I am uncomfortable at the price of the dice. I heave a hard time justifying paying 15$ for a set of dice, especially since you really need 2 sets to cover the basic. 

$15 for 14 dice and a few tokens isn't expensive. In fact that is on par or cheaper than some sets for D&D which sell for $8 - $15 depending on color and that only gets you 7 dice (d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, d20 and the 10s die for percentile).

$60 for the main book also is on par with inflation. Paperbacks used to be $4 back when AD&D 2nd ed came out. Now they are $8. The core rule books were $20 (1989), then $30 (2000) a decade ago, and now most are in the $40 - $60 range. The only exception would be the Savage Worlds core book (in Explorer's Edition size) which are $10, but they are trade paperbacks and don't have any extra licensing fees to cover in their costs.

Kids can afford this the same way they can buy the latest computer game or console game ($50 - $70 @). Under 16, parents buy it (via allowances or chores or gifts). 16 or over, they have part-time jobs and no living expenses (other than maybe a car depending on parents).

That Blasted Samophlange said:

Great catch!  And definitely a great idea. 

I'll bet the book costs $40 on miniature market and cool stuff inc… and that the dice cost $10. So, not too bad, really (especially if you buy enough stuff to qualify for free S/H).

All we need now is a monthly Adventure Path…

Regarding the price points, a couple factors to keep in mind before you start accusing FFG of being money-grubbing fiends.

Point the First. licensing costs.  LucasFilm requires a certain amount of money in exchange for letting other companies use the Star Wars brand.  That alone is going to result in a price hike on any product they make, be it RPGS, tactical minis (X-Wing), or card games.  And given the general high quality production values that FFG generally has on their products (which again costs money), a $60 price tag for a 450+ page core book isn't really all that unreasonable in today's market.

Point the Second, custom dice are not cheap.  By going the route of using custom dice icons for their Star Wars system as opposed to the more readily available dice facings, that's going to incur extra costs.  And as FFG is a company who needs to make a profit to continue producing games, part of that cost gets passed on to us the consumer.  While I'm sure FFG is getting some kind of high volume discount, it's not enough of one to justify pricing the dice any lower than what they're currently priced.

The guys at the Order 66 podcast ran into this when getting their "chance cubes" for GenCon, having to ultimately settle on a d6 with the D20 Radio logo rather than a d20 as they would have been charged for each face on the die, and not just the custom one.  Given the number of dice they were looking at getting, they opted for a six-sided die instead of a twenty-sided die.

I come from Warhammer 3. For me, having everything I need to play with my group of friends in a single book, even if it is 60 bucks, it is a blessing to my pocket.

I don't mind paying $60 for book that's basically an all-in-one product. Comparing it to D&D, to have everything you need to run costs around $90 (and that's only if the PHB, DMG and MM are $30/ea). The dice aren't so bad either, as signature dice around here sell for around $1/ea. At 400+ pages, I'm just hoping that the game has some great options for the players and GM. I guess, in the long run, I want my money's worth if I'm buying it :)

Kallabecca said:

This. Kids and young adults will do what they must in order to afford the latest video game. Considering that there is a GM and players, it wouldn't be out of line for the group to split the cost and share the book. If you were to compare the "money" to "hours of fun" ratio to that of a videogame, I would suspect the RPG is capable of meeting or beating most triple-A video games on the market. While I would like the price to be lower (who wouldn't?), my biggest gripe with the book is that it isn't out yet =D

bobfrankly said:

You and me both buddy!

That Blasted Samophlange said:

Awesome spot! I hope it does, they should have mentioned it if it does. Regardless I'll be buying a few sets.

As for affortability, its certainly pricey, but 20 year old me would have found a way to buy them just like current me… heck teen me bought the RCR which was $55+tax when I bought it (alledgedly weak canadian dollar and obsene difference in US and Canadian book prices at the time, and I had yet to discover amazon). The biggest difference is the need to buy dice and the book at the same time… but kids are innovative and starving so I could roleplay didn't seem a big deal when I was young.

If WFR is any indication, there should be some really great supplements and expansions for the setting. Sure it’s a little pricy, but the quality is super high.  

Those dice packs are gonna go fast, though. Keep an eye out for Pre-Orders!

Can't wait book & dice set to come out.

YES PLEASE!

Scott McFarland said:

I can't wait to get my hands on that GM screen. With the quality of art we've seen so far (and the quality of FFG's components in general), I'm quite excited. The SAGA screen was nice and all, but the whole 'photo collage' angle (coupled with the fan-pandering of Leia in her bikini) left a bad taste in my mouth. The art on the outside of a GM screen should fire the imagination, not remind you of movies that you may/may not have liked!

A big part of me expected to see a bunch of tokens in such a product from FFG, but I really like that they're not trying to push the 'miniatures' angle. Don't get me wrong - I loves me my SWM, but the lack of their necessity in this game is refreshing.

As for dice, I've just been waiting to buy another set without buying the Beginner Game again! :D

$15 for the dice is expensive but I'll eat it. I just won't allow my players to use the dice app. We roll for real in my games. I'll buy one set of dice from my FLGS and the rest online for a cheaper price.