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<blockquote data-quote="Saracenus" data-source="post: 5763315" data-attributes="member: 47839"><p>The economics of a local game store are NOT always about the health of the hobby as a whole.</p><p></p><p>Here in Portland, OR (a mid-sized city on the West Coast) we have a fair number of game stores.</p><p></p><p>When I was in High School in the 80's there was a game store downtown called Endgames. It no longer exists because the rents down town could not support that kind of location (and the owners decide not to move). </p><p></p><p>Bridgetown Hobbies and Games (formerly Military Corner) moved off its two previous locations when the rents got too high (their solution was to buy the building instead of renting).</p><p></p><p>Rents and location are just small aspect of store survival. </p><p></p><p>Competitive pressure from Amazon.com and the internet in general (Bridgetown has a huge buffer in this regard because half the store is dedicated to model builders and non-gaming miniatures). </p><p></p><p>The advent of collectable card and minis games have spawned stores here in town that cater to only that crowd and have only a token RPG shelf space if any at all.</p><p></p><p>One of the most successful game stores here in Portland is Guardian Games and it also is very young. It has an incredibly large play space that supports all aspects of the hobby (cards, minis, computer/console, rpgs and board games). This diversity is what has kept this store growing when others have withered and died. That and the owner has built the store around the gaming community and fostered it. It has been a nexus for new blood into the hobby and even some cross pollination between gaming groups. </p><p></p><p>With this all said, the only reason there is a significant D&D representation at this store is advent of the D&D Encounters format. 1-2 hour casual play has been the gateway to a ton of new players and DMs when almost all public D&D play had dried up in this city. The program has spread to almost every game store in Portland. And the beauty of it is, it has spawned countless in-store and at-home spin off campaigns.</p><p></p><p>You got to be saying to yourself right now, "Great Story Bro! But what does this have to do with the health of the game store and economic pressure?"</p><p></p><p>Here is the dark secret, D&D Encounters sucks at selling D&D. Essentially you have NO incentive to buy anything beyond some basic books and/or a DDI account but really there is very little you can buy on a weekly basis that would justify the time and space we have been allotted in the store. It is only because the owner wants to support the hobby that we have it.</p><p></p><p>Angel could make more money with Magic the Gathering, Yugi-Oh, Warhammer, Warmachine, and selling board games than she can make off of us RPGers. Trust me, I have struggled as the organizer of the DDE program at her store to incentivize folks to purchase RPG product. There just isn't much we can so there in the current format that D&D and RPGs are currently produced.</p><p></p><p>This circle's back to the Ryan Dancey "Model Train Hobby" analogy. Right now there is no incentive to keep purchasing material because of the high price-point (20-40 bucks a shot is hard to maintain), ingrained resistance to "collectable" aspects of gaming (e.g. Fortune Cards), and the time needed to prepare and run a game outside of organized play or pre-published adventures. The people that will continue to play are pretty much already in the hobby and entry points for new players are restricted.</p><p></p><p>If we continue to define D&D (our segment of the industry) only by what TSR and Gary Gygax pioneered when the hobby was new then we are doomed. The landscape is rapidly changing on how content is delivered.</p><p></p><p>Think of the music industry and how delivery formats have changed but there is still music. How content is delivered while still being D&D is the really nut we have to crack in order to survive and prosper.</p><p></p><p>What roll game stores, distributors, and live gaming will play in this is an open question.</p><p></p><p>I think this has a lot to do with how WotC has been attempting to change how it delivers content and what they do with their IP. 4e products have slowed down, but the quality has gone up. WotC has reclaimed the electronic rights from Activision which should make some the crazy prohibitions on electronic support of the TRPG go away. If they are smart they will reclaim the TV/Movie rights to the D&D IP.</p><p></p><p>I think you are going to start to see all sorts of experiments by WotC looking for a gateway to new players of D&D. The facebook RPG D&D: Heroes of Neverwinter is just a taste of what's coming. If they can come up with a transition from that kind of casual game to the table-top, pure gold.</p><p></p><p>I know I have been rambling and my thesis is not very coherent, but the issues of D&D are so much broader than edition wars and play styles. Its hard to wrap my head around what D&D is going to morph into.