Is the Panzer Grenadier Series Dying?

[Matt W]

Like Daniel I have seen the series up close and personal for several years.  In considering PG I think it is important to think of the game system as a separate issue from Avalanche Press.  The game system is doing great as evidenced by the number and quality of submitted or in process designs and player interest in them.  In addition to this group there is the pretty lively Facebook group where the system is supported and fans can interact.  There are new twists and subsystems that are being considered by some designers that will raise the bar yet again.  

The frustration that many have with the current state of the line of games isn't really with PG itself but rather with Avalanche's choices revolving around what gets published and when (and when it gets sold).  Even the poll choices focus on Avalanche's management and not the game system.  I haven't heard people saying that they are leaving PG because they found a better way to scratch their tactical game itch (certainly people say that but nearly all of them leave early on deciding that they want something other than platoon level or a different level of detail or weapon focus).  I have, however, heard intense frustration over the publishing choices, timelines and overall sales policies, leading people to step back from the system.  I think it is important to consider all aspects of Avalanche's management of the product line.

As Daniel noted Dunkirk was completed more than four years ago and got a complete refurbishment in time for the movie release.  Boy that would have been a great marketing tie-in, right?  (Ditto for the Infantry Attacks system as we have slogged our way through the Centennial of the Great War without any new releases).  As a developer I have been frustrated as designs which were highly attractive to me were set aside for other projects.  I have several sets of source books on my bookshelves, acquired to support specific product development, which remain unread, or worse, read and noted but unused for development, because the publishing calendar has changed.  My favorites bar in my browser has an entire category for on line studies of campaigns for which I have received submitted designs but which have not been given a green light, or a previously green light has gone red.

I should point out, however, that another publisher would probably not have published the same breadth of games that Avalanche has pursued.  A lot of publishers might not have put out a product like the Iron Wolves, First Axis or White Eagles (or even such a piece of fluff as the Luxembourg Gold Club item). Mike is drawn to looking at all the conflicts of the period (War on the Equator, anyone?).  These one-off intense studies are the benefit of a publisher like Avalanche that is willing to publish stuff that probably won't justify the cost and time associated with the publication but are just too interesting to pass up.  While Avalanche's business practices have created the frustration many are experiencing, Mike's willingness to consider quirky products provide us with the occasional joys of Indian Unity or Blackshirt Division, whose sales would never be sufficient to pay for the time necessary to design and develop them. 

I don't know Avalanche's financial position or its business prospects very well.  I don't know how many copies of each game get sold.  I just know what's in the hopper, what's next and that it all might change tomorrow if Mike decides to publish a Zeppelin-carried Austro-Hungarian armored force from the Second Great War, landing in Ploesti to secure the oil.  There is only one wargame publisher where such a project could be mentioned as an upcoming game with a straight face.  That is both a good and bad thing for fans of the PG system.