have this much emotion tied up into it.

I dunno - some of us are going on 40 years of wargaming and are still fairly rational about it all...

I absolutely agree with that Bayo, even if you are using the term "fairly rational" in a very generous way.

[GDS_Starfury]

thats an extremely open ended interpretation of rational.   ;D

anyhow, if slitherine fails then another company picks up and moves forward.  welcome to capitalism.  if theres money to be made someone will make it.

[hurryover]

thats an extremely open ended interpretation of rational.   ;D

This definition is actually so open-ended, that it's now become irrational.  ;D

[Bison]

Interesting how hard you are grinding this ax.

Indeed. Everything is in the post above.
I guess you'd have to be wargaming long enough to have this much emotion tied up into it.

Or have an axe to grind.   Either way how did you learn about grogheads?

[hurryover]

This conversation is officially....

[bayonetbrant]

^^ that just means it blends in with all the others around here.

[Windigo]

^^ that just means it blends in with all the others around here.

Some of us are more guilty of that than others, but it's a hallmark of ADHD greatness

[bayonetbrant]

[Nefaro]

Anima, I'm putting your account on 24 hold for admin review. Someone coming out of nowhere who's first post is an attack is usually a major red flag.

He makes a fine point.  Do we really know how much other factors were taken into account regarding Slitherine's sales increases?

If nothing else, it's a question that should've been asked when the "premium pricing" sales reports were first mentioned here.  How did we miss such an obvious question?