ICv2 Fall/Winter 2014 Hobby Game Rankings: D&D Up To #1

ICv2 has released its quarterly hobby game rankings. No surprises here - Dungeons & Dragons has taken the top spot back after several years at #2, as expected, though how long it can hold it without an aggressive release schedule remains to be seen. Pathfinder follows at #2, and Numenera, Fate, and Star Wars all make showings in the top 5. As always, the charts are based on interviews with retailers, distributors, and manufacturers. This is for Fall/Winter 2014.

1	Dungeons & Dragons	Wizards of the Coast
2	Pathfinder	Paizo Publishing
3	Star Wars	Fantasy Flight Games
4	Numenara	Monte Cook Games
5	Fate	Evil Hat Games

You can see the list on iCv2. And check out the historical compilation here.

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[Jefe Bergenstein]

Isn't Onyx Path's WOD stuff PDF's, print on demand, etc? It wouldn't even be a blip on this, since this is retail store reporting. However, given that nothing from them even cracks the top 20 on Drive Thru RPG, I dont think it would matter if online PDF sales were taken into account.

 

[SirAntoine]

I am going to publish my own game, and I wonder if it will appear on these charts.

 

[TerraDave]

These charts are just retailers, and a survey at that, not based on direct sales data.

No pdfs, no amazon (thats another thread), no Paizo subscriptions or direct sales, no online specialty retailers, no kickstarter.

Of course, we are seeing things that are selling through amazon, through Paizo, and supported by kickstarter, on this list.

 

[Gecko85]

These charts are just retailers, and a survey at that, not based on direct sales data.

No pdfs, no amazon (thats another thread), no Paizo subscriptions or direct sales, no online specialty retailers, no kickstarter.

Of course, we are seeing things that are selling through amazon, through Paizo, and supported by kickstarter, on this list.

True, but for this segment of the market, we're seeing a trend of D&D becoming popular again. At Amazon we're also seeing a trend of D&D becoming popular again. At Roll20 we're seeing a trend of D&D becoming popular again. Lots of different market segments, similar trends.

 

[Lily of the Valley]

Not surprising. 5e just released its three core books almost exclusively in that quarter, close to Christmas and after two years publishing no books.

Will it last? It looks doubtful. Take the first quarter of 2015. No new book is being published and only one book is coming out in the next six months.

 

[GlobeOfDankness]

i really hope this forces both companies to be more interesting.

 

[Gecko85]

Not surprising. 5e just released its three core books almost exclusively in that quarter, close to Christmas and after two years publishing no books.

Will it last? It looks doubtful. Take the first quarter of 2015. No new book is being published and only one book is coming out in the next six months.

No new books, but as of 5 minutes ago, the PHB (released in August, so 6 months ago) still lurking around the top 100 on Amazon:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#1 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Gaming > Dungeons & Dragons
#15 in Books > Teens

 

[Koloth]

A problem with a chart like this is what it doesn't say. Example: during the last quarter where Pathfinder was #1, Paizo may have sold 10 books while WOTC sold 5. This quarter Paizo may have still sold 10 books while WOTC sold 1000 or 10000, or 11. Any of those numbers would result in the position swap.

 

[Morrus]

It is funny how these rankings generate the exact same conversation, almost word for word, quarter after quarter, year after year, every time they're released. Which is cool - it means new people are joining the conversation, rather than the same people each time. Vibrancy makes me happy!

 

[lud]

Morrus, why didn't you plot Iron Kingdom RPG on your graph in 2012 and 2013?