Erik Mona (Publisher of Paizo Publishing) gave the keynote at GamesU 2009, giving a brief overview of the history of tabletop RPGs and a very insightful look at the current state and future of the industry.  He covers a wide variety of topics, including electronic publishing and print-on-demand publishing changing the way games are distributed; the effect of computers and smartphones on how we play games; the effect of the Open Game License and other system licenses (Pathfinder, True20, etc.); social networking and organized play as forms of marketing that strengthen the connections between gamers and game companies; answering the question, “Are RPGs doomed?”; and much more.

It’s a fairly long video, but it is definitely worth watching.

As we’ve reached the point where no further orders have a chance of arriving by Christmas Eve, I’ve disabled checkout for the time being.  (I don’t want anyone to place a last-minute order thinking it could get there on time!) I’ll re-enable checkout immediately following Christmas, but that is a weekend so no new orders will ship until Monday or Tuesday (12/28 or 12/29), depending on the volume of orders we receive.

Now, in Star Wars terms:

…
He strapped on his blaster and bound up the ramp
Of his heavily modified light freighter tramp.
But I heard him transmit as he flew out of sight,
“Happy Life Day to all, and to all a good night!”

No matter where you are on the political spectrum, if you’re into Star Wars, this has to bring a smile:

One of us! One of us!