Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!decwrl!sun!imagen!atari!portal!cup.portal.com!Xorg
From: Xorg@cup.portal.com (Peter Ted Szymonik)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
Subject: Spectrum Holobyte & FALCON
Message-ID: <17109@cup.portal.com>
Date: 13 Apr 89 15:15:34 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 75

From GEnie:
Mr. Louie,

      You did not in fact write your open letter to address the
impact of piracy - you wrote your open letter *specifically accusing*
the ST community as a whole as being the most tolerant of piracy.  A
quote directly from your letter:
 
>      "In addition, ST pirates seem better organized and
>       piracy seems more accepted (or, should I say, tolerated)
>       by ST users."
 
      Not only is this complete nonsense, but it is also highly
slanderous.  It paints a distorted and mythical image of the ST
community.  An image which I and many other ST owners have been
fighting for YEARS to put to rest.
 
      You also are completely ignoring the root cause of ST FALCON's
previously slow sales - ADVERTISING.  I have only a basic business
education but I can tell you that without advertising NO product will
sell.  You quite erroneously state:
 
>      "Some of you point out that we haven't taken out many
>       ST ads."
 
      The truth of the matter is that your company didn't take out
*ANY* ST advertising before February of this year and you had ALREADY
proclaimed that slow sales were due to piracy!!  Do I really need to
take you by the hand and go back through the message base to show you
what you wrote?
 
>      "Many of you feel that we should just shut up about the
>       whole issue and go back to the IBM and MAC market."
 
      This is nonsense also.  I defy you to show us even ONE post
where anyone has asked you to leave the ST market.  What we would like
you to do is stick to selling and supporting your software rather than
posting slanderous 'open letter's in non-ST magazines that are based
on nothing but rumor and myth.
 
>      "FALCON ST has climbed to the top of the charts..."
 
      Not only does this directly CONTRADICT what you have been trying
to ram down our throats about piracy, but isn't this EXACTLY what I
and many other ST owners predicted MONTHS AGO!!  If you'd like me to,
I can take you by your hand again and show you what you posted back in
February when everyone was telling you that FALCON **would be** the
best-selling ST program and that your company had nothing to worry
about.
 
      [Items about advertising and editorial coverage, reviews...]
      "So I can't buy your agrument that nobody knows about the
       product...]

      Again, you are referring to items which appeared **AFTER** you
had ALREADY proclaimed slow sales due to piracy and started spreading
your 'open letter' to non-ST magazines.  My argument was that the
majority of the ST user base was unaware of FALCON's release due to
your company's non-advertising and the lack of reviews.  I pointed to
that as the cause behind FALCON's slow sales back in January and
February.  Now everything is fine and sales are up to speed aren't
they?  Just like everyone here said they would be...
 
      "Be realistic..."
 
      I'm being very realistic.  If you realized the damage that your
letter is now causing the ST community in the computer world you would
be quick to understand the outrage at your letter here on GEnie, on
UseNet, and in FOREM FNET.  If you were an honorable man you would post
a retraction of your original comments or in the very least post an
update or correction stating that sales have improved dramatically
since the advent of advertising and press reviews.
 
Peter Szymonik