It’s a little early to start talking about our plans for next year, though 2008 is only a little more than three weeks away.
I know some of you have been disappointed by our lack of ability to get out the many new products we promised the second half of this year. So are we. Trust me, we tried. We just couldn’t do it.
Why?
I think 2007 turned into a year of transition from the past (and from near oblivion) to preparation for the future (or at least the next few years).
I don’t know about you, but we had never stared down the barrel of a gun before. The Crisis of Treachery had dealt Palladium a near-lethal blow. We teetered on the brink of death for months before I made my last ditch appeal to you, our wonderful fans, for help. In some ways, I think we had prepared ourselves for what seemed like our inevitable demise. I had spent months exploring every other possibility. The appeal was a long shot. Some people said I was crazy to even consider it. A lot of Palladium friends and advisors, as well as our detractors, said it would never work.
It did.
Suddenly, we came jolting back to life with a fresh influx of cash, an unprecedented outpouring of love (at least for an RPG company!) and well wishes from Palladium fans.
What you need to understand is that there was no exaggeration about our dire situation. If Palladium’s fans had not rallied around us, we were dead. Period.
I’ve been told by my accountant and others that we did the impossible. That it was a miracle (it sure feels like one). And I thank you for it. Miracle or not, however, we still had a lot of work to do and adjustments to make. We had to shift gears from an exit strategy and eulogy to recovery and life. It was uplifting, empowering and wonderful. It was also emotionally grueling and challenging on every level. Miracle aside, we had a ton of work to do to stay afloat, and make good on this second chance you had given us. We had to make smart moves. There were days my head hurt, we talked and planned and researched so much. Some days I could see the eyes of the Palladium staff spinning as they worked hard to implement our survival strategy.
It may not seem like it, but it’s barely a year and a half later. We have accomplished so very, very much. It’s not everything we wanted, but it’s an amazing accomplishment. Palladium is not 100% yet, but we are getting there, and fast.
Palladium has improved very quickly. Our future is full of promise, but there is only so much anybody can do.
Having never risen from the grave before (it’s very cool by the way), we could not anticipate everything we’d have to deal with. Looking back, it all makes sense now, but you can’t predict everything. You have to adapt and be flexible. And that’s what we’ve been doing.
The part we didn’t anticipate was, after you gave us the strength to get up and run again, there was a point where we had to slow down. Yeah, I know, it’s counterintuitive, but it makes sense. After doing so much at breakneck speed, we had to slow down to reorganize, restructure and make plans to secure our future.
Things don’t just happen. You have to research, be smart, make solid plans and work at making things happen. That is what we’ve been doing these past six months. Six months in which the Zeleznik Art Book, Hades and The Rifter® #39 and #40 are all Palladium has managed to publish. Six months that have hurt Palladium’s cash flow and put us on an exhausting roller coaster ride. Six months that will all be worth it starting next year.
We’ve been working hard, building toward Palladium’s future.
1. Palladium reacquired the Robotech® license and have the first book in the series in development. It took longer than expected and there were some unexpected costs, but this license is gonna be huge for Palladium. I’ve always said you need at least two of three reasons to get a license:
A) Because it will make you money.
B) Because it will open new doors for you.
C) Because you love the property.
It’s rare when you get all three, and with Robotech®, Palladium has ALL three. The first book will be out end of January or early February. Count on it. We are excited about doing Robotech® again, and have big plans for this RPG line. You are going to love what we are doing with it. Just remember, the first new RPG is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Robotech. There will be more. Much more. You’ll see it develop all year long.
2. We’ve been looking for a new home for Palladium Books®. A somewhat smaller and less expensive base of operation than our current home. The Palladium office and warehouse is like a home for us, so we’re sad to leave, but it is good for us. The move will save Palladium $60,000 annually! Money to put into new releases.
3. We’ve been building and positioning our talent pool. Artists, writers, editors and helpers. Palladium has the greatest gathering of heroes . . . er . . . creative minds, writers and artists EVER. It takes time to gather these evil geniuses and creative masterminds. They need direction, guidance, and inspiration, but all that coordination and time is going to pay off in spades as they unleash a host of fantastic new books for release. Our plan, to release at least one new product a month.
