RIP '86

[EDWINCOX]

My only complaint about the free 86' season if that they seemed to have no plan whatsoever when they started it. At first it was unlimited with no end date and all teams counted tward the manager rating, then it became a limit of 5 teams, no end date and the leagues didn't count, then only the first five teams would count, and when they finally announced it would end there was only a 5 day notice and any league not already set to draft by that Friday would just dissapear.

Giving things away for free is great, but when you keep changing the rules for it then it starts to have an opposite effect and it does more harm then good.

If they decide to do this again they would be well advised to set all the paramiters at the start, tell people what the limit is, the start and end date and all the particulars that would effect peoples reasons for playing.

It seems to me that a lot of long time players were put off by the fact that after investing so much time into the teams they were suddenly cut out of the ratings, then after complaints it was decided that the frist 5 would count, then I heard something about if you buy more teams then more of the free teams will count? Guess the people who have said the managers rating only tell you who can spend the most money is a little more accurate now!

It suprises me that a company as big as the Sporting News wouldn't spent a little more time in the planing stages for something like this, seems more like a couple of buddies in their basement chaning their mind every few days rather than a multie million dollar company like the Sporting News!

[Free Radicals]

eacox , you hit the nail right on the head but what you don't realize is that it's been like this for the past few years and many long time great vets have left TSN/SOM because of the constant bs . Hang around long enough and you'll know exactly what I'm talking , though you already have a huge leg up . Wink

[Palanion]

Yes, TSN has its foibles. Planning and communication often falters. However, they are constantly trying to improve the product and making it more viable. The more successful it becomes, the more resources they could allocate to continue to improve it.

I commend Bernie for dealing with such a large online community while trying to do all the negotiating that is required with SOM, plus coding the product, marketing it, etc. He's pretty invested in this product.

And we all knew that the free offer was going to end, we just never knew when, which is a smart marketing ploy. It drew a large initial demand, plus I am sure from the moment they announced the end date the demand increased again. The whole idea was to entice new players to TSN-SOM, which succeeded.

Personally, I never would have played 1986 had it not been free. I have a personal Strat budget, and I choose to spend it all in ATG. But the free promotion offered up something different for me, plus it allowed me to try different strategies without blowing money. A very positive experience all-in-all.

[RICHARDMILTER]

I like the 1986 season. Call me crazy. I liked getting FREE teams. I will even pay for the 1986 season in the future. I have only been hip to SOM through TSN for just over a year, and I love it! That is my thee cents.

[RICHARDMILTER]

My only minor complaint is that not all of our 1986 teams will count towards our managerial ratings. I do not agree with this decision. We broke no rules by having more than 5 teams. I had 10 teams when they made a limit. I just want all my teams to count! Other than that I feel lucky I have not been jaded, and I hope I never become so. Because this game is a lot of fun.....especially when you are winning.

[pwootten]

[quote:3a659e5c00="Palanion"]Yes, TSN has its foibles. Planning and communication often falters. However, they are constantly trying to improve the product and making it more viable. The more successful it becomes, the more resources they could allocate to continue to improve it.

I commend Bernie for dealing with such a large online community while trying to do all the negotiating that is required with SOM, plus coding the product, marketing it, etc. He's pretty invested in this product.

And we all knew that the free offer was going to end, we just never knew when, which is a smart marketing ploy. It drew a large initial demand, plus I am sure from the moment they announced the end date the demand increased again. The whole idea was to entice new players to TSN-SOM, which succeeded.

Personally, I never would have played 1986 had it not been free. I have a personal Strat budget, and I choose to spend it all in ATG. But the free promotion offered up something different for me, plus it allowed me to try different strategies without blowing money. A very positive experience all-in-all.[/quote:3a659e5c00]


I have a "personal Strat budget" too. It used to be called grocery money, but heck, the kids seem to like ramin noodles and mac & cheese. :D

[EDWINCOX]

[quote:7d48fe4dce="Palanion"]And we all knew that the free offer was going to end, we just never knew when, which is a smart marketing ploy. It drew a large initial demand, plus I am sure from the moment they announced the end date the demand increased again. The whole idea was to entice new players to TSN-SOM, which succeeded. [/quote:7d48fe4dce]

I couldn't dissagree with you more, since they put a cap of 5 teams the only spike was people scrambling to get the teams they already made into a league that would draft on time. I know I had a league all set to draft on April 29th but since they were going to make it dissapear I had to move the draft up to the 14th, I don't know how many of the people in the league found out the draft was moved but only 3 of the 12 teams were at the live draft.

And making it a premium game seems over the top, seems to me they would be better off to sell advertising on the website to defray the cost to the public. I'm no internet genius, but I see ESPN, Yahoo, CBSSports etc. giving away tons of free gaming by selling advertising on the websites. I know SOM if a different animal than fantasy, but it's the same principal, sell some spots and drop the game price, you bring in more buissness (IE game players) then you can increase the advertising costs you bring in. Like I said, it's not rocket science, it's how the big sports sites keep getting bigger, by giving away the games and charging more for advertising.

[RICHARDMILTER]

I was one of the three. I was at that live draft!

[RICHARDMILTER]

You make some great points. More ads= lower price!

[Phenomenal]

Well, I have found a lost love and fond memories of my childhood again. The game that I spent so many hours on honing my math skills because I could actually calculate batting averages in my mind after awhile. The 1986 season is actually a year or two later than when I was playing in the early 1980's but I remember so many of the players that I actually forgot about. I am having a blast with this again. Only got 1 1986 team wish I had got more. Man I remember ordering new player sets and waiting so impatiently for the sets to arrive in the mail. I remember looking at the marketing literature trying to pick out the 6-8 team sets I could afford with allowance money. I remember the 1980-1982 Brewers, Royals, Phillies and Cardinals as being some of my favorite teams. LOL MIke Schmidt seemed to hit a million HR's.

This is great fun guys, I would say to worry less about all the little details and imperfections and concentrate on the fun! :D