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<blockquote data-quote="Argyle King" data-source="post: 7647694" data-attributes="member: 58416"><p>I agree with some others have said; I feel that interest in the idea of rpgs is growing; not dying. Heck, even Lego has a rpg game out now. It's a very simple one due to their target audience, but it's still an rpg. </p><p></p><p>As for Waldens and Barnes & Noble? To be quite blunt, I'm a former Waldens employee; part of their problem was just making poor business decisions. As an occasional customer of Barnes & Noble, I think their problem is expecting someone to pay the prices they charge. </p><p></p><p>...anyway... I'll cut myself short and try to sum things up by saying that I completely disagree with Ryan. Yep, he has numbers; numbers which I cannot refute with numbers of my own. However, what his numbers prove to me is not that tabletop gaming is dying, but instead that the 'establishment' (for a lack of better words) is dying. I think that's a great thing because I believe that a lot of the bigger companies are out of touch with what the gaming community wants.</p><p></p><p>I believe that because while some of the big names the OP throws out there are indeed having trouble. However, at the same time, there are plenty of people and companies out there who are listening and delivering; evolving with the fanbase. It's time for a changing of the guard; that may look like death to some of the people who live at the top, but it's not. It's evolution. I believe it's time for someone else to have a shot at the top of the mountain.</p><p></p><p>I'll start to wind down my post by saying I've recently had a conversation with the owner of one of local gaming stores. It's an independently owned store. The store is now completely free of debt (some of it from loans and such when the store was first opened.) It's making a profit. When I go there, I see more and more new faces all the time. I even had a joking conversation with the owner a few months back in which I asked him what he was doing to lure so many girls into his store (seems to be a big surge of females interested in gaming here as well.)</p><p></p><p>Maybe that one store is a fluke; just maybe. However, there is a Barnes & Noble here in town, and -as the OP suggests- they are not doing well. I know they are not doing well because I've asked; I've also observed the large mound of D&D books which seems to virtually never move. The driving time between the local gaming store and where Barnes & Noble is at is probably 10 minutes at the most - my point being going to one is just as easy as getting to the other. So why is it that people choose the small local gaming store over the large powerhouse chain retailer? More importantly, do you feel this indicates a problem with the hobby as a whole or does it indicate failure on the part of the 'big names' in the industry? </p><p></p><p>I'm not sure if anyone else is familiar with professional wrestling or the business behind it, but my view is that WoTC and some of the large retailers are slowly turning into the WCW of the community. Loads of talent, but no idea what to do with it... still, since they have money, they're going to continue to ride high for a while. Plenty of people at Turner Broadcasting who know what makes a good business model, but who are completely out of touch with what makes a good pro-wrestling business.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Argyle King, post: 7647694, member: 58416"] I agree with some others have said; I feel that interest in the idea of rpgs is growing; not dying. Heck, even Lego has a rpg game out now. It's a very simple one due to their target audience, but it's still an rpg. As for Waldens and Barnes & Noble? To be quite blunt, I'm a former Waldens employee; part of their problem was just making poor business decisions. As an occasional customer of Barnes & Noble, I think their problem is expecting someone to pay the prices they charge. ...anyway... I'll cut myself short and try to sum things up by saying that I completely disagree with Ryan. Yep, he has numbers; numbers which I cannot refute with numbers of my own. However, what his numbers prove to me is not that tabletop gaming is dying, but instead that the 'establishment' (for a lack of better words) is dying. I think that's a great thing because I believe that a lot of the bigger companies are out of touch with what the gaming community wants. I believe that because while some of the big names the OP throws out there are indeed having trouble. However, at the same time, there are plenty of people and companies out there who are listening and delivering; evolving with the fanbase. It's time for a changing of the guard; that may look like death to some of the people who live at the top, but it's not. It's evolution. I believe it's time for someone else to have a shot at the top of the mountain. I'll start to wind down my post by saying I've recently had a conversation with the owner of one of local gaming stores. It's an independently owned store. The store is now completely free of debt (some of it from loans and such when the store was first opened.) It's making a profit. When I go there, I see more and more new faces all the time. I even had a joking conversation with the owner a few months back in which I asked him what he was doing to lure so many girls into his store (seems to be a big surge of females interested in gaming here as well.) Maybe that one store is a fluke; just maybe. However, there is a Barnes & Noble here in town, and -as the OP suggests- they are not doing well. I know they are not doing well because I've asked; I've also observed the large mound of D&D books which seems to virtually never move. The driving time between the local gaming store and where Barnes & Noble is at is probably 10 minutes at the most - my point being going to one is just as easy as getting to the other. So why is it that people choose the small local gaming store over the large powerhouse chain retailer? More importantly, do you feel this indicates a problem with the hobby as a whole or does it indicate failure on the part of the 'big names' in the industry? I'm not sure if anyone else is familiar with professional wrestling or the business behind it, but my view is that WoTC and some of the large retailers are slowly turning into the WCW of the community. Loads of talent, but no idea what to do with it... still, since they have money, they're going to continue to ride high for a while. Plenty of people at Turner Broadcasting who know what makes a good business model, but who are completely out of touch with what makes a good pro-wrestling business. [/QUOTE]
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