4. More than one dozen books are in the pipeline. That’s 12+ manuscripts actually sitting on the shelf in my office. They all need editing and some rewriting and artwork to be assigned, and some need more work than others, but they are done and waiting. What are they? I probably shouldn’t list them, but here goes. They are presented in no particular order.
- Rifts® Dimensional Outbreak™ (Minion War™)
- Armageddon Unlimited™ (Minion War™)
- Fleets of the Three Galaxies™
- Rifts® Lemuria
- Rifts® Delta Blues™
- Rifts® Dark Woods™
- Rifts® Voodoo
- Rifts® Shemarrian Nation™
- Mysteries of Magic™ (Fantasy)
- Monsters & Magic™ (Fantasy)
- Atorian Empire™ (HU2)
- Nightbane® Survival Guide (Nightbane®)
And a few others . . . as well as a Chaos Earth™ novel.
5. More books are in development. The above are finished manuscripts. The following are just some of the other projects in development.
- Robotech® sourcebooks for Macross, Southern Cross and New Generation/Invid, and more!
- Heroes of the Megaverse® (Minion War™)
- Megaverse® in Flames™ (Minion War final chapter)
- Dead Reign™ RPG (Palladium’s zombie apocalypse RPG)
- Warpath™: Urban Jungle (modern combat)
- Triax™ 2
- Chaos Earth™ First Responders (sourcebook)
- Plus sourcebooks for Nightbane®, Heroes Unlimited™, Palladium Fantasy® and other Palladium game lines are in the works.
- Plus we are working on a Rifts® Chi-Town ‘Burbs anthology book (a collection of short stories).
6. And that’s not all! We’ve been quietly working behind the scenes on a number of projects, large and small, that we think will put smiles on your faces and make you hungry for role-playing games and more great products from Palladium Books. A couple (if we can pull ‘em off) might even knock your socks off.
Downloadable adventures, source material and G.M. aids; therifter.com, and a second podcast program are just the tip of the iceberg for what we hope to unleash next year.
All of this has been conceived, developed, and gotten rolling this year, most it in the last six months. No excuses for not getting out product, I just wanted you to know we have not been resting on our laurels (though we could all use a rest).
2008 is the year we need to implement our big comeback with great product on a regular basis. Jason Marker should help with that. I hope all of the above gets you as excited about Palladium’s future as it does us. Keep the faith and keep those imaginations burning.
– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher
- The Rifter® #41 – January 8, 2008. In final production.
- Rifts® Dimension Book 11: Dyval™, Hell Unleashed – January 21, 2008. In final production.
- Robotech®: The Shadow Chronicles® RPG – February 8, 2008 (possibly sooner). In production.
- Rifts® Dimension Book 12: Dimensional Outbreak™ – February 22, 2008. In production.
- Heroes of the Megaverse® – March 2008.
- A new Robotech® sourcebook (tentative) – March 2008.
- The Rifter® #42 – April, 2008.
- Dead Reign™ RPG (tentative) – April, 2008.
- Plus downloadable material, The Rifter® Zero, therifter.com, and a few surprises up our sleeves.
- Rifts® World Book 10: Juicer Uprising™ – back in print.
- Coalition Wars® Book 4: Cyber-Knights™ – back in print.
- Rifts® Dimension Book 8: Naruni™ Wave 2 – back in print.
- Rifts® China One – back in print.
- Wolfen Empire™ – back in print December or January.
- The final Palladium Art and Collectibles Auction starts Saturday, December 8.
- The Rifter® #40 – extra pages, plus a Dead Reign (zombie) sneak preview with enough to play it right now! 10 year anniversary special.
- Rifts® Dimension Book 10: Hades, Pits of Hell™ – the demons dimension of Hell and the start of the Minion War. For Palladium Fantasy RPG® and Rifts®.
- Rifts® and the Megaverse®, the Art of John Zeleznik – available in softcover, hardcover and Masterwork Edition (with original sketch).