</p><p></p><p>That's what I got so far, now I need to rest my poor overtaxed brain.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Saracenus, post: 5763315, member: 47839"] The economics of a local game store are NOT always about the health of the hobby as a whole. Here in Portland, OR (a mid-sized city on the West Coast) we have a fair number of game stores. When I was in High School in the 80's there was a game store downtown called Endgames. It no longer exists because the rents down town could not support that kind of location (and the owners decide not to move). Bridgetown Hobbies and Games (formerly Military Corner) moved off its two previous locations when the rents got too high (their solution was to buy the building instead of renting). Rents and location are just small aspect of store survival. Competitive pressure from Amazon.com and the internet in general (Bridgetown has a huge buffer in this regard because half the store is dedicated to model builders and non-gaming miniatures). The advent of collectable card and minis games have spawned stores here in town that cater to only that crowd and have only a token RPG shelf space if any at all. One of the most successful game stores here in Portland is Guardian Games and it also is very young. It has an incredibly large play space that supports all aspects of the hobby (cards, minis, computer/console, rpgs and board games). This diversity is what has kept this store growing when others have withered and died. That and the owner has built the store around the gaming community and fostered it. It has been a nexus for new blood into the hobby and even some cross pollination between gaming groups. With this all said, the only reason there is a significant D&D representation at this store is advent of the D&D Encounters format. 1-2 hour casual play has been the gateway to a ton of new players and DMs when almost all public D&D play had dried up in this city. The program has spread to almost every game store in Portland. And the beauty of it is, it has spawned countless in-store and at-home spin off campaigns. You got to be saying to yourself right now, "Great Story Bro! But what does this have to do with the health of the game store and economic pressure?" Here is the dark secret, D&D Encounters sucks at selling D&D. Essentially you have NO incentive to buy anything beyond some basic books and/or a DDI account but really there is very little you can buy on a weekly basis that would justify the time and space we have been allotted in the store. It is only because the owner wants to support the hobby that we have it. Angel could make more money with Magic the Gathering, Yugi-Oh, Warhammer, Warmachine, and selling board games than she can make off of us RPGers. Trust me, I have struggled as the organizer of the DDE program at her store to incentivize folks to purchase RPG product. There just isn't much we can so there in the current format that D&D and RPGs are currently produced. This circle's back to the Ryan Dancey "Model Train Hobby" analogy. Right now there is no incentive to keep purchasing material because of the high price-point (20-40 bucks a shot is hard to maintain), ingrained resistance to "collectable" aspects of gaming (e.g. Fortune Cards), and the time needed to prepare and run a game outside of organized play or pre-published adventures. The people that will continue to play are pretty much already in the hobby and entry points for new players are restricted. If we continue to define D&D (our segment of the industry) only by what TSR and Gary Gygax pioneered when the hobby was new then we are doomed. The landscape is rapidly changing on how content is delivered. Think of the music industry and how delivery formats have changed but there is still music. How content is delivered while still being D&D is the really nut we have to crack in order to survive and prosper. What roll game stores, distributors, and live gaming will play in this is an open question. I think this has a lot to do with how WotC has been attempting to change how it delivers content and what they do with their IP. 4e products have slowed down, but the quality has gone up. WotC has reclaimed the electronic rights from Activision which should make some the crazy prohibitions on electronic support of the TRPG go away. If they are smart they will reclaim the TV/Movie rights to the D&D IP. I think you are going to start to see all sorts of experiments by WotC looking for a gateway to new players of D&D. The facebook RPG D&D: Heroes of Neverwinter is just a taste of what's coming. If they can come up with a transition from that kind of casual game to the table-top, pure gold. I know I have been rambling and my thesis is not very coherent, but the issues of D&D are so much broader than edition wars and play styles. Its hard to wrap my head around what D&D is going to morph into. That's what I got so far, now I need to rest my poor overtaxed brain. [/QUOTE]
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