FASA Games, Inc.

True that, Flowswithdrek. Maybe the goal for some people is one day for Earthdawn to be the industry standard to which Pathfinder and DnD are compared, but I would be happy if group at least had the awareness and opportunity to choose ED instead.

A moment while I grab the bucket of cold water...

Earthdawn will never be on the same level as Pathfinder in terms of popularity and anyone that thinks it will is either delusional or ignorant of the realities of the rpg industry right now. For all the venom that 4th edition D&D draws on various gaming forums, Earthdawn is never going to be on that level of popularity, either.

Unfortunately, the rpg market is roughly divided among the huge group of people playing Pathfinder, the slightly smaller group of people playing D&D 4e, and a much smaller group playing everything else. Those are the people that Earthdawn is trying to win over. Thinking that a new edition is going to get people to choose Earthdawn over Pathfinder and D&D 4e (or 5e when it comes out) aren't being realistic. The people that you're aiming for are players that are already willing to commit to alternative systems, people playing the various Warhammer rpgs, Runequest, Shadowrun, the Game of Thrones rpg, etc.

Earthdawn's system and setting are good enough to carve out a space in that corner of the market, but I just can't see how it's ever going to win over the Pathfinder/D&D crowd in significant numbers. There's nothing more risk averse than a dedicated d20 gamer, unfortunately.

All you can do is be the best game with the best community and see what happens.

While i´m a fan of the first edition and very into the (german) market and scene due to my work, i just care about this great gameline.
With all those changes in the market and blah blah - i always thought a company should aim for something higher than just constantly sticking to it´s old fanbase, especially with brands like Earthdawn which has so much more potential for me (if rebooted correctly).
That´s what i was talking about.
Pathfinder here, D&D there - there´s always a possibility to get (new) people into gaming or get those crowds into another game like ED.
Players don´t just play a single system for their whole life. At least not in Europe...maybe the US is different than.

I'll give Paizo a lot of credit. Take an Open Source Game System (Free), spruce it up a little bit, and make tons of money. My group's issues with those systems is why I suggested Earthdawn. Earthdawn is still RP heavy and the newer systems seem to appeal to a different type of player.

Earthdawn should try and remember what made it great. Grasp its Player Base and build on that. Right now, Paizo can make a huge flop and survive, Earthdawn probably doesn't have that buffer.

Hopefully Fourth Edition is good stuff. I'll maybe try and GM a session at DundraCon next year.

I have the opposite problem. I've several D&D players who want to join our Earthdawn game, but just no room at the inn at the moment.