It is only 17 days to Christmas and to insure YOU get your Surprise Package in time for Christmas, you should place your orders before December 14th!
Media Mail can take 7-14 business days to deliver (and sometimes longer, sometimes less, don’t take a chance, order soon).
Priority Mail costs more but delivery is guaranteed in THREE days. However, don’t forget that does NOT include Sundays, and with the holidays you might want to give yourself 4-5 days just in case. And don’t forget, it may take Palladium a day or two to process and ship your order, and orders placed on Friday night, Saturday or Sunday do NOT ship until Monday or Tuesday. We are only human, you know.
Express Mail will get your Surprise Package to you lickety split: 1, 2, or 3 days depending on location and how soon we can ship your Grab Bag.
UPS – regular ground gets to most places in 3-4 days. West coast 5-6 days (not counting weekends). These packages are also easily traced, tracked and are the most reliable method of shipping.
UPS – 1, 2, or 3 day delivery costs more, of course, but is very efficient.
But the point is, why pay more for Next Day/Express Delivery when your can order in the next week or so and still get your Surprise Package before Christmas?
Note: All delivery dates are for delivery in the USA. NO promises for orders shipped to any other country (though you should have time too if you order by December 7).
We are ready for the Christmas rush so order those Grab Bags by the truck load and we’ll ship ‘em out as fast as we can. As always, Kevin Siembieda reads EVERY SINGLE Surprise Package order, selects the books and surprises himself, signs and helps ship them all out. Do not delay.
Yikes, we should have reminded people about Palladium’s awesome Christmas cards and Rifts® 41 cent Glitter Boy stamps weeks ago, but it’s still not too late.
How cool is it to send your gaming buddy or sci-fi pal a Rifts® Christmas Card or holiday greetings? And with a Glitter Boy stamp to boot. That’s what Kevin Siembieda is doing this year and folks are loving it.
Cat. No. 2515 – Card Set One: ALL six cards (one of each with envelope for mailing). Retail Cost: $12.00 plus shipping and handling. Various artists.
Cat. No. 2517 – Set of Six Rifts® Ultimate Holiday Cards (humor) – “Happy Holidays” (six cards and envelopes all the same). Retail Cost: $12.00 plus shipping and handling. Art by Scott Johnson.
Cat. No. 2519 – Set of Six Ley Line Cards (humor) – “Joyous Christmas coming your way” (six cards and envelopes all the same). Art by Kevin Long. Retail Cost: $12.00 plus shipping and handling.
We have no plans to do any auctions in 2008. We’ll be too busy putting out new books!
Palladium Collectibles Auction
So this is your LAST chance to get yourself or a friend the ultimate Christmas gift or unique collectible. Many one-of-a-kind items, including the following.
- Original Artwork by Apollo Okamura, Ramon Perez, Mike Wilson, Kent Burles, Mark Dudley, and Kevin Siembieda.
- Kevin Siembieda’s entire five page Triax Gargoyle comic strip sold as a single lot.
- Rare prints and posters.
- 16 Proofreader copies of books, including Rifts® Conversion Book One, Rifts® Mercenaries, Merctown™, Merc Ops™, Madhaven™, Coalition Wars® 1, 2, 3, & 6, Splicers®, The Rifter® #9½ and #29, Old Ones™ 2nd Ed., Island at the Edge of the World™, Heroes Unlimited G.M. Guide™ and other notable titles.
- Gold Machinations of Doom “printer proof” (which are almost completely gone now) with an original drawing of Moses by Kevin Siembieda. Signed by Ramon Perez, Siembieda and the Palladium staff.
- Rifts® Ultimate Gold edition.
- The last of The Rifter® back issues.
- Amberzine™ #11 and #12.
- Shadows of Light™ for Nightbane®.
- The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy.
- Three cool Rifts® mouse pads.
- Rare Alien and Terminator Model Kits.
- And a bunch of other unique collectibles and one of a kind items, all signed.
Auction starts December 8 and ends December 15 which should give most people a chance for them to arrive before Christmas provided you ship via priority mail, express mail, or UPS. Remember, we have no plans to host any auctions next year. This is it.
Another great issue of The Rifter. Don’t miss out.
Progress on Dyval™ continues. Only about 25% left to finish!
Dyval™ is another dimension of Hell, the next book in the Minion War™ series, and is every bit as fantastic as Hades. Deevils as you have never imagined them before. A hellish dimension different from Hades, but just as horrible. The Deevil Host, evil monsters and minions, Deevil society, monstrous War Steeds, magic and more. Much, much more. Should go to the printer soon. Maybe we’ll toss out a teaser online in the next week or two.
At least 90% of the artwork is finished and looks great. Apollo is putting the finishing touches on the cover, and we are excited to get this book to the printer. It will be no later than a February, 2008 release.
The role-playing game will pick up where the DVD movie begins. The return of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, the separation of the SDF-3 from the rest of the fleet, and everything else that is part of Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles®.
Back orders shipped Wednesday, November 28, 2007.
One of the most popular and requested Rifts® World Books, Juicer Uprising™ has been updated to be 100% compatible with RUE.
An overview of China and the Hells of the Yama Kings brought to Rifts Earth, tons of Chinese demons, ghosts and spirits, adventure ideas and fun.
The secrets of the Cyber-Knights revealed: Summon Psi-Sword, Psionic Powers, Cyber-Armor, Cyber-Knight Zen Combat, Dream Visions, Squires and Mentoring, their Code of Chivalry, variant Knights, and more. Also learn about the fractured fellowship – the schism within the knighthood caused by the Coalition’s Siege on Tolkeen, as well as Fallen Knights. More detailed information, background and equipment than what is touched upon in Rifts® Ultimate Edition.
Naruni Enterprises is a famous, trans-dimensional weapons dealer from the Three Galaxies. Despite their weapons, armor and vehicles being blacklisted by the CS, and Naruni Arms Dealers being the target of CS bounties and assassins, Naruni Enterprises has returned to Rifts Earth.
This time it’s personal, as the Naruni are looking to stick it to the Coalition States, Northern Gun and others who helped the CS oust them from the planet before the Siege on Tolkeen. And they’re doing it by selling weapons and armor to all of the Coalition’s enemies.
The softcover edition of Rifts® and the Megaverse® is just as gorgeous as the two hardcover editions, and a steal at only $22.95 for the quality and amount of material. Bring back memories of your favorite games, get ideas from page after page of artwork, including concept art and designs, and enjoy the commentaries.
The fifty dollar hardcover edition is limited to 300 copies signed by John Zeleznik and Kevin Siembieda. It is the same quality as the Masterwork edition, but does NOT include original artwork and is not numbered.
Each of the 199 copies of the “Masterwork” edition comes with a one-of-a-kind, original concept drawing (pencil sketch, inked rough, etc.) that was originally created by renowned artist, John Zeleznik, specifically for one of the paintings or illustrations that appears in the book! To our knowledge, NO publisher has ever offered any of the original sketches and drawings used to create the artwork depicted in the art book. This unprecedented collector’s item makes a great gift for that, “I own everything Palladium,” collector, as well as serious fans of Palladium Books or John Zeleznik.
Robotech® and Robotech® The Shadow Chronicles® are Registered Trademarks of Harmony Gold USA, Inc.
© Copyright 2007 Palladium Books Inc. All rights reserved.
Rifts®, The Rifter®, RECON®, Splicers®, Palladium Books®, Phase World®, Megaverse®, Nightbane®, The Mechanoids®, The Mechanoid Invasion®, and Coalition Wars® are Registered Trademarks of Palladium Books Inc. Dyval, Minion War, Dead Reign, Warpath™: Urban Jungle, Atorian, Shemarrian, Naruni, Cyber-Knights, Three Galaxies, and other titles, names, slogans and likenesses are trademarks of Palladium Books Inc.
This press release may be reprinted, reposted, linked and shared for the sole purpose of advertising, promotion and sales solicitation.