Re: [DL] [HOE] Long time lurker sharing position

["M(ike)GK" <mgkelly@axom.com>]

> I admit, I'm ignorant about the whys of the sellout.  Maybe it was a
> good deal, a lot of nice green cash for Shane and the gang. 

"A lot of nice green cash"? In the gaming industry? 

Cybergames.com has more financial muscle behind it is my understanding.
And it also frees Shane from having to do the accounting work so that he
can run the lines and write Lost Colony. 

I've always found Shane and the rest of the Pinnacle staff to be very
receptive to their fans and more than willing to jump on the lists with
rules clarification and game advice. I've never seen any other gaming
company that will go to the lengths that PEG will for not only their
fans, but also to make the best quality games that they possibly can. 

Shane himself has gone through a number of personal and financial
sacrifices to keep Pinnacle around and producing games of a quality
which I have yet to see duplicated. Calling him a "sell-out" is uncalled
for and unwarranted.

If you are upset about the current situation as to Pinnacle being cut
back to just Shane, that you would have to talk to Cybergames about. I
don't believe that Shane wanted this turn of events, nor foresaw it. He
simply saw that Cybergames had better distribution possibilities and,
possibly, a higher amount of available money which could be poured into
Deadlands. I *very seriously* doubt that Shane wanted his friends, who
are some of the best talent in the gaming industry, put out of a job.

In addition, it is my understanding that Cybergames would simply be
handling the financial side of the equation, such as paying bills and
making sure that money continues to flow into Pinnacle, and that PEG
would be allowed to continue to handle Deadlands and HoE the way that
they always have. It is also my understanding that the folks at
Cybergames are big Deadlands fans and didn't want to alter the
incredible job that Pinnacle was doing. 

Shane deserves a *HELL* of a lot more respect than being told that he
"sold-out".

As a die-hard PEG fan, I will simply pray that this turns out well.
Knowing Shane, he will do everything that he possibly can to make sure
that it does. I have faith in him.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into Steve Peterson's comments about
freelancers, but it almost leads me to believe that future Deadlands,
HoE, and Lost Colony books will be handled completely on a freelance
basis. Should that be the case, I sincerely hope that they allow John
Goff, John Hopler, Steve Long and the esteemed Christopher McGlothlin to
continue to handle the work. 

Mike
-- 
"You know you've found the woman of your dreams when she says you can
'tap her mana'."