User blog:JESSIEJJD13/2019: Year In Review

Hello all,

I hope this post finds you well and you are doing well. The end of another year is here. 2019 has come and gone as has a year worth of Choices reading.

I thought something fun and reflective to do could be to make a 2019 Year in Review for PB, their books of the year, trends in the game for the year, etc. I'm going to list out a few statistics on what was released this year and then ask everyone some questions about what they thought of the 2019 slate on the game.

This is meant to be a fun little exercise to put things into perspective and I hope you all enjoy this and maybe realize some things you had not before.

Disclaimer: * This post is not to attack PB, their books, or the writers in any way, shape, or form.*

First, I'll list the statistics. Then, I'll give some of my thoughts about the slate in 2019 and ask you what your opinions were as well.

These are the NEW books that PB released in 2019, their genre, their status, and if they had gender customization.
The Statistics:
 * 1) The Royal Heir | Romantic Drama | Renewed | Gender-Locked
 * 2) Ride or Die: A Bad Boy Romance | Romantic Drama | Renewed | Gender-Locked
 * 3) Open Heart | Romantic Drama | Renewed | Gender Options
 * 4) Passport to Romance | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Options
 * 5) Wishful Thinking | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 6) Nightbound | Horror | Canceled | Gender-Options
 * 7) Platinum | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 8) Sunkissed | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 9) Bachelorette Party | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 10) Mother of the Year | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 11) Save the Date | Romantic Comedy | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 12) The Royal Masquerade | Romantic Drama | Pending | Gender-Locked
 * 13) Baby Bump | Romantic Drama | Pending | Gender-Locked

Number of New Books Canceled: 8 (62%)

Number of New Books Renewed: 3 (23%)

Number of New Books' Fate Pending: 2 (15%)

Number of Gender-Locked Books: 10 (77%)

Number of Gender-Option Books: 3 (23%)

Genre of 2019's New Books:

Romance: 12 (92%)

Other: 1 (8%)

Returning Books (Started Before 2019) That Ended/Were Canceled This Year:
Books Canceled: 6 (67%)
 * 1) Red Carpet Diaries | Romantic Drama | Ended | Gender-Locked
 * 2) Desire & Decorum | Romantic Drama | Ended | Gender-Locked
 * 3) Big Sky Country | Romantic Drama | Ended | Gender-Options
 * 4) A Courtesan of Rome | Romantic Drama | Canceled | Gender-Locked
 * 5) It Lives | Horror | Canceled | Gender-Options
 * 6) The Elementalists | Circuits & Sorcery | Canceled | Gender-Options
 * 7) Across the Void | Circuits & Sorcery | Canceled | Gender-Options
 * 8) Hero | Fantastic Adventures | Canceled | Gender-Options
 * 9) The Heist: Monaco | Fantastic Adventures | Canceled | Gender-Options

Books That Ended: 3 (33%)

Gender-Locked Books That Ended: 3 (33%)

Gender-Options Books That Ended: 6 (67%)

Discussion:

Putting the 2019 slate into numbers really puts things into perspective. PB went extremely romance heavy this year. There was only one (1) new release that was not a romance book - and it was canceled. That more than likely alienated a large percentage of the Choices fans. This year, I noticed through social media (Twitter) that many fans were growing tired of the constant romance books being released. It's not that the romance books were bad (some were, but of course you always have hit and miss in any genre), it's that there were so, so, so many of them. When you only have one book the entire year that was not romance, something needs to be changed - in my opinion. No I am not knocking romance in general - I am a big, big fan of it if done well (I loved Open Heart!)

And then there was the gender-locked book pandemic. 10 out of 13 releases had no gender options, and out of the three gender options books, only one was renewed (and its sequel was benched for a while). This upset many fans who thought that this brought up a discussion on the quality of Choices' slate in 2019 and their treatment of LGBT players - who were forced into a certain role. Even female players grew upset by this as many enjoyed playing as a male, and thought the gender options books were just better in quality. And for most books, the book easily could have had options, but for some reason it did not. I also think the reason many grew upset by this as look at the most iconic releases from the past - most of them (not all) were gender optional. Such as Endless Summer, It Lives, The Elementalists, etc.

With so many books this year ending up canceled/a standalone, people over the year began to question if Choices would stay in business for a while. So I'll give my opinions on the topic. I don't think the company is going anywhere - yet. I think with all the canceled books this year, PB expected the slate to do better and make more money. And then came the huge reuse of characters, sets, etc. So that's probably how they made up for lost profits. And if the year was really as bad as some believe, then they probably would not be able to head into 2020 as they are right now.

With all this being said, I'd like to get your opinions on PB's 2019 Year and what's to come.

Questions:

1) What did you think of the 2019 slate? Why?

2) Do you think the 2020 slate will be less romance heavy?

3) Are you excited for the 2020 slate? Why or why not?

4) Why do you think PB switched to the romance heavy slate this year, especially after some of their most successful releases being non romance/locked books?

I'll give some of my thoughts in the comments - but please remember, this isn't meant to be hateful and only just a fun year-in review post like many that are going around the web right now. :D