The Culture: Things Bros Are Taking Off The Table (Part Three: Publishers Not Needed)

We don't need Publishers anymore. I did a week's worth of posts on that, so I won't repeat it here, but since a certain FightStick-inspired property shit itself it needs to be said again.

The reason this drama exists at all is due to a series of presumptions that are no longer valid.

• You must buy from Publisher (or designated Agent) to have Legitimate Product.
• Only Publisher can say what Is or Is Not.
• If you are not compliant with Publisher, you are not legitimate.

Each of these merit only one response.

To whit:

• STL files flow like candy now, and if you don't have a printer you won't have to hunt long or hard to find someone that does who will hook you up.
• The Hobbyist decides what Is or Is Not, as proven by Hobbyist (re)actions to unwanted Publisher pushes; this now extends to tie-ins like anything related to product lore and other Brand Development issues, meaning that Hobbyists take a Robotech-style hatchet job and unfuck it back into Macross/Southern Cross/MOSPEADA and Publisher can do fuck all about it.
• Hobbyist-run communications channels are free, easy to set up, and (once word gets around) prove more vital than disfavored Publisher versions every single time such that they can (and have) wielded social pressure to bully Publishers into compliance on things. (Again, UrbieLAM is the latest example.)

We don't need Publishers now. We can just take what we want, make Forever Editions, play for free (or at cost for physical products) and never again worry about what weirdos poseurs and fakes say about anything.

The way out is to go back to a commitment to Hobbyist-for-Hobbyist non-commercial publication and distribution, and not just of rules and tools- but also of the tie-ins. If guys like SODAZ could make awesome shorts that nailed what hobbyosts love about SpaceMace, others can too- and about far more than that one thing.

Yep, including books and comics.

Which will, in time, turn towards making new things- like how BattleTech shows clear Traveller roots.

We don't need Publishers anymore. They need us.