Forked from: Death of the LGS
Looking over the Death of the LGS thread, a lot of people are advocating that an LGS should provide space for people to game. I'm not sure that I see the business rational in doing this.
First, RPGs are a small group game of 4-6 people. People can easily play at their own homes without much hassle. It's not like CCG tournaments where you can easily get a couple of dozen players, which can't be hosted at a private home.
Second, it's a pretty large amount of space that is essentially empty much of the time. Retail square footage is not cheap, which is one of the big reasons that the online stores are winning. Wouldn't filling that empty space with actual product be more profitable?
Third, kind of honestly, in my experience the type of people who hang out in game stores playing RPGs are not exactly the best role-models for attracting new players to the hobby. Maybe it's insensitive to say this, but all the "normal" roleplayers I knew would never play at a store, but would play at a friend's house. The people who played in stores were the type of people you wouldn't invite to your house.
To me, the best reason for going to a LGS is to browse, to see what's new and interesting. I think that rather than wasting retail space on gamers, a LGS should fill it with a variety of product. Showcase new stuff every so often, so people have a reason to go in and see what's new.
Also, make an effort to bring in products that attract women as well as men. Anime is a pretty decent example, in my experience. Far too often, an LGS is a very female-unfriendly place.
I just think an LGS would be better off to concentrate less on the Gaming aspect, and more on the Store aspect.
Looking over the Death of the LGS thread, a lot of people are advocating that an LGS should provide space for people to game. I'm not sure that I see the business rational in doing this.
First, RPGs are a small group game of 4-6 people. People can easily play at their own homes without much hassle. It's not like CCG tournaments where you can easily get a couple of dozen players, which can't be hosted at a private home.
Second, it's a pretty large amount of space that is essentially empty much of the time. Retail square footage is not cheap, which is one of the big reasons that the online stores are winning. Wouldn't filling that empty space with actual product be more profitable?
Third, kind of honestly, in my experience the type of people who hang out in game stores playing RPGs are not exactly the best role-models for attracting new players to the hobby. Maybe it's insensitive to say this, but all the "normal" roleplayers I knew would never play at a store, but would play at a friend's house. The people who played in stores were the type of people you wouldn't invite to your house.
To me, the best reason for going to a LGS is to browse, to see what's new and interesting. I think that rather than wasting retail space on gamers, a LGS should fill it with a variety of product. Showcase new stuff every so often, so people have a reason to go in and see what's new.
Also, make an effort to bring in products that attract women as well as men. Anime is a pretty decent example, in my experience. Far too often, an LGS is a very female-unfriendly place.
I just think an LGS would be better off to concentrate less on the Gaming aspect, and more on the Store aspect.